Designing for Diversity with MAFB Designing for Diversity with MAFB

Fashion is a means of expressing our identity. It has a strong tradition of male and female stereotypes and is often heavily loaded with social and cultural signifiers. In this talk show Sylvana Simons spoke with the new generation fashion designers about designing for a gender-fluid and culturally diverse reality. With MAISON the FAUX, Kaho To, Lisa Konno and Samira Algoe.

Can we strip away stereotypes, 'liberate' our bodies and create a fashion that stands for gender-fluidity and transformation? What are the prerequisites for such designs and are consumers ready for them?

This talk show brought together several fashion designers and a pop-up fashion exhibition. Featuring MAISON the FAUX, Kaho to, Lisa Konno, Samira Algoe, Jivika Biervliet and Daily Paper.

Join us for a special dinner with the speakers at 18.30 hours, before the Thursday Night event. Prepared with fresh, organic products, dinner is served in Het Nieuwe Café and costs ¬17.50, including drinks. Make sure you reserve a seat at least a day in advance.

MAFB was founded in 2008 by Marian Duff and Richard Soesanna. It is a community for emerging and young fashion designers. MAFB attempts to interest a young generation in fashion design: it scouts, coaches, develops and connects young talent with fashion professionals. MAFB believes in cultural diversity and stimulates those who are far from the conventional fashion podiums so that there is also room for their ideas. MAFB's activities encourage young people to participate in culture and specifically in fashion: through their own designs and through research into the designs of their contemporaries and previous generations. MAFB has organised two previous talk shows on this subject.

MAISON the FAUX is a creative studio posing as a grand couture fashion house. The house aspires to be an affectionate reaction to the current fashion industry and a big faux wink in the direction of an audience liberated enough to move freely through an often narrow-minded world. 'The Fictional House', a rough translation of MAISON the FAUX, is rooted in a great sense of humour and self-mockery, combined with a deep love of fashion. MAISON the FAUX represents a new outlook on masculinity and femininity creating "Humanwear". As head of the creative team of MAISON the FAUX, designers Joris Suk and Tessa de Boer head the Arnhem-based fashion House. For every collection and project MAISON the FAUX collaborates with creative individuals, the so-called "Résidents" looking to shake up the fashion scene, create room for young designers and to innovate design and production.

Kaho To makes clothes for the self-assured woman who wishes to distance herself from trends, conventions and norms. Re-imagining structures and using unconventional materials are important elements in his work. He plays with the concept of the man's suit and adapts it for the female body. To studied tailoring at MBO College Hilversum and has done internships with Viktor & Rolf and Iris van Herpen. He won the MAFB City Battle Finale in 2013.

Always searching for innovative ways to handle design, material sourcing, production and sales Lisa Konno aims to walk a different path in fashion and work on projects that challenge the current fashion system. Lisa never wants to lose the optimistic, fun and ever changing look that fashion can bring but shake off the unethical ways of the industry. In 2014, Lisa Konno graduated at the Fashion Design department of Artez in Arnhem.

After graduating from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) Samira Algoe set up her brand ZEM, currently based in Rotterdam. Samira used a series of mood boards during her time at the AMFI to develop a minimalist design style based on graphic forms. ZEM "is about the man who's not afraid to be himself and isn't ashamed of his vulnerability".