UADFashion 2023 towards next level at Cluj-Napoca

UADFashion event in Cluj has, for me, a special place in my heart. And that is because it has always been the place where I have discovered new talented designers (and part of my wardrobe is here to testify) and cool photographers that made me feel every time like I am a model on a catwalk. It is the time of the year when I meet most of my dearest friends from the creative industry. It is always full of memories of nice events and interesting exhibitions. It will always have the taste of night laughters in the search of a restaurant or a shopping rush (for clothes, pieces of art or… just some books). Yep, UADFashion it has, somehow, the feeling of home. And I am glad I was back here this year. This is how UADFashion 2023 edition was, for me. 

“Interlevel towards next level” could be the motto of the traditional event of the Department of Fashion-clothing design within the University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca, which was reinvented this year, under a new formula and with a new visual identity – UADFASHION.

Follow @uadfashion & @uadcluj for the most interesting and innovative design & fashion projects. Photo from catwalk and backstage: Raluca Ciornea (@ralucaciornea) and Amanda Maier (@maieramanda) 
See more of my personal stories in Cluj on Highlights UAD 2023 on Instagram – about fashion collections & exhibitions and artist from all design, textile, art, paiting, multimedia and graphic design from UAD Cluj-Napoca.

29 capsule collections from the diploma and dissertation projects of the 2023 promotion were presented – Department of Fashion-Fashion Design, UAD Cluj-Napoca. 20 graduates of the bachelor’s program and 9 graduates of the master’s program presented their clothing creations in a unique space – the interlevel PARKING, which was transformed into a moodboard with projections and color-blocking – a complex installation signed of reading university Dr. Daniel Popescu and implemented by WATTECH Systems.

What did I like? Well… let’s see! 

I liked the idea of sport but not so casual clothes at Iulia Anton (collection RAW) and the combo black & white. Each piece reflects the personal journey of an individual finding harmony between fragility and strength. 

Desi Botineșteanu – collection Chain Reaction – has started from developing the concept of gender performativity. Power suit, androgyny, performane – these were some of keywords. 

Cristiana Filipoiu had an interesting approach of the fabrics in her collection Layers of Skin. “The concept was born from the sensitivity I have always had for minority groups and disadvantaged people.”

Gabriela-Valerica Foca was, probably, my favourite of B.A. collections – Back To Future – the idea of some folkloric motifs into the modern coats and the extra long sleeves made me sigh at the first view. Oh, well, maybe and because one of the keyword was Bucovina 🙂

I liked the prints from Makranczi Lilla collection (Floral Reverie) and the way she used the bright or subtle tones attributed to different feelings and meanings. 

Szöllősi Hajnak Andrea and the collection Never Dying Denim put in front of us the symbol of flexibility (it is used by all social categories) – the jeans, as a way of seeing the Western culture and the freedom. 

Mihai Manole in Manopera collection had streetwear and club influences, explorind the past and the present. 

Casiana Maria Nițulescu – The Light from The Darkness  – put the waterproof fabric, streetwear, practical, reversible and Romanian mythology in one outfit. 

I saw Vincze Pistuka Antonia Dora collection Freyja in Iași at Romanian Creative Week and it made me think of a modern Game of Thrones. Of course, as long as Freyja, in Norse mythology, is a goddess associated with love, beauty, erotica, gold and magic. 

Miruna-Cristina Cioară – the use of the big exaggerated sleeves in Cyber Chic collection impressed me. I loved those sleeves! “The concept of my bachelor thesis consists in a presentation of a character and the dystopian future in which he lives.”

Andrada Ioana Muntean – I liked the layering and the fluidity of the collection entitled Hues of the Afterlife. Ancient Greece, the dark indigo, magenta and pastels, nature and fluidity were some key points for it. 

Mădălina Iuliana Sirban – a collection with a strong message (Plus+) inspired by the myths and symbols of Cucuteni culture. 

Miriam Elisa Pristera – Illusion. The keywords: rite, chaos, symbolism, purity, mythm wisdom, challenge. 

Sándor Andrea was on my top 5 loves – the details of the coats, the subtile touch of Japanese style the colours from collection Essential Connection. “The idea is the search for the indispensable, essential relationship between me and my grandmother and my mother.” 

Adelina Ștefania Suciu Oancea had a nice touch of goth in rebirth collection. “I took as a benchmark the first Japanese avant-garde exhibition that took place in Europe which hosted fashion designers as Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto.” 

Iris Maria Cornea had some cool fabrics and I liked the layering in Onna-Bugeisha (another one with a cool Japanese touch that I love). 

Szabó Mihály and the collection Neutral Chic made the audience think about Kate Moss, the clubs and the heroine chic style. 

Diana Vasilița – the collection was named Starlight and her massive influence came from Gaultier and Mugler. I loved the black dress a lot! 

Raul-Valentin Matiș explored some main themes: feminist ideology, punk subcultures in relation to it, feminist art and its manifestation. 

Alexandra Constantinescu, for her Scène d’intérieur had on the moodboard a lot of interesting elements: embroidery, romance, Theodor Aman, volumetry, leather, descendant. 

The coordinators of the diploma projects are: lect. university Dr. Alina Andreica and Lect. university Dr. Anca-Luiza Zaharia. Prototypes from the collections were made in the UADFASHION workshop, with the technical support of the auxiliary teaching staff: Simona Mărginean, Maria Pogăcean, Maria Rus.

For Master’s… 

Roxana Oana Oargă – very cool, very actual and very tonic this collection. (Up)Cycling follows, in a way, the evolution of the sportswear and our relationship with it. 

Corina Caravasili – from far, one of my favourite, I would love to dress like this every day (well, stay tuned, because I did it, and you will see the results soon). The persona of the collection named Antisocial is represented by an intelligent, independent, open-minded woman. 

Krista Baias – Original-Fake was the name of the collection that followed the connection between society & nature, between Zeitgeist and Fashion, between reason and instinct. 

Szalkai Noemi Eniko – (Techni)Color was about layering. Not only in fabrics and colours, but also in the idea of searching, building someonețs own identity.

Hegedűs Tünde – very romantic & very poetic this Identity collection. I liked it a lot. It was inspired by some Hungarian traditional elements from 21st century and underlines our strong connection with our roots. 

Diana Carmen Rus – Distorted Reality – a collection that is based on masculine-inspired pieces, with the intention of breaking the barrier between masculine and feminine clothing. 

Nagy Klaudia Melinda – Complicated Simplicity was the name of her collection. And can you imagine that she saw, by hand, the pattern on the fabric? I will show you soon how her pieces fits someone (me – spoiler). 

Sara-Andreea Griguță – her collection, Alham, made a lot of people from the audience very curious. And that is I think because it features several items with a simple cut combined with complex embroidery, braided and perforated pieces. 

Daiana Mihaela Stăncioiu – Neo-Victorian Shapes was a good composed collection that managed to combine the botanical elements with Queen Victoria and technology. 

The coordinator of the dissertation projects is associate professor. Dr. Lucian Broscățean. The master capsule collections were made from deadstock materials and upcycled pieces sponsored by the irina schrotter brand, within the extensive institutional practice project initiated by Irina Schrotter and her team in Iasi.

About this UADFAshion 2023… 

Many thanks to the initiator and organizer of the 25 editions of the UAD Gala (the last one in 2019) – the associate teaching staff, prof.dr. Elena Basso Stanescu. The 25 editions shone under the technical production orchestrated by Mr. Dr. Matei Ioan Miko, who, during the 2019 Anniversary Gala, handed over the production to UAD, elegantly handing over the baton to the Department of Fashion-clothing design. Starting from October 2022, the director of the Department of Fashion-clothing design Assoc. Dr. Lucian Broscățean, together with the DMDV team and with the support of the UAD management, is working on the reinvention/repositioning of academic projects, with a different name, structure and program, which are relevant to the current context. The online platforms, related to the Department of Fashion-clothing design, were renamed UADFASHION, as part of the internationalisation process of DMDV.

UADFASHIONSHOW was empowered by UniCredit Bank. 
Producer: Universitatea de Artă și Design din Cluj-Napoca, Departamentul Modă-design vestimentar, Asociația UniversitArt și Asociația Departamentul Creativ
Institutional partner: Iulius Mall Cluj-Napoca
Main partners: JOLIDON, grupul HENKEL, Perwoll, Radisson Blu Cluj, Mionetto, Wattech Systems
Partners: DaPino, Silviu Medeșan, GETT’s Salons, Wens Travel, Impress, Meron, Westiment, Autoklass, Auchan, Iconic Garden, First Models 
Media partners: ELLE, The Institute, Diploma, Dreaming Of, The Woman Magazine, Fashion Premium Magazine, Molecule F, Code Noir Style, Diva & Divanul, Cornel Crișan, Book Cover Tee, Lady Like – Adina Necula, The Stories of O, Făclia, Dialog Textil