On 1 September 2025, Branko Popovic from FASHIONCLASH team had the privilege of being invited to the Amsterdam Museum to take part in Unlocking Fashion Heritage, an event organized by Modemuze in collaboration with Amsterdam Fashion Week. The program marked both the completion of the Unlocking Fashion Heritage digitalization project and the ten-year anniversary of Modemuze, now a collaborative network of 22 museums and heritage institutions.
Branko was asked to open the program with the very first “State of Fashion in the Netherlands”, a reflection on where we stand today as a fashion field: the opportunities and challenges for connecting fashion with heritage, craft, innovation, and the future. This introduction was followed by Modemuze’s own presentation of 100 Objects, after which I had the honor of moderating two panels that brought together makers, curators, and innovators to discuss the themes at the heart of this initiative.
More information about Unlocking Fashion Heritage.
The conversations
The panels were designed to link individual practices to broader questions about heritage, innovation, and cultural dialogue.
Panel 1: Craft, Innovation & Digital Possibilities
With Gianni Antonia (Cypher Studio) and Daniël Korssen (ByBorre), we explored the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology. Gianni’s work at Cypher Studio investigates how data visualization and AI can unlock new ways of engaging with fashion heritage collections, while Daniël, as creative technologist at ByBorre, focuses on material innovation and the fusion of digital design with textile traditions. Together, we discussed how ambacht (craft) and innovation can coexist, and where the boundaries between digital tools and hands-on making might shift in the future.
Panel 2: Building Bridges Between Fashion & Heritage
This conversation brought together Lisa Konno, Ike Melchizedek (The Gang Is Beautiful), and Georgette Koning (MIRROR MIRROR magazine). Lisa’s practice combines fashion, art, and theater, often addressing cultural identity and personal narratives through film and design. Ike is a multidisciplinary creative director whose work with The Gang Is Beautiful merges fashion, performance, and music in powerful and boundary-pushing ways. Georgette, a seasoned fashion journalist and publisher, reflected on the role of media and storytelling in shaping how we understand and communicate fashion heritage. With them, I explored how fashion and heritage can strengthen each other, the role of collaboration across cultural sectors, and the urgent questions for the coming years.
The event was both a moment of reflection—celebrating what Modemuze and its partners have built over the past decade—and a call to the future, asking how fashion heritage can remain relevant, accessible, and innovative in the years to come.
Read the State of Fashion in the Netherlands essay by Branko Popovic
Impressions from the event, images by Bobbie Wagenaar
