University of the Arts Berlin: Critical thinking and questioning in the Fashion Design Program

Diversity, character and craft - these three words probably describe the fashion design program at Berlin's University of the Arts (UdK) best. The art school in the heart of the German capital trains people with a wide range of interests who go beyond the boundaries of classic fashion design and dare to critically question topics.

"Our students come here as young people and leave having found themselves. Character building is simply part of studying, including finding yourself," says Waldemar Kraus, executive director and professor of fashion design and drafting.

Craftsmanship in capital letters

The red flags of the UdK are waving in the autumn wind. They flank the entrance to a large, stuccoed old building, behind the bright facade is the Faculty of Design. The impressive building is located directly on the Straße des 17. Juni in Berlin, at the end of which the Victory Column can be seen. A bright staircase leads to the third floor, which houses the Fashion Design Institute.

You can hear a quiet buzzing of voices come through the open doors along the corridor. Even though the semester has not started yet, students are already working in the workshops. They are catching up on classes they could not take because of the digital semesters during the pandemic, design professor Valeska Schmidt-Thomsen tells FashionUnited.

A small group of students in white coats bend over a large pot in the dyeing workshop, while a young woman in the screen printing workshop one room over places her finished work on the large printing table. In the cutting seminar, a pattern for a shirt is constructed, and in the sewing workshop, students bring their own designs to life.

The students pass through a total of six workshops in the first four semesters. In addition to the dyeing, cutting, sewing and screen printing workshops, they also visit the weaving and knitting workshops. Applicants do not yet need any subject-specific skills, as they learn the necessary craft during their basic studies. In addition to the practical subjects, the aspiring designers also take theoretical courses such as materials science, fashion theory and drawing. They can also choose between various electives ranging from digital to textile techniques.

That certain something

Around 450 applications reached the UdK's application committee for the new academic year. Unlike many other design programs, this bachelor's degree does not require a portfolio as the basis for advancing in the application process. "Applicants are not excluded if they do not have a beautiful portfolio," Kraus explains. "With us, they have the opportunity to apply completely freely by working on a homework assignment we assign, that is the basis for being invited."

Only in the next step does the portfolio become relevant; in addition to another design task, the prospective students can expect a five-minute portfolio interview. There, Kraus wants to recognise one thing above all, character. "For me personally, it's irrelevant if I recognise that applicants have taken portfolio courses, because then all you can see is style and potential, but we are not really interested in that. We want to see people's signature, their charisma."

"I always say, your portfolio is your business card, what makes you tick has to go in there," adds his colleague Schmidt-Thomsen.

When asked what applicants and candidates must bring with them if they want to study at the UdK, there is no clear-cut answer. "The person has to have a certain something, and you cannot explain that," says Kraus. Schmidt-Thomsen adds that people must nevertheless have certain character traits and prerequisites, such as "curiosity,openness and also a desire to get involved in something new."

Critical thinking and questioning

The UdK's bachelor's degree is characterised by what is known as project study. The core of each semester is a design project that the students take, according to Kraus. Central to this is the development of a concept by the students, on the basis of which designs are generated and then implemented. This process is accompanied by theory and technology. Schmidt-Thomsen emphasises that it is precisely this focus that distinguishes the UdK course from others: "I think what makes us stand out is that we place very great emphasis on the conception phase. That we question why things are made."

"How can leather be used with the necessary respect to create ecological and durable products, accessories or garments?" Fifth-semester students, for example, addressed this question and more last winter. In the ‘Skin’ project, animal material became the focus of critical discussions and creative elaborations. “The students must also be able to formulate what they do not like about fashion and what they would like to change”, explains Kraus.

His colleague, design professor Valeska Schmidt-Thomsen, not only emphasises the particularly good craftsmanship of her students, but also praises the fact that they are very good at embedding their work in something larger: "Students are good at working with both their mind and hands."

It is not just questioning and rethinking that makes the fashion design program at Berlin University stand out; the themes of versatility and freedom are also of great importance. The students are given a lot of freedom to create and realise in all phases of their trajectory: In the conception phase, for the final projects, as well as in the time after graduation .

A stack of final projects lies on the lecturers' table. They are all thick, bound books, but no two are alike. Each of these papers tells its own story, provides insight into the thinking and work of the person behind the project, and documents all the steps to the finished design. The students are free to choose their own topics for their final projects, so each of these works has its own individual motivation and debate, and the students' handwriting can be seen as the lecturer leafs through the pages.

The students can give free rein to their creativity when it comes to developing the designs. They are not required to illustrate their ideas using traditional fashion illustration; other design options can be used, such as a film or a drape, Schmidt-Thomsen explains. "It's more of an introduction to different ways of illustration."

What's next after graduation?

After the bachelor's degree, graduates can continue with a master's program at the UdK, but many also take a year off in between or complete their master's abroad. As diverse as the students are, so are their paths after graduation: from employment in a fashion house to work at Berlin labels, to cross-sector work in film and theater.

"The students are also not necessarily interested in working in a fashion house in the very classic way, but keep this field very broad and open and look where there are opportunities that can contribute to their know-how," says Kraus.

However, Kraus and Schmidt-Thomsen are very certain about one thing, the character traits that all of their students share. They are curious, critical, interdisciplinary thinkers, and eager to experiment.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.DE, and translated and edited into English by Veerle Versteeg.