From 14 to 16 November 2025, FASHIONCLASH Festival returns for its 17th edition. Taking place at several locations throughout Maastricht, this international and multidisciplinary fashion festival provides a stage for a new generation of designers, artists, and performers from the Netherlands and over 25 countries worldwide. Over the course of three days, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a thought-provoking program filled with performances, exhibitions, films, workshops, talks, and participation projects.
With programme components such as The CLASH House (fashion performance showcase at ENCI), the New Fashion Narratives exhibition at Bureau Europa, the Fashion Film Program & Awards at Lumière Cinema, the participatory programme Fashion Makes Sense at Centre Céramique, and many more events across Maastricht, the festival presents a multifaceted and inclusive perspective on contemporary fashion culture. FASHIONCLASH Festival is open to everyone, offering both free and ticketed events. For more information on the full programme, participants, and tickets, visit www.fashionclash.nl
The 2025 FASHIONCLASH Festival campaign, developed by ULKUHAN, explores the shifting notions of identity and authorship in the era of digital creation. Working at the intersection of fashion, digital technology, and critical design, Ülkühan Akgül created a series of AI-generated portraits and still lifes, each based on symbolic archetypes — such as The Poet, The Performer, and The Designer. These
archetypes mirror the festival’s participating artists and are accompanied by poems, together forming a multisensory narrative in which text, image, and digital process merge.
Rooted in Ülkühan’s conceptual and speculative design practice, the campaign challenges conventional aesthetics in fashion by asking: Who creates? Who is seen? How is identity imagined? This multimedia composition embodies FASHIONCLASH’s mission to foster interdisciplinary exchange and critical reflection, serving as both a visual and poetic entry point into the 2025 edition. It invites audiences to lose themselves in new forms of storytelling that blur the boundaries between human and machine, self and ownership, maker and representation. FASHIONCLASH Festival – PROGRAMME New Fashion Narrafves – Collec3ve Movements @ Bureau Europa | 14, 15, 16 November For this year’s exhibition programme, FASHIONCLASH invited four fashion makers to collaboratively develop the curatorial concept for New Fashion Narratives at Bureau Europa.
Earlier this year, they took part in a residency week in Maastricht, which led to the creation of this year’s curatorial framework. The exhibition, titled Collective Movements, is curated by Jonas Zitter, Paula Dischinger, Rafael Kouto, and Tjerre Lucas Bijker, and explores how fashion can act as a tool for connection, resistance, and collective action — operating at the intersection of fashion design, activism, and communal practice.
The curators aim to present works that transcend dominant systems by embracing cultural rituals, shared knowledge, and collaboration. Some examples of the exhibition:
• Júlia Galarza Arévalo presents Ear to Ear during the official festival opening on Friday, 14 November — a co-creative choral performance rooted in deep listening, where true harmonies arise through connection with oneself, others, and the surrounding environment.
• CIMO – Center for Research of Fashion and Clothing showcases I’m telling you a story with a needle and thread, an archive of over 100 embroidered pieces created in therapeutic workshops with asylum seekers, Ukrainian refugees, and elderly locals. The project reflects on the overlooked labour of women’s handcrafts and their contemporary relevance within both local and global textile traditions.
• Karl Joonas Alamaa & Lisette Sivard document MANIA GRANDIOSA: the world’s longest performative fashion show, in which ten models walked 125 kilometres in five days from Tallinn to the village of Pariisi, Estonia. Their identical magenta walking outfits absorbed dust, weather, and motion — questioning fashion’s obsession with novelty: what if, after all the striving, one arrives not in a glamorous fashion capital, but in a humble village?
• Mariia Pavlyk presents Spero, a collection connecting the symbolic language of the Tripillia– Cucuteni civilisation and traditional Hutsul weaving techniques with zero-waste patterns and sustainable materials. Developed with Ukrainian artisans, each garment becomes a living artefact — honouring the past while carrying hope for the future.
• mare mito (Andrea Bertello & Eleonora Cecere) shows A Sewing Machine of One’s Own, a cocreated collection developed with women from Fatto a Scampia, a social sewing workshop in Naples. Inspired by Virginia Woolf, the project explores creativity and resilience as tools for change, grounded in garments inherited from grandmothers and empowered by generations of women.
• Kantamanto Social Club, an upcycling platform rooted in Accra’s Kantamanto Market, presents the results of hands-on upcycling activations held during Amsterdam Fashion Week and Dutch Design Week. In collaboration with communities in Ghana, Canada, Egypt, and India, the project highlights the global power of upcycling as collective action and positive activism. Participating designers: Alia Mascia, Alessandro Santi & Brankica Sanadrovic, Anita Ferrara, ii by Mariia Pavlyk, Kantamanto Social Club, CIMO – Center for Research of Fashion and Clothing, Elfje, Maizie, Karl Joonas Alamaa & Lisette Sivard, Fiona Elisa Carnuccio, mare mito, Margarida Coelho, Júlia Galarza Arévalo, Manon Dufau, Hannah Smith, Giada Lou Hammel, G(end)er Swap, Kim Gemmink, SWARM MAG, The Platform, ZELIGHD. The CLASH House @ ENCI Maastricht | Saturday 15 November.
This edition of The CLASH House takes place in the Peutz Hall on the ENCI site in Maastricht. The CLASH House serves as a showcase and development platform for designers working across fashion and performance disciplines. Through a creative coaching trajectory led by theatre-maker Nadîja Roza Broekhart and choreographer Laisvie Andrea Ochoa, and under the direction of Giovanni Brand, the designers explore alternative ways of making and presenting fashion.
Programme & Participants:
• ULTRA-ORA – Après Nous: a post-flood society of new social classes — Distributors, Wetlanders, La CEOrenissima — where clothing reflects hidden agendas and adaptation.
• Rakee Chen – Melody Atlas: an emotional journey through human life expressed via musicgenerated garments and movement. • POViS: a poetic interpretation of a Lithuanian riddle, exploring the tension between forging one’s own path and the desire for traditional recognition.
• Thibault Villard & Maxence Guenin – untitled (bassline II): a raw exploration combining textile research with handmade sound systems — a pop poem celebrating imperfection.
• EMIRHAKIN × David Siepman – Once it’s a memory, it’s too late.: a sensory performance navigating the architecture of breath, memory, and desire — a choreography of what cannot be spoken, unfolding through residue, leakage, and the refusal of closure.
• CLASHLAB – Lioba Benold, Shu Jantje & Jelle Huizinga: a daring meeting of three disciplines — fashion, dance, and music. CLASHLAB is a creative laboratory where emerging makers collaborate intensively to create a ten-minute performance born from intuition, experimentation, and cross-pollination.
CLASHLAB is a new interdisciplinary residency programme initiated by Musica Sacra, Nederlandse Dansdagen, Limburgs Museum, FASHIONCLASH, SALLY, and Via Zuid, offering space for experiment, encounter, and artistic growth. Fashion Film Program @ Lumière Cinema | 14 – 16 November The Fashion Film Program at Lumière Cinema celebrates designers and filmmakers experimenting with the short fashion-film format.
Featuring a selection of 35 films from around the world, it offers a rich and diverse panorama of perspectives, disciplines, and narratives. On Thursday 13 November, FASHIONCLASH and Lumière Cinema co-present the screening of Rains over Babel. On Friday evening, the six finalists will be revealed, followed by the presentation of the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2025 Fashion Film Award and the Kaltblut Magazine Award, judged by Adriano Batista, Marcel Schlutt, Kateřina Hynková, and Elie Inoue. Two FASHIONCLASH-produced films will also premiere during the festival: The Sneeze and HANGMAN & CO., both developed within the Fashion Film Development Program.
Participants Fashion Film Program:
Alice Gatti & Diego Indraccolo, Andrew Krechetov, Sergio Palacio Monreal, Aidan AMORE & Joseph Nicholas & EVERETT REDGUN, Gwladys Gambie, Tyra Galieva, Lisaly Belcastro, Céline Ruault, Femke Hemelaar, Gönül Yigit, Rhandy van Duin, Claire Tsumura, Sem Oueslati, Sem Oueslati, Gina Siliquini, Ferhat Ertan, Lilian Brade & Phuong An Phi & Niclas Hasemann, Lei Jiang, Hadi Moussally, Elizabeth Haust, June Seo, Julez Brandes & Matthew S. Krivolapov, Julia de Beer, Caspar Heijnneman & Daan Sanders, Marloes IJpelaar / Club Lam, Debora Brune & Jánik von Wilmsdorff, Zhaodong Zeng, James Nolan, Kasumi Hiraoka, Megan van Engelen, Paola Nerilli, Olga Lunina & Anna Rakhvalova, Pandemonia, Wwenen Lusa, Yijia mao Amarte × FASHIONCLASH @ Jan van Eyck Academie | 14 – 16 November Once again, the Amarte Fund and
FASHIONCLASH join forces to offer artists from different disciplines the opportunity to experiment with fashion and present new work. From an open call, three artists were selected and paired with fashion designers to collaboratively develop and present new creations. Discover three new installations / performances where fashion clashes with poetry, classical music and performance art.
Participants:
EMIRHAKIN × David Siepman, Natálie Kulina × Alyne Li, Merel Van Slobbe × David Paulus. Fashion Makes Sense – Parfcipafon Programme @ Centre Céramique | 14 – 16 November Fashion Makes Sense is FASHIONCLASH’s ongoing participatory programme dedicated to social design, inclusion, and education. With this initiative FASHIONCLASH connects professionals and nonprofessionals — especially young people — in collaborative creative processes.
The exhibition on the third floor of Centre Céramique presents results from several participatory projects, including Mensen Dragen Mensen (People Carrying People) developed with Noah Jansen and partners for Heiligdomsvaart Maastricht. Over 100 participants — aged 3 to 70 + — co-created costumes, banners, and objects made from recycled textiles collected via Rd4 Reinigingsdiensten. Also featured: presentations by Ecopolitan Magazine, Kunstbende Fashion winner Tara Smit, and students from AMFI’s Hypercraft minor, developed in collaboration with FASHIONCLASH.
Upcycling workshops will take place throughout the weekend, and on Sunday 16 November the Fashion Makes Sense Talk, moderated by Carmen Hogg, brings together participating designers and artists (Yala Claessens, Arva Bustin, Laisy de Andrade Rodrigues en Wievien Alberts). Class of 2025 + ESSENCE Exhibifon @ The Social Hub Maastricht | 14, 15, 16 November This year, FASHIONCLASH x The Social Hub Maastricht host an additional showcase highlighting a new generation of designers, launching with a festive evening of music (DJ Kirakira and performance during the festival opening night on Friday 14 November.
Class of 2025 presents a selection of emerging designers graduating in 2025 from Dutch academies including AMFI, HKU, ArtEZ, Design Academy Eindhoven, Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts, WDKA, and Gerrit Rietveld Academie. In parallel, Marlon Claessen curates the ESSENCE Exhibition, featuring international designers whose work embodies FASHIONCLASH’s mission: to foster intercultural dialogue, creative exchange, and socially engaged fashion narratives.
The presentation also includes work by Toneelacademie Maastricht students Valerie Ludwig and Jeroen Bik. Class of 2025 Participants: Andra Blažģe, Babs Groote Schaarsberg, Claire Sillekens, Francisco Juliao, Jamie AirMountain, Larissa de Jager, MAIDE, Paco Teepe, Studio Jessie, Karolina Wójtowicz, Zhenyi Zhou aka Apriscilla Valerie Ludwig, Jeroen Bik. ESSENCE Participants (curated by Marlon Claessen): Jenny Monteiro, Kistaku Handmade Upcycling Fashion, Reis, Thear. Ayerparty @ Dans- & Partycentrum Bernaards | Saturday 15 November The FASHIONCLASH Festival Afterparty is more than a celebration — it is an interdisciplinary, cocreative platform for community, expression, and togetherness.
For this edition, FASHIONCLASH collaborates with Yorvique Macaay, Neele Kamerbeek, Laisy de Andrade Rodrigues, and designer Jessie Romkens, who together craft an unforgettable night of music, fashion, performance, and visual art. Dress code: blue. Prior to the event, visitors can participate in co-creation workshops focused on fashion-making, movement, and voice; the outcomes will be presented during the Afterparty.
WE STAND TOGETHER IN POWER — The Afterparty celebrates unity, empowerment, and visibility. By standing authentically as individuals while joining collectively, we amplify one another’s voices. Through music, dance, performance, and fashion, we create a space of freedom, energy, and connection — a living community of inspiration. – Yorvique, Neele & Laisy Bonnefanten Museum Live-Performance Mounira Al Solh & Oasis One World Choir | 16 November The voices from A Night Hour, as Long as Night finally take shape. For the work created for the Artes Mundi 10 Prize in 2023, Mounira Al Solh collaborated with the Oasis One World Choir from Cardiff. On Sunday, 16 November, they reunite to once again merge art and music in an immersive live performance. From the museum’s iconic staircase, voices and rhythms fill the space, guiding the audience gradually through the building.
The journey culminates at the installation A Night Hour, as Long as Night, part of the acclaimed exhibition A Land as Big as Her Skin. At its heart stands an impressive embroidered Bedouin tent, surrounded by portraits and stories that resonate with memory and imagination. And there’s more! | 14 – 16 November At Juunam, discover work by Het Stort, Studio Wievien, and RE-RARDE. At S.A.C / Space for Art & Culture in Rechtstraat, see Esra Copur’s exhibition Everything I Touch Turns Into Me. Limestone Books spotlights a selection of independent fashion publications. At Het Werkgebouw, meet Maastricht-based designers and take part in workshops by gescher + brosky, Kristy Bujanić, and Sophie van Dooren.
At Townhouse Hotel, local makers present their work alongside an Artist Talk. www.fashionclash.nl IG @fashionclash_festival FASHIONCLASH Festival is a platform for makers working at the intersection of fashion, performance, visual arts, and social design. These makers challenge the status quo and demonstrate how fashion can function both as an art form and as a tool for social engagement. The program is composed through open calls and co-productions in collaboration with various national and international partners and communities. With a focus on talent development, experimental work, and active public participation, FASHIONCLASH contributes to an inclusive, pluralistic, and future-oriented fashion practice. The festival is accessible to a broad audience through a mix of ticketed and free events.
ph credits: promo fashionclash
