Gerrit Rietveld Academie 2026 challenges traditional fashion show structures

The annual fashion presentation of Gerrit Rietveld Academie took place on 25 May in and around De Hallen Studio's, with graduating students using the event to challenge traditional fashion show structures and explore questions around accessibility, public space, and participation.

The 2026 edition of the Rietveld Academie Fashion Show 2026 featured graduation projects by Mikołaj Szwaja, Joris Janssen, Estefanía Escalona Millano, Evelina Nanny Eliasson, Simone Winder, Johanne Fage-Larsen, and Feliz Aaliyah Sánchez Buitrago. Organisers described the presentation as an experiment in moving beyond conventional fashion industry hierarchies by integrating the show into the surrounding urban environment.

Unlike traditional runway shows held in restricted venues, the event expanded into public spaces surrounding De Hallen Studio’s in Amsterdam’s Kinkerstraat area. While collections were activated inside in a concert-like environment where audiences could move freely through the performance space, livestreams were simultaneously broadcast in nearby local businesses including Best Döner & Snacks and Maxella A Fashion.

Organisers framed the show around the question: “When is fashion public?” The programme challenged established ideas about exclusivity in fashion presentations, asking who gets access to fashion experiences and whether runway events can become embedded within everyday life rather than remaining closed industry spectacles.

According to the academy, the participating collections explored themes including alternative forms of world-building, expanded understandings of the body, and critiques of dominant heteronormative and Eurocentric cultural frameworks. The performances also examined material experimentation and fragility, with designers proposing approaches intended to be more socially engaged and environmentally conscious.

The Fashion department at Gerrit Rietveld Academie positions itself as an alternative to commercially driven fashion education models. The programme encourages students to critically examine the cultural and social meanings of clothing while developing multidisciplinary and community-oriented practices through theory, technical experimentation, and collaborative work.

The presentation reflects a broader movement within independent fashion education toward more participatory and socially conscious formats. Fashion schools and experimental design programmes across Europe have increasingly questioned the exclusivity, environmental impact, and commercial orientation of conventional runway systems, instead exploring public interventions, performance art, livestreaming, and collective experiences as alternative forms of presentation.

The 2026 Rietveld Fashion Show was supported by Keep an Eye Foundation, Meester Koetsier Foundation, Stichting van Stigt-ing, and De Hallen Studio’s.