Messy Dressing. Escapism. Reflection. Homage to Ambivalence. Between Two Worlds. Reading the titles of the collections of Beckmans College of Design B.A. graduates is like taking the temperature of 2021. Eighteen months into the pandemic, these are in-between days.
Evidently they are not dressed-down ones, however. A majority of the collections were fancy, focusing on eveningwear and featuring color and prints. Leaning toward the political was Yanis Dorey’s offering, which was called There Is Nowhere Like Home, But Home Is Nowhere. The opening look was a menswear T-shirt in lace that collaged the flags of France and Algeria. Exploring more fantastical territory was Matilda Guve, who accessorized circus and Moulin Rouge–style looks with Marie Antoinette wigs. There were trippy, surrealistic effects, including ear-shaped buttons in Niklas Gustavsson’s lineup. In contrast, Filippa Agaton (now a design assistant at Totême) stuck with the minimal look that’s long been associated with Sweden but gave it a twist by incorporating sporty and horsey elements.
Working with sustainable materials is pretty much a given for the class of 2021, but there’s no one way to do that. Ronja Berg, who received an award from the Swedish Fashion Council and TEKO, chose to emphasize repurposing by making tops and skirts out of handbags with handles still attached; hats out of heels; and a boa out of gloves, some of which—a finishing touch that was as devastating as it was timely—looked like the rubber ones worn by first responders administering vaccines.
