Open Call

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025

New Fashion Narratives:

Collective Movements

Are you a creator or platform rooted in collaboration, activism, and/or community co-creation? Would you like to collaborate with communities to explore fashion as a tool for connection and resistance? FASHIONCLASH invites you to become part of New Fashion Narratives: Collective Movements, as part of FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025.

‘Collective Movements' is an exhibition concept that explores fashion as a tool for connection, resistance, and collective action. Four independent fashion practitioners, Jonas Zitter, Paula Dischinger, Rafael Kouto, and Tjerre Lucas Bijker, were invited by FASHIONCLASH to co-create the concept for this year’s exhibition during a Residency Week in April 2025. With ‘Collective Movements’, they aim to curate a selection of work that sits at the intersection of fashion design, activism, and communal practices, embracing cultural rituals, knowledge systems, and collaboration over domination.

Photo: Workshop of participant of 2024, Kushami 嚔 - Photo: Laura Knipsael

In both 2023 and 2024, a short documentary was created to document the New Fashion Narratives Residency & Exhibition, including experiences from participants.

Collective Movements

The concept reflects on the power of radical togetherness, the role fashion plays in co-creation, activism, and community, and highlights collectives and grassroots initiatives using fashion as a means of connection and resistance. It aims to move beyond the physical aspects of fashion to explore the activation of alternative perspectives and the creation of counter-spaces. The work/ projects that could be submitted:

  • Are rooted in collaboration, activism, and community co-creation, engaging directly with the communities they aim to represent;

  • Work with collectives, platforms, or co-creation projects that are rooted in activism, and engage directly with the communities they aim to support;

  • Use fashion as a tool for connection and resistance, questioning the conventional narratives around fashion and highlighting its potential as a form of activism;

  • Explore the process of participatory and activistic design, providing insight into the behind-the-scenes workings of collective creation, rather than just showcasing finished products.

Photos: Participants of 2023, Fynnandmathis - Photo 1: Laura Knipsael, Photo 2: Ralph Diepstraaten

The curatorial team is interested in any kind of output related to community and co-creation, aiming to highlight process-based work that provides insight into the behind-the-scenes of these practices. This could include, but is not limited to:

  • Garments;

  • Textile art;

  • Photography (series);

  • Publications;

  • Protest banners;

  • Documentaries or (short) films that narrate how a collective has worked with a community;

  • Live activations or community gatherings;

  • Co-creation workshops;

  • Research archives or project development stages.

While the focus is on collectives and platforms, individual (fashion) practitioners are also encouraged to apply - provided you can clearly demonstrate how your practice aligns with community-centered co-creation and activism.

Photos: Participants of 2024, Threads & Tits - Photo 1: Laura Knipsael, Photo 2: Axl Jansen

Phases leading up to the exhibition

Phase 1: Kick-off & Pre-production (July - August 2025)
You join an online kick-off meeting together with all participants to outline the process. By the end of this phase, you will need to provide PR materials (images and texts)

Phase 2: Exhibition Preparation (September – November 2025)
During this period, you will be in contact with the Creative Producer regarding the exhibition preparations.

Phase 3: Presentation at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025
The exhibition will be presented from Friday 14 November to Sunday 16 November 2025. You are present at the exhibition setup and dismantling.

Important Details

  • Please read the Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy carefully before you apply!

  • Participation in the New Fashion Narratives Exhibition is free of charge;

  • You will receive a participation fee between €100 and €300 ex. VAT, depending on the type and size of the work. You will receive the participation fee after FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025 has finished;

  • The participation fee remains the same whether you participate as an individual or as a collective (more than 1 person).

Important Dates

  • Deadline for applications: Monday 7 July 2025, 23:59 (CET)

  • Online kick-off meeting: Tuesday 22 July 2025, 16:00 - 17:00 (CET)

  • Deadline for delivering PR information: Monday 1 September 2025, 23:59 (CET)

  • FASHIONCLASH Festival: Friday 14 November, Saturday 15 November, Sunday 16 November 2025

Checklist

Het aanmeldformulier is in het Engels. Als je het lastig vindt om het formulier in het Engels in te vullen, mag je dit ook in het Nederlands doen.

Questions?

Please get in touch via nfn@fashionclash.nl  if you have any specific questions about the New Fashion Narratives Exhibition.

If you think that your work/ project does not fit within one of the Open Calls that are currently running for FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025, please feel free to reach out via festival@fashionclash.nl and tell us how you possibly would like to participate in FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025.

Photo: Performance of participants of 2024, knits and notes - Photo: Laura Knipsael