MODERN CORSETS AT WILLEM DE KONING ACADEMIE

In a room alive with fabric, light, and movement, WILLEM DE KOONING ACADEMIE became a stage for self-expression at last month's SHOWROOM event. On the 30th of October in the school in Rotterdam, a selection of third-year fashion students independently organized and showcased their works through runways and exhibitions.

The evening occupied itself with translating “personal perspective into design” and reflecting “on questions and contradictions found in today’s world,” as the organizers said. Students embodied this themselves, showcasing their individualities and commonalities. The designs showcased fragments of students’ memory, emotion, and self-discovery stitched into physical form.

What stood out was that most collections reached back into the past, referencing moments of personal transformation and historical importance, finally bringing those stories to life on the runway. Leroy van Hallen noted how they “see more historicised moments.” Many of these are “referring to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.”

Those references came to life most vividly in the recurring presence of the corset, as VAN HALLEN also said. Whilst historically it was once a symbol of restriction, it reappeared here as a statement of strength, beauty, and self-definition.

Garments by KATARINA BOTTKOVA exhibited at SHOWROOM, photographed by SCOTT VERMAAT.

One such example was the work of KATARINA BOTTKOVA’S “Prey’s Prayer.” Her two looks talk about the violence of the life of girls. The project aims to open a dialogue on how one can free oneself from the male gaze. The corset appeared herein not as a replica of history, but as a subtle reference. Her olive-green piece incorporated metal hooks, reminiscent of a corset busk, tracing the body’s shape without enclosing it.

One of LOU VAN MUNSTER'S looks on the runway at SHOWROOM, photographed by SCOTT VERMAAT.

LOU VAN MUNSTER’S work “You look sick” delved into society’s paradoxical fascination with female sickness and suffering, inspired by the nineteenth-century consumptive chic era, a time when women idealised looking as though they were suffering from severe tuberculosis. Using distorted silhouettes, fragile fabrics, and garments that seem to float, VAN MUNSTER evoked historical attempts to avoid contagion, while blending these with modern sportswear materials.

It was a reminder that the history of fashion is never static; it’s rewritten each time a new generation chooses to wear clothes differently. Through experimentation with materials and structure, these designers blurred the lines between costume and contemporary wear; merging historical references with modern rebellion.

Words ENNA ELENOVA

Images SCOTT VERMAAT

Date 21/11/2025

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