In pictures: Class of 2019, University of Applied Arts Vienna

On the evening of 6th June, students and graduates of the class of 2019 of the University of Applied Arts Vienna presented around 240 outfits as part of their fashion show, for the first time in the University’s new atrium. A brand new magazine “Arachne – An Almanac on Clothing and Culture” was also presented along with awards and prizes. Last but not least, Professor Hussein Chalayan who was head of the class for the last five years, received a farewell as he will leave “Die Angewandte” at the end of this academic year.

Dalia Hassan wins Birkhäuser Prize

Graduating student Dalia Hassan was delighted to receive the Birkhäuser Prize amounting to 2,000 euros, which was awarded for the first time. Her final collection "Sornaga - business casual" was strongly inspired by the 29-year-old’s family background and her queer feminist attitude.

28-year-old Louise Streissler from Vienna won not one but two prizes for her graduation collection "This could be real", inviting guests to a romantic and aesthetic country life that perceives nature as a resource for renewal: The Rondo Fashion Prize worth 3,000 euros and the Fred Adlmüller Scholarship worth 2,500 euros.

Among the degree students’ collections, 26-year-old Ivan Iveljić presented "The secret life of daydreams", designs with recognizable and everyday silhouettes and garments such as t-shirts and jackets, shorts and trousers.

Her native Nigeria inspired 36-year-old graduate student Motunrayo Olaogun, whose "Waterearth" collection represents her sustainable approach to design and focuses on deconstructing existing pieces.

Graduate collections range from thoughtful to humorous

Anna Sedlmayr’s collection "Kapitál I" was a tribute to her grandmother with serious and gloomy, but also comforting and funny outfits made of wearable pieces that can easily be combined with everyday basics.

Her classmate Valentine Déhan put the mostly unpaid and invisible work of women at the centre of her feminist collection "Ouvrage de dame". She used the apron as a symbol, sometimes twisted or wrapped, and worn over a catsuit or tight t-shirts.

New Zealander Georgia Ferguson, an Erasmus student who spent a year with the fashion class of Die Angewandte, showed uniform, comfortable, practical, durable and unisex silhouettes in her final collection "Black sheep".

In her graduate collection "Old fear and the private revolution of the individualists", 20-year-old Anna Hambira also posed the question of genderless fashion. Her outfits were characterized by patterns and silk prints as well as fabrics from times long gone.

The students of the younger classes also showed creative outfits that demonstrated professional craftsmanship through experiments with designs and materials, ranging from flashy to colourful and provocative to suitable for everyday use.

The new experimental publication format "Arachne - An Almanc on Clothing and Culture" provided another insight into the work of the fashion class at Die Angewandte. It brings together unconventional fashion positions from Vienna as well as an extraordinary visual language.

Photos: Salvatore Dragone / University of Applied Arts Vienna