Concept Summary

seeFASHION Hybrid Graduate Fashion Film Premiere at the Haus der Statistik In November 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 mayhem, Kathi Kæppel & Madlen Schmid from the Kunsthochschule Weissensee were looking for a way to held the annual graduate fashion show of the final year under the restrictive COVID-19 rules. With no budget, no location and no idea how to do it we were asked for help. We took the challenge pro bono for the concept and creative supervision. So how to make a fashion show with no budget under COVID-19 rules? The spaces at the Kunsthochschule were too small under COVID-19 rules and any indoor locations were to expansive. We developed an inside-out concept with the audience outside and the models inside. We looked into storefronts in Berlin Mitte and got the “Haus der Statistik” to agree to the performance. The final concept had a catwalk projected onto the store front windows with the audience outside in the open air, confirming to all COVID-19 rules. The movie was directed by Pet&Flo, they integrated animated elements within the 1:1 projection of the actual fashion walk, giving each student collection a unique context. Finally, on the 13th of July 2021 the performance happened in front of the 60-meter screen providing a very accessible experience for a large audience. The annual graduate fashion show was held in a completely new way allowing for an invited and open audience – the otherwise internal show gave the Kunsthochschule Weissensee surprising additional exposure and Berlin an exceptional fashion event. Pro bono publico in the actual sense of the word. Photos: Tiffany Chaves, Heike Overberg