From 14 to 16 November 2025, FASHIONCLASH Festival returned for its 17th edition. Taking place at several locations throughout Maastricht, this international and multidisciplinary fashion festival provided a stage for a new generation of designers, artists, and performers from the Netherlands and over 25 countries worldwide.
Over the course of three days, visitors immersed themselves in a thought-provoking programme filled with performances, exhibitions, films, workshops, talks, and participation projects. With programme components such as The CLASH House(fashion performance showcase at ENCI), the New Fashion Narratives exhibition at Bureau Europa, the Fashion Film Program & Awards at Lumière Cinema, the participatory program Fashion Makes Sense at Centre Céramique, and many more events across Maastricht, the festival presented a multifaceted and inclusive perspective on contemporary fashion culture.
From Choir to Choir
The 17th edition of FASHIONCLASH Festival began and ended with the power of collective voices. On Friday, November 14th, the opening featured EAR to EAR—a choir that embodies intuitive listening and shared breath. Three days later, on Sunday, November 16th, the festival closed with Mounira Al Solh & Oasis One World Choir, whose voices carry stories of memory, migration, and hope. These two performances framed the festival's exploration of connection, creativity, and our shared humanity.
Photo’s by Laura Knipsael, Mitch van Schijndel
opening night
Festival kicked off with the opening of the New Fashion Narratives exhibition at Bureau Europa, featuring a touching performance by Júlia Galarza Arévalo, an interdisciplinary artist based in Maastricht. Through ‘EAR to EAR’, she presented what real and honest connection sounds like. This choir doesn't simply perform; it listens, moves, and breathes as one living body. Through intuition and collective listening, they allowed sound and movement to emerge naturally—reminding us that when we truly listen to one another, something beautiful and unrehearsed can arise. EAR to EAR is the sound of people becoming one resonant body.
Photo’s by Laura Knipsael
FASHION FILM PROGRAM
The evening continued at Lumière Cinema with the Fashion Film Program Awardshowcase and the premiere of two new fashion films produced by FASHIONCLASH. An international jury comprising Adriano Batista, Marcel Schlutt, Kateřina Hynková, and Elie Inoue presented the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025 Fashion Film Award to "Do I?" Salt Murphy Fashion Film directed by James Nolan. "Do I?"interrogates modern love against the symbolic backdrop of a wedding day, contrasting the yearning for stability with the pull of uncertainty through both couture bridal looks and elevated guest attire.
The Feminine Urge directed by Lilian Brade, Phuong A Phi, and Niclas Hasemann won the Kaltblut Magazine Award. The film explores female rage and the monstrous feminine as a physical, aesthetic, and mythological experience. Through a poetic montage of body politics and rebellion, fabrics and gestures become a language of feminist horror sensibility that resists clear interpretation.
The jury also announced two honorable mentions to Circle directed by Ferhat Ertanand as well as Motherfocking Art directed by Marloes IJpelaar / Club Lam.
Fashion Film Program participants: Alice Gatti, Andrew Krechetov, Aidan AMORE, Bent Lochtenberg, Birsu Tamer, Caspar Heijnneman, Céline Ruault, Claire Tsumura, Debora Brune, Diego Indraccolo, Daan Sanders, Elizabeth Haust, EVERETT REDGUN, Ferhat Ertan, Femke Hemelaar, Gina Siliquini, Gönül Yigit, Gwladys Gambie, Hadi Moussally, James Nolan, Jánik von Wilmsdorff, Julez Brandes, Joseph Nicholas, Kasumi Hiraoka, Lei Jiang, Lilian Brade, Marloes IJpelaar, Matthew S. Krivolapov, Megan van Engelen, Niclas Hasemann, Olga Lunina, Paola Nerilli, Pandemonia, Phuong An Phi, Rhandy van Duin, Sem Oueslati, Sergio Palacio Monreal, Tyra Galieva, Vera van Nuenen, Wwenen Lusa, Yala Claessens, Yijia Mao, Zhaodong Zeng.
Photo’s by Mitch van Schijndel
ESSENCE Showcase featuring Brazilian Designers
The festive opening night continued at the Sphinxkwartier at The Social Hub with the ESSENCE showcase curated by Marlon Claessen, featuring a fashion show with designers from Brazil, followed by an opening party with music by DJ Kirakira.
Thear, an independent fashion brand from Goiás created by designer Theodora Alexandre, presented 'ÂNIMA'—a collection celebrating vital breath, roots, and memories. Deeply rooted in Brazilian culture and the Cerrado biome, each handwoven piece features cotton tulle, crochet, macramé, and Cerrado masks crafted from fibers, roots, seeds, and dried flowers.
Reis Romeiro, a Bahian fashion designer of Pankararé Indigenous ancestry and founder of 'Reis Zen’, showcased garments inspired by Brazilian art, culture, and ancestry. His designs celebrate Brazil's cultural richness and amplify Indigenous memory through contemporary fashion.
Kistaku, an independent artistic fashion project by creator Jaira rooted in Circular Culture, presented 'CARROUSEL'—a theatrical collection tracing an emotional journey from vulnerability to empowerment through exclusive, one-of-a-kind upcycled creations handcrafted in Asnières-sur-Seine (Paris region).
Jenny Monteiro, founder of JMonteiro Milano, showcased her Red Carpet and Prêt-à-Porter creations. Her work has been presented during Milan Fashion Week and featured in Vogue, Elle, L'Officiel, and Vanity Fair.
Photos by Laura Knipsael
New Fashion Narratives –Collective Movements
For this year’s exhibition program, FASHIONCLASH invited four fashion makers to collaboratively develop the curatorial concept for New Fashion Narratives at Bureau Europa. Earlier this year, they took part in a residency week in Maastricht, which led to the creation of this year’s curatorial framework. The exhibition, titled ‘Collective Movements’, is curated by Jonas Zitter, Paula Dischinger, Rafael Kouto, and Tjerre Lucas Bijker, and explores how fashion can act as a tool for connection, resistance, and collective action —operating at the intersection of fashion design, activism, and communal practice. The curators aim to present works that transcend dominant systems by embracing cultural rituals, shared knowledge, and collaboration.
This vision came to life through projects that prioritized co-creation and community engagement. Alessandro Santi & Brankica Sanadrovic presented ‘The Memory of Skin’, using participatory body casting sessions and living SCOBY materials to reflect the interdependence between microbial cultures and human relationships. mare mito showcased ‘A Sewing Machine of One's Own’, developed with women from a social sewing workshop in Naples, celebrating garments inherited from grandmothers and empowered by generations of women. ‘CIMO from Croatia’ displayed an archive of over 100 embroidered pieces created in therapeutic workshops with asylum seekers, Ukrainian refugees, and elderly locals, reflecting the overlooked labor of women's handcrafts.
Cultural resistance and activism manifested through Mariia Pavlyk's ‘Spero’, connecting Ukrainian Tripillia–Cucuteni symbolism with traditional Hutsul weaving techniques, and Kantamanto Social Club, which presented upcycling activations in collaboration with communities across Ghana, Canada, Egypt, and India. The Platform transformed a garden fence into monumental angel wings displaying a collaborative collection by eight designers, while G(end)er Swap invited participants to hack the binary through DIY customization, centering textiles as tools for self-expression and resistance.
The exhibition also featured interactive works that challenged conventional fashion systems: Kim Gemmink's ‘In The Corners Of A Circle’ offered a collection without defined looks, Giada Lou Hammel's ‘DREIHUT’ critiqued smartphone culture through collective movement, and Hannah Smith's ‘The Gentle Frame’ explored disability through wearable art. Karl Joonas Alamaa & Lisette Sivard documented the 125-kilometer performative fashion show ‘MANIA GRANDIOSA’, questioning fashion's obsession with novelty.
Through these diverse practices, ‘Collective Movements’ demonstrated fashion's potential as a radical tool for building community, preserving memory, and imagining alternative futures
New Fashion Narratives participants: Alia Mascia, Alessandro Santi & Brankica Sanadrovic, Anita Ferrara, CIMO – Center for Research of Fashion and Clothing, Elfje, Fiona Elisa Carnuccio, G(end)er Swap, Giada Lou Hammel, Hannah Smith, ii by Mariia Pavlyk, Júlia Galarza Arévalo, Karl Joonas Alamaa & Lisette Sivard, Kantamanto Social Club, Kim Gemmink, Maizie, Manon Dufau, Margarida Coelho, mare mito, SWARM MAG, The Platform, XEROXED, ZELIGHD
Photos by Laura Knipsael
clashlab
Lioba Benold, Shu Jantje & Jelle Huizinga: a daring meeting of three disciplines —fashion, dance, and music.
CLASHLAB is a creative laboratory where emerging makers collaborate intensively to create a ten-minute performance born from intuition, experimentation, and cross-pollination.CLASHLAB is a new interdisciplinary residency programme initiated by Musica Sacra, Nederlandse Dansdagen, Limburgs Museum, FASHIONCLASH, SALLY, and Via Zuid, offering space for experiment, encounter, and artistic growth.
Photos by Jonathan Widdershoven
The CLASH House
This edition of The CLASH House took place in the Peutz Hall on the ENCI site in Maastricht. The CLASH House serves as a showcase and development platform for designers working across fashion and performance disciplines. Through a creative coaching trajectory led by theatre-maker Nadîja Roza Broekhartand choreographer Laisvie Andrea Ochoa, and under the direction of Giovanni Brand, the designers explored alternative ways of making and presenting fashion.
Photos by Laura Knipsael
Programme & Participants:
ULTRA-ORA –Après Nous: a post-flood society of new social classes —Distributors, Wetlanders, La CEOrenissima —where clothing reflects hidden agendas and adaptation.
Photos by Jonathan Widdershoven
Rakee Chen –Melody Atlas: an emotional journey through human life expressed via music-generated garments and movement.
POViS - I hid from depression and corporate capitalism and made a collection about cats: a poetic interpretation of a Litehuanian riddle, exploring the tension between forging one’s own path and the desire for traditional recognition.
Thibault Villard & Maxence Guenin –untitled (bassline II): a raw exploration combining textile research with handmade sound systems —a pop poem celebrating imperfection.
EMIRHAKIN × David Siepman –Once it’s a memory, it’s too late: a sensory performance navigating the architecture of breath, memory, and desire —a choreography of what cannot be spoken, unfolding through residue, leakage, and the refusal of closure.
Amarte × FASHIONCLASH
Once again, the Amarte Fund and FASHIONCLASH join forces to offer artists from different disciplines the opportunity to experiment with fashion and present new work. From an open call, three artists were selected and paired with fashion designers to collaboratively develop and present new creations. Discover three new installations / performances where fashion clashes with poetry, classical music and performance art. All three collaborations presented their outcomes as installations at Jan van Eyck Academy, activated through live performances. EMIRHAKIN × David Siepman also participated in The Clash House showcase.
EMIRHAKIN × David Siepman presented 'Once it's a memory, it's too late', a work that moves through the architecture of breath and denial, unfolding the erotics of nostalgia through leakage, residue, and the refusal of closure. Memory edges toward form but never arrives—it swells, flickers, withholds. The body, under pressure, does not break but contours, absorbs, and distorts, organizing itself around latency: tension without release, sensation without clarity.
Merel van Slobbe × David Paulus explored contradiction through 'CONTRAST', a multidisciplinary installation examining how contrast and transformation manifest through image, body, and sound. The work unfolds as a dialogue where intimate audio fragments meet physical objects, inviting reflection on the contradictions that exist within yourself and in relation to others—not as a finished story, but as an open invitation to embody, listen to, and celebrate tension and change.
Natálie Kulina × Alyne Licreated 'Numina', a performative installation that allows visitors to step into an unfamiliar world, exploring themes of alienation, boundaries, and intercultural and interpersonal dialogue. Encounters with a being inhabiting the installation space provoke questions: Should our worlds be left separate, sacred, and untouched, or should we try to find a common language? Do we give in to curiosity? How entitled do we feel to others' spaces, cultures, and traditions? 'Numina' challenges visitors to wonder about the meaning of collectivity in experiencing and making art.
Photos by Mitch van Schijndel
Fashion Makes Sense –Participan Programme
Fashion Makes Sense is FASHIONCLASH’s ongoing participatory program dedicated to social design, inclusion, and education. With this initiative FASHIONCLASH connects professionals and non-professionals —especially young people —in collaborative creative processes.
The exhibition on the third floor of Centre Céramique presented results from several participatory projects, including ‘Mensen Dragen Mensen’ (People Carrying People) developed with Noah Janssen and partners for Heiligdomsvaart Maastricht. Over 100 participants —aged 3 to 70 + —co-created costumes, banners, and objects made from recycled textiles collected via Rd4 Reinigingsdiensten. The documentary, created by Sem Dumont (Opulence Films), about the project premiered during the festival.
Also featured: presentations by Ecopolitan Magazine, Kunstbende Fashionwinner Tara Smit, and students from AMFI’s Hypercraft Program, developed in collaboration with FASHIONCLASH.
Upcycling workshops will took place throughout the weekend, and on Sunday 16 November the Fashion Makes Sense Talk, moderated by Carmen Hogg, brought together participating designers and artists Yala Claessens, Arva Bustin, Laisy de Andrade Rodrigues en Wievien Albert.
Photos by Laura Knipsael
Class of 2025 + ESSENCE Exhibition
This year, FASHIONCLASH x The Social Hub Maastricht hosted an additional showcase highlighting a new generation of designers, launching with a festive evening of music (DJ Kirakira and performance) during the festival opening night on Friday 14 November.
Class of 2025 presented a selection of emerging designers graduating in 2025 from Dutch academies including AMFI, HKU, ArtEZ, Design Academy Eindhoven, Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts, WDKA, and Gerrit Rietveld Academie. What connects this diverse group of young makers is their commitment to storytelling through fashion—whether drawing from personal heritage, cultural memory, experimental techniques, or social commentary. Each designer transforms intimate experiences and critical questions into wearable narratives that challenge conventional fashion systems.
Photos by Laura Knipsael
Jamie Air Mountain presented 'ALOHA Wijk aan Zee', recycling beach materials—trash, wood, wetsuits, denim—into layered garments celebrating coastal life while addressing environmental waste.
Maide explored Dutch-Turkish heritage through 'Gurbet', translating traditional basket weaving learned from Turkish artisans into contemporary minimalist garments.
Zhenyi Zhoure imagined Chinese folklore through ‘Gu Spirit –Post-Human Witchcraft’, creating sculptural garments merging 3D-printed bones, silicone, and reclaimed textiles.
Claire Sillekens presented 'De zon schijnt precies op je gezicht', interactive costumes for four characters whose missions provoke conversations about societal impact through absurdity.
Paco Teepe showcased 'Monuments T-Shirts', a Wearable Visual Archive printing childhood memories onto T-shirts, making the past literally wearable.
Babs Groote Schaarsberg displayed 'Een Ode Aan', wearable sculptures honoring traditional Salland attire with mechanical elements that invite curiosity.
Jessie Romkens presented 'LOUD & LIMITLESS', stage wear translating music's energy into bold garments through spray paint, patchwork, and embroidery.
Larissa de Jager presented 'Redress Is Rising', upcycled costumes with distorted volumes addressing body positivity and retail sizing limitations.
Karolina Wójtowicz created 'POLISH YOUR GEAR' in latex and motorcycle gear, exploring immigrant identity through a character caught between Polish heritage and contemporary life.
Andra Blažģe creates bold, colorful textile works that tell visual stories.
Andra showcased the collection ‘Deep Dive’ that links humans and the ocean, using second-hand materials to reflect on fast fashion’s impact and encourage sustainable choices.
Toneelacademie Maastricht students Valerie Ludwig, presented ‘The Songs of Girlhood’ —a radical feminist performance exploring collective healing through voice and movement.
Jeroen Bik, who showcased ‘ME TOCA MAÑANA’, an interactive work making viewers active participants through digital platforms, fashion, and video.
AFTERPARTY
The FASHIONCLASH Festival Afterparty is more than a celebration —it is an interdisciplinary, co-creative platform for community, expression, and togetherness. For this edition, FASHIONCLASH collaborated with Yorvique Macaay, Neele Kamerbeek, Laisy de Andrade Rodrigues, and designer Jessie Romkens, who together craft an unforgettable night of music, fashion, performance, and visual art. The dress code was blue. Prior to the event, co-creation workshops focused on fashion-making, movement, and voice were organized; the outcomes were presented during the Afterparty.
WE STAND TOGETHER IN POWER—The Afterparty celebrates unity, empowerment, and visibility. By standing authentically as individuals while joining collectively, we amplify one another’s voices. Through music, dance, performance, and fashion, we create a space of freedom, energy, and connection a living community of inspiration.
–Yorvique, Neele & Laisy.
Photos by Mitch van Schijndel
Various locations
Beyond the main festival venues, FASHIONCLASH invited visitors to discover fashion across Maastricht through exhibitions, installations, and workshops at various locations throughout the city.
Photos by Mitch van Schijndel & Laura Knipsael
At Juunam, visitors could discover work by Het Stort, Studio Wievien, and RE-RARDE.
At S.A.C / Space for Art & Culture in Rechtstraat, Esra Çöpür presented ‘Everything I Touch Turns Into Me’, an exhibition where installations, garments, and image transfers on wood merge into a visual landscape of identity and culture. Born and raised in Amsterdam with Turkish roots, Esra explores how intuition and creativity shape identity through patterns and materials. Her research began with dress practices within Dutch-Turkish communities compared with traditional clothing from rural Turkish villages, reimagining techniques such as İğne Oyası lace and knotting to reveal how migration and context shape ways of dressing.
Limestone Books spotlighted a selection of independent fashion publications.
At Het Werkgebouw, visitors could meet Maastricht-based designers and participate in workshops by gescher + brosky, Kristy Bujanić, and Sophie van Dooren.
At Townhouse Design Hotel, innovative and sustainable designers Jef Montes, Studio Wolfs, and KINKLEID presented their work. On Saturday, November 15th, a Designer Talk moderated by journalist Nora Veerman brought these makers into conversation.
