Their proposals explored the possibilities of fashion from a wide range of perspectives: transforming discarded seat belts from the automotive industry into new textiles; incorporating the unpredictable changes of nature into garments; making invisible labor and accumulated time visible through clothing; questioning conventional standards of beauty surrounding the body; and exploring open-source making through 3D printing.

Many presentations also drew upon the participants’ own cultural roots and the places where they live—from East African cultural heritage and the landscapes and memories of Patagonia, to the relationship between rivers and the leather industry in Argentina, and Japanese concepts such as mono no aware and traditional craftsmanship. Through these perspectives, personal experiences were connected to broader social and environmental questions.

What the semi-finalists presented were not finished works.

Through research, material experiments, samples, videos, and other forms of exploration, they shared where they currently stand in their creative process—continually asking themselves: Why this material? Why express this through fashion? Who do I want to address, and what do I want to ask?

The questions went beyond specific methods of expression, such as materials, silhouettes, and technologies. They also addressed the fundamental ideas behind each project: what it means to carry culture into the present, our relationship with nature, the body and standards of beauty, and the relationship between designers and society.

“Why does it have to be this particular material?”
“What do you want to communicate to society through your work?”
“How does your personal experience connect to broader social issues?”

The process of responding to these questions gave the semi-finalists an opportunity to reconsider and articulate their own ideas.

Some questions could not be answered immediately.

However, FFP does not expect participants to already have all the answers. Continuing to hold onto a question, engaging in dialogue with different perspectives, and gradually transforming those questions into one’s own form of expression are all important parts of the program.