Graduate Show at Basel’s Institute of Fashion Design

This year’s Graduate Show at Basel’s Institute of Fashion Design attracted over 1’200 spectators from the national and international creative industries. Since Priska Morger joined the team as Creative Director in 2011, the Institute restructured – and the effort’s showing: the Instutite`s revised concept raises independent voices which we’d love to hear more about.

Eva Buehler started the show with asymmetric shirts, bare backs and a lovely colour palette ranging from bright white to canary yellow, then culminating in earthy metallics. Buehler’s best features included wrinkled shirts with lifted necklines, that managed to feel odd yet elegant.

Elisa Kaufmann came in with strong silhouettes, a variety of ankle-length trousers and fancy head-gear reminiscent of futuristic sci-fi movies. A monochrome red style – a combination of a slitted and shoulder-padded cloak, a well fitted mini racingsuit, a lovely armour-esque bodycover and a white flowy dress paired with a backpack and baseball cap – were just stunning.

Kathrin Grossenbacher imbued her show with Wang-like street styles for men, pairing blunt prints with perky shorts and featured a broad collection of cocoon-esque, padded jackets which turned out to be her signature pieces. The combination of a loose fitting pair of pyjama pants with a beefy shawl neck jumper was a major win.

Denja Kaufmann brought in 1960s silhouettes, a masterful use of materials – from fur to shimmery lurex leggings – and outstanding accessories. Kaufmann showed enough conceptual quirks to appeal to the avant-garde, while offering plenty of pieces that can be worn on any occassion.

Laura Farinacci also showed her love for the 1960s by including elegant vixens with overjoyed earpieces. It was the latter that kept the audience’s mood up and made a strong impression.

Noëmi Szalay’s frisky lingerie collection played the whole palette of sensual connotations – fur, transparency and ripped cotton – and made something one might subsume under „organic sexual wear“. In her very artsy, opulent and not for the ordinary manner, Szalay is comparable to Viktor&Rolf.

Rafael Kouto let his mainly male models walk the highest wedges of the evening, making them stagger and fill the air with a peaceful, weird tension. His silhouettes and prints were executed masterfully and showed an almost ascetic ease one might associate with Rick Owens. Not an easy look to pull off, but one worth trying.

Margot-Helena made sensual rompers of what seemed like very smooth leather. They were held together by strings so delicate they were invisible at first glance. She mastered the task of showing almost everything while actually showing nothing, and kept it sexy in a monkish kind of way.

Joëlle Laederach presented probably the most commercial collection of the night. One could imagine her flattering silhouettes, the long striped fur waistcoat covered in PVC and the beautifully thought through shoes in streetstyles and editorials around the globe.

Melanie Biedermann