About us
Mission
AUSTRIANFASHION.NET has been active as a non-profit organisation for the promotion of contemporary fashion design since 2006. The initiatives are diverse, ranging from cultural and information communication, platform activities and exhibitions to publications. In an interdisciplinary and intermedial approach, a connection between fashion, design and art is created. The aim is to present content in an image-promoting way to raise public awareness and stimulate discourse.
AUSTRIANFASHION.NET is interested in proximity to creative people and sustainable practices. Projects arise through dialogue and participatory processes and are driven by the idea of cultural exchange. The work of AUSTRIANFASHION.NET reflects the artistic views of fashion designers and is based on the conviction that something new is not created by repeating proven concepts but by bold visions that facilitate new ways of thinking.
AUSTRIANFASHION.NET works with various project partners and an international network of experts. The key aspect is to develop future-oriented concepts with a global reach.
International Exhibitions/Curatorial Projects
Since 2012, AUSTRIANFASHION.NET has been organising, curating and co-curating exhibition projects in Austria and abroad, pursuing innovative communication methods in workshops and talks. In the presentations, interdisciplinary collaborations are promoted that open up new space for reflection.
Another Austria (since 2013): AUSTRIANFASHION.NET is responsible for the Austrian contribution to the International Fashion Showcase in London, an exhibition organised by the British Council and the British Fashion Council. With this ongoing curatorial concept, a new presentation platform for up-and-coming Austrian fashion design has been established in London. Link
ReFashioning Austria (2016): This high-profile exhibition took place at the invitation of the Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai. With works by 70 Austrian designers and artists working at the interface between tradition, experiment and new technologies, a representative selection of the fashion scene of the past 20 years was presented. Link
Fashion: Objects, Concepts & Visions was shown in 2017 at the me Collectors Room/Stiftung Olbricht in Berlin and featured a selection of works from the previous show in Shanghai. The focus was on the contemporary part, which was complemented by new and commissioned works. Link
Beyond Couture was presented as part of the 4th Istanbul Design Biennale 2018. The installation consisted of commissioned works and showed the visions of a younger generation of fashion designers from Vienna and Istanbul. Link
VDF Virtual Design Festival x AUSTRIANFASHION.NET
Presentation of 15 innovative Austrian fashion and product designers at the world’s first online design festival in cooperation with the leading online design magazine Dezeen.com, 2020. Link
Open Fashion Studios is a tour through open studios, stores, pop-ups and small handicraft businesses. The Austria-wide format aims to strengthen interest in the local fashion scene. In cooperation with the Austrian Fashion Board, 2022. Link
Commissioned Works
In connection with the exhibitions, works are commissioned on a regular basis. In addition to fashion design, this can also be in areas such as photography, video, animation, illustration or literature. A number of these works were shown in other exhibitions and at festivals, purchased by museums or awarded prizes.
Publications
The exhibitions are documented in carefully and elaborately designed catalogues and brochures. These are prepared in close collaboration with the participants, the exhibition venues and an international network of experts and correspondents.
The Austrian Fashion Guide (2007–2011), a specialist publication, was published on the occasion of the Paris Fashion Week and provided information about all trade-fair, show and showroom data of the Austrian labels on site.
Online Magazine
AUSTRIANFASHION.NET was launched as a bilingual digital fashion and culture magazine in 2006. It features carefully researched articles on contemporary and historical trends as well as on all aspects of the creative industry. The spectrum of themes ranges from education and the practices of past and contemporary fashion designers to influencing factors such as youth culture and political and economic conditions.
The high-quality photo galleries, reports, interviews and event information are compiled and edited by an international network of journalists and photographers. AUSTRIANFASHION.NET is active on the relevant social media platforms.
Services and Networks
Interdisciplinary cooperation and networking at the interface between fashion, culture and business are core elements of the work of AUSTRIANFASHION.NET. Collaborating with international project partners provides the opportunity for exchanging experiences and jointly solving problems, resulting in distinctive expertise in the further development and implementation of projects within the network.
The Cooperation Exchange FASHION (2009–2012), initiated by AUSTRIANFASHION.NET in conjunction with the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was established to improve local production conditions. At a time when local companies had outsourced production to low-wage countries, hardly any regional manufacturing companies remained. Seventy selected companies took part in this B2B event. In addition, impetus was created to implement a community-based communication tool for internal information exchange. More than 500 fashion designers have since registered.
Not least for this reason, AUSTRIANFASHION.NET has also become a contact point for questions on education, label founding, project funding, career planning, press work and new art and cultural mediation formats. AUSTRIANFASHION.NET works with a network of selected organisers, institutions and media to support its own events and those of project partners.
Establishment
AUSTRIANFASHION.NET was established in 2006 as part of the project We Showroom Paris Now, an association promoting Austrian fashion design. As an online platform, the initiative took on a physical form in various contexts and media. At the same time, the Austrian Fashion Guide was launched. With the Cooperation Exchange FASHION, an additional B2B event was developed, taking place once a year to connect producers and fashion labels. AUSTRIANFASHION.NET has been registered as an independent non-profit association since 2014.