The Royal Academy of Art Fashion Show
Since 2015, the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, with the valuable support of the Keep an Eye Foundation, has organised a spectacular fashion graduation show. This special event offers graduating students the chance to present their final collections to a wide audience. It is a moment of glory, where months, sometimes even years, of intensive research, experimentation and creation come together in an impressive catwalk show. The students showcase not only their technical skills, but also their artistic vision and personal signature within the fashion world.
Besides the dynamic and inspiring fashion show, an extensive exhibition will also take place. This exhibition presents the young designers’ installations and graduation projects, giving visitors the opportunity to admire the works up close and discover the creative process behind the designs. Here, the concepts, fabrics, techniques and innovations underlying the collections are highlighted in an accessible way. This offers a deeper insight into the vision and ambitions of the new generation of fashion designers.
Year after year, this event grows into a highlight within the Dutch fashion world. It is not only a celebration of talent, but also an important moment when students present themselves as fashion designers in the professional industry for the first time. Fashion connoisseurs, designers, press and other interested parties gather to admire the fresh, innovative designs and discover potential talent. The support of the Keep an Eye Foundation plays a crucial role in this: by offering young designers a stage, they get a valuable opportunity to build their career in the fashion world and realise their creative dreams.
The Royal Academy of Art Masterclass
In addition to the annual fashion exam show, the Keep an Eye Foundation introduced an inspiring series of master classes in 2019 in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. This initiative offers students the unique opportunity to interact with leading designers and experts in the field, allowing them to further develop their knowledge and creative skills.
For the very first master class, renowned designer Hella Jongerius was invited by the Textile & Fashion department. She gave an inspiring lecture, sharing her views on innovation, craft and sustainability in textile design. This formed the basis for a challenging assignment for the students, challenging them to explore new perspectives and engage in experiments within their own design process.
The result of this assignment was not only an impressive collection of innovative designs, but also a valuable dialogue between the students and Hella Jongerius herself. During a special presentation at Museum Voorlinden, the students had the chance to show their work to a wider audience. Here, they shared not only their designs, but also their creative processes, ideas and sources of inspiration. Hella Jongerius gave live feedback on the works, making the event an interactive and educational experience for both the students and the visitors present.
The first edition of this masterclass series was a great success and demonstrated the value of connecting young talents with established names from the design world. This programme not only strengthens students’ artistic growth, but also encourages them to look at fashion and textile design with a critical and innovative eye.
With so much enthusiasm and inspiring results, we eagerly look forward to the next editions. What new ideas, innovative experiments and extraordinary collaborations will emerge from it? One thing is certain: the Keep an Eye Masterclasses are an important platform for the fashion designers of the future!
The Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Art Masterclass
Since 2020, the Keep an Eye Foundation has also partnered with the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Through this collaboration, Keep an Eye contributes to students’ professional development and helps them prepare for life after the academy. As part of this, the foundation annually supports three specialised fashion master classes, challenging students to further develop their creative vision and gain practical skills essential for a career in fashion.
Each year focuses on a different theme, incorporating current developments and societal changes into the curriculum. In 2020, for example, the theme was ‘Curating, Producing and Branding Fashion in the (Post-) Coronatime’. This topic responded to the profound transformation of the fashion industry as a result of the pandemic and challenged students to think about innovative ways to present, produce and market fashion in a world undergoing significant change.
Within the master classes, students in their final year of exams are encouraged to think not only about their creative identity and presentation, but also about the business and strategic side of their profession. How do you position yourself as a designer? What role do branding and entrepreneurship play in a successful career? How can you show your work to the public in an innovative and distinctive way? These kinds of questions are at the heart of the programme and help students become stronger both artistically and commercially.
The masterclass series focuses specifically on graduating students and takes place annually in the second semester. Besides developing their individual projects, students are also actively challenged to collaborate interdisciplinarily. This means they make connections with other art and design disciplines, such as graphic design, digital media, performance art and fine art. Through these collaborations, students discover how fashion can merge with other art forms, resulting in innovative and groundbreaking concepts.
With these inspiring master classes, Keep an Eye offers not only a springboard into the fashion industry, but also a platform where students are encouraged to experiment, expand their network and position themselves as designers within a dynamic and changing field of work. The coming years therefore promise to be full of surprising and innovative creations, and we look forward to seeing how these young talents will shape the future of fashion!
