Calling all young fashionistas

Goethe-Institut is calling for proposals for the “Future Fashion — Enhancing Life” project, which is open to students and young professionals between the ages of 20-35 of Southeast Asian, Australian and New Zealand nationality.

This regional project aims to promote young designers and encourage dialogue among professionals in a diverse range of areas such as fashion material science, digital technology and social product design.

Proposals should be under the “FashionTech” concept, either integrating technology with garments or accessories, or using technologies such as 3D printing or laser cutting as production methods. Inspiring prototype ideas should help to “enhance life” either through their function or pure sensory delight.

Only 18 successful candidates will be selected to attend an intensive five-day workshop with Berlin-based FashionTech house ElektroCouture. The group is known for bringing technology into styles, as opposed to putting styles on top of gadgets, and for pioneering the future of self-expression and style. Participants will be introduced to this exciting fusion of fashion and technology by those who are shaping its cutting edge from the heart of Europe’s FashionTech hub. They will also be mentored one-on-one by the ElektroCouture team in developing their vision from idea to reality.

Each participant will receive €200 (8,000 baht) towards producing their prototype, which will be presented at a fashion show at Siam Center during the Bangkok Fashion Week in November. Internationally competitive designs may have the chance of being proposed to the FashionTech show of the Berlin Fashion Week next year.

Each contestant is required to write an essay describing their proposed prototype (garments or accessories) within 300 words in English. It should be submitted along with a mood board showing their background contextual research for their idea and a conceptual sketch of their prototype to program@bangkok.goethe.org by June 3.