Weissensee MA 2024: Political, loud, and truthful

Historically, Weissensee was situated in the eastern part of the city, which was under Russian rule. At that time, it was known as the East Berlin Academy of Art, where students created art and fashion under oppressive conditions. The fashion program was led by Professor Winter, who operated the only luxury fashion label in East Germany, called “Exquisit.” After the reunification of Germany in 1989, the school was renamed to reflect its new era.

Political awareness is embedded in the university’s DNA, and designers are encouraged to reflect on the current state of the world. This year, some designers have woven political messages into explorations of personal themes. For instance, Masha shared her story of fleeing the Russian dictatorship, Kaja questioned the norms within the fashion industry, and Leo delved into the politics of growing up queer.

This year’s MA collections showcase a blend of craftsmanship and political storytelling, underscoring the idea that understanding the past may hold the key to addressing our current challenges.

Leo Preaves

Taking inspiration from his grandparents’ house and growing up queer, Leo Preaves created a collection based on the feeling of a Saturday night in their house. Called “small world, big dreams”, he imagined being at their house alone, eating cereal, and playing Sims 2. “Garments always carry very fond memories. When I take a jacket that belonged to my grandfather for example, I always find little receipts or notes inside the pockets. I never get the feeling of owning his clothes, it more feels like I am borrowing them, whilst adding my share of memories to the specific garment,” he says. This made him think about the notions of legacy, what he may leave behind and what he wants his loved ones to cherish. “It reminds me of Glessner Lees nutshells, they are always in the back of my mind. My collection is not about murder, but it is about all these small details that make up a lifetime,” he adds. Wearability is at the core of the collection. To visualise the feeling of playful memories from childhood to adulthood, he worked on implementing specific details which exactly trigger these memories. “There is an ill-fittingness throughout the collection. It is used to capture this feeling of being too young to fit into something properly. It’s almost like, you are never able to fill your ancestor’s shoes fully. “ Inside the clothing, you find printed receipts, reminiscent of adulthood, contrasting the childlike playfulness captured on the outside. On the runway, the male models will be wearing wigs and high heels, creating this weird look and walk distinctively, as if they are literally walking on eggshells. “All in all, I wanted different styles to come together. To form this small but whole picture of a person, just like when you rumble through the closets, cupboards and boxes and someone else’s house.”

Masha Shumilina 

Masha Shumilina’s collection is called “One-Way Journey”. For some, a one-way ticket may lead to a new opportunity or a year of freedom, but for Masha, it tells the story of her emigration as part of the Russian community who oppose the Russian regime and the war in Ukraine. “I moved from Russia to Berlin in 2022 during the mobilisation (drafting of the army). Even though it was a planned departure, I shared the experience with my family and friends, who left home one day and never came back,” she says. “It is important to say that, of course, this does not compare to what the Ukrainian people are enduring, being shelled by Russian bombs. My collection is about fleeing a persecuting and growing dictatorship,” she concludes. In this context, Masha explores the emotional experience of losing one’s homeland—something that is taken away against your will. Visually, the collection depicts her most precious belongings that were in her suitcase during her journey from Russia to Berlin. “My personal clothes became the source of rethinking and the starting point for each look. By exaggerating the shapes, fixing the folds as if caught in the wind, and erasing the surface, I’m trying to capture both the fragility and the dynamism of the moment,” she adds. A significant inspiration for this was the film “Run Lola Run” by Tom Tykwer, particularly the way the movement of women is captured in its cinematography. “I tried to stick to this plan: create a story, find a shape, pattern, experiment, return to the story, new experiments, new materials and textures on the shape, creating each character, detailing.” Additionally, Masha studied the problem of information distortion and its consequences, as well as the issue of modern propaganda in Russia, as part of her post-truth module. To inform this, she looked at many artists and fashion designers and their political statements. “As I was writing, I developed the image of the heroine of the collection. Who is she? Why and what is she running from? Eventually, I plan to combine my theoretical work and the physical collection into one book, because it’s all one story.”

Kaja Busch 

Exploring female desire, Kaja Busch’s final collection, titled “Eating My Desire,” focuses on the perception of female bodies within fashion. “During my BA degree, I started searching for symbols of the oppressive feeling of shame in clothing and how I could translate that into a collection,” she says. On this occasion, she wanted to create her own world. Fed up with daily monotony, she aimed to redefine the perception of the female body within fashion. “That frustration or anger eventually turned into a humorous approach. How often do we speak about our fears and our bodies as potential spaces of violence? Through humour and finding attraction in revulsion, I discovered my way of coping and a mode for a proposal that might have a positive outlook,” she explains. During her research, she read “The Laugh of Medusa” by Hélène Cixous and “SCUM Manifesto” by Valerie Solanas. These texts made her laugh out loud, and she was impressed by how they express rage against the patriarchy in various ways. Additionally, she conducted extensive image-based research, examined feminist positions within art and literature, and drew on collective experiences and emotions to shape the vision of her collection. She sought to find a new aesthetic, evoke rage, make people laugh, and empower them. “These elements are referenced in various ways—whether through graphic text or more abstract associations. Classic dresses are combined with recognisable symbols such as bodily fluids, status symbols, and a wink,” she adds. From the outset, she knew that this collection should be created collaboratively. Not only did she discuss feminism with her friends during late-night kitchen rants, but she also collaborated with photographer Anna Skuratovski and shoemaker Vaia Tatopoulou. The designer even involved her friends in the broader process by photographing their mouths and transforming these images into a print. Mouths, as objects of desire or anger, are uncontrollable in their own way. “The collection aims to trigger specific moments and feelings, thereby opening up the possibility of rewriting female bodies in fashion,” she concludes.

Xiaolei

Xiaolei grew up in China but moved to Germany to study fashion design. This multicultural background is the primary source of inspiration for her work. “In my work, sharing a personal understanding of traditional Chinese culture and applying traditional techniques and textiles is fundamental,” she says. In her graduate collection, she created a poetic vision by reconstructing the form of leaky windows in oriental gardens. “Deconstructing traditional Chinese leak window forms is rooted in the basic idea of 2D shapes in my work,” she states. Once deconstructed, the forms are projected onto the body through wrapping, twisting, and overlapping to convey the notion that what you see is not all there is. “This also reflects the dynamic and subtle imagery in oriental gardens.” Previously, Xiaolei tended to design in a dramatic and highly exaggerated manner, which, unfortunately, led her to unintentionally neglect the garment itself. “The aim of this collection is to design simply. A simple design requires more considered details beyond striking silhouettes, such as the character of the fabric, corresponding fine finishing techniques, and multiple ways of wearing,” she says. This design approach is intended to express the idea that what you see at first glance is not all there is.

Clara Sander

Named “Layered Narratives”, Clara Sander’s final collection combines the principles of Bauhaus with the paintings of Matt McClune. “For me, the large fragmentary surfaces and colours of his pictures, which overlap, I have built a bridge to the textiles of the Bauhaus artists Anni Albers and Gunta Stözl,” she says. “These pictures somehow show irritations and vulnerability to be because of the overlapping and the transparency of the layers.” Therefore, the collection depicts Clara’s very own examination of materiality and irritations by creating a complex image that interprets different creative approaches. To create this, she made use of various techniques, such as knitting, embroidery, digital painting and screen printing. “The knitting techniques, such as jacquard, pleated or intarsia knitting create a particularly tactile experience that places the material into the foreground,” she adds. To make the knit as authentic as possible, she draped it on the body itself instead of forcing it into a mould. Moreover, the collection is here to play with the notion of transparency and opacity of the wearer. It contains strong colours that connect the individual garments with little references to one another. Wearability is a very important aspect for Clara. “I didn’t want to design haute couture clothing, but something that fits into my reality and my world. Something people can actually wear and not just hang in their wardrobe. I think you can also make clothes special and desirable in this way,” she says. Therefore, the collection can be seen as little fragments that can be put together in various different ways. It’s all about dynamism, flexibility and wearability.

Zan Zalif

When Zan Zalif began working on his collection, he drew inspiration from Manuel Maples Arce’s Stridentist manifesto, published around 100 years ago in 1921. Reading the manifesto led him to contemplate isolation and the human psyche through an artistic lens. The more he reflected on these themes, the more he discovered the impact of isolation on his creativity. “In my experience, my most prolific creative work comes from isolating my mind and creating a space around me with boundless freedom,” Zan says. He was also inspired by Joris-Karl Huysmans’ novel À Rebours, where the protagonist, Parisian Jean Des Esseintes, is a maximalist and a French aristocrat. In the novel, the character withdraws from his aristocratic lifestyle and begins a secluded life in the French countryside. “He surrounded himself with things that had an aesthetic purpose, which only he understood for their extraordinary aesthetic value,” Zan explains. “For the process of this collection, I imagined myself as Des Esseintes and applied the fundamentals of Lee Strasberg’s method acting to create a deeper understanding of the character.” This approach allowed him to develop a more nuanced and slightly more realistic version of the character. To achieve this, he visualised what it would be like to live in the 1800s as a free spirit. He explored the idea of artifice and exaggeration within the constraints of that time period and considered how to think beyond the realities and norms of the era. Ultimately, he created his own world—within clothes, within history, within the present.

Sara Kroepelin

Fear and anxiety—emotions most people dread—became the central theme of Sara Kroepelin’s final collection. Titled “The Mean Reds,” Sara’s collection delves into the stage where anxiety and fear transform into a creative force, challenging the boundary between reality and fashion. “Power symbols are a common feature on the runway and in the industry, used to make a statement. In contrast, few people talk about their fears or show sensitivity or vulnerability. These qualities are often misunderstood as the opposite of power and are seen as weaknesses,” she explains. When people attempt to conceal vulnerability, it often leads to suppression, which can manifest as an abuse of power. “The collection demonstrates how these seemingly conflicting aspects are actually interconnected; they fuel each other and can release creative energy when balanced and resolved,” she adds. The creative process was sparked by a photograph of the “Prived Oca” chandelier by Fernando and Humberto Campana. Essentially, it is a glass chandelier that appears to be overgrown with straw. “I didn’t think much about it at first, but when I was selecting research imagery, I returned to it. I was really drawn to the mix of a prestigious material like crystal with the simplest organic material like straw, and the idea of something growing in a way that leaves the original structure only partially visible.” This inspired her to let the materiality of the garments guide her collection. There were a few challenges along the way, as her collection ended up incorporating many unusual materials. Ultimately, as Sara notes, it’s all trial and error.

Marvin Muelleck

Marvin Muelleck’s final collection reflects human life and its unique relationship with the environment. “I drew on many symbols from urban life and rural experiences to create this field of tension that I privately grapple with,” he says. “I live in a city, but I grew up in a village in former East Germany.” However, this collection is not intended to be personal; it offers a broader perspective on how memories shape our current perceptions. He also explores the concept of existing in the present, in our current world, and the significance of that—Marvin is designing clothing for the present moment, not for the past. “For me, it was an exploration of who I am as a designer, who I create for, and how I can combine the city and the countryside, as well as childhood and the present,” he adds. The multitude of themes felt very natural to him, as he frequently shifts his interests and seeks to gain as many new experiences as possible. In terms of process, he began with a few sketches, which is his usual approach. “For this collection, the animal knit and the illusion knit were the first things I created. Talking about material leads me to the next step, as for every print or drawing I make, I search for the technique that suits it best.” Marvin has a unique relationship with materiality—he immerses himself deeply in it while creating something new. “What may look fun or easy in a sketch is sometimes a challenge to achieve in the real world. I also took a weekend off to visit the rural artist residency I frequented as a child. There, I worked with clay and felt, aiming to integrate these elements into the collection while reconnecting with my roots, my younger self, and nature.” Additionally, he felt a deep connection to the lyrics of the Swedish music group The Knife and the film The Double Life of Veronique. Creating this collection proved to be an exhausting process, but now, looking back at the initial sketches, he feels a sense of pride and joy.