RETHINK/REBUTTON!

The Design Terminal is currently exhibiting 35 of the most innovative pieces created for the Rethink/Rebutton fashion competition which was held on the 8th of May 2011. The competition brief challenged local designers to inject new life into traditional Hungarian costume. Designers who were updating the indigenous dresses created a mixture of wearable clothing, extravagant costume and accessories. I went along to the show to check out the best designs...

Anna Zsófia Kormos, Anett Gálvölgyi, Ádám Baranyai and Márton Zsolt Miovác collaborated together to create the Special Prize winning collection 'Cambric'. The team mixed together various textiles and tailoring techniques from various regions of Hungary along with more contemporary construction methods.  First prize went to Renáta Gyöngyösi who married the traditional costume of the Transdanubian Region with punk rock. The collection took several cues from contemporary pop culture and high street trends, with several of the garments embellished with studs and spikes. The public prize went to Rita Gallatz who drew inspiration from the embroidering techniques of artisans from Kalotaszeg, magnifying the ornate details and turning them into large pieces of costume jewellery.

Several of the designers experimented with eye-catching prints. Judit Eszter Kárpáti started with Matyó embroidery patterns and digitally pixilated them, turning the natural form of the flowers into geometric shapes. Judit Pusztai's colour-minimal collection of streetwear featured fun prints resembling Busó masks and wooden carvings of shepherds. Ilona Karácsony drew inspiration from patterns created in the Mezőkövesd region of Hungary.

Also drawing inspiration from Hungarian wood-carvings  was Mónika Kovács, who hand knitted and hand-printed her mini collection. Ilona Hendzsel and Mónika Nagy collaborated together to create a sweet collection of accessories titled Little Bird, Little Bird - inspired by Easter eggs and ginger bread biscuits felted together into necklaces and handbags. Artista showed off a piece from their incredibly elegant collection titled Next Spring..(a sneaky peek at things to come hopefully!). The garment makes use of light-weight fabrics cut into contemporary patterns and printed with images of traditional Hungarian costume, marrying the past and present together in one piece.

Dresscode's garment was a golden explosion of netting, plastic and metallic textiles which resembled a pantomime Dame. Second Prize winner Szilárd Surányi incorporated heavy pleating and ruffles into his design. His coloured patterns are split up by strips of white which makes it appear more sophisticated and less costumey.

Several designers created footwear for the competition. Lilla Eszter Juhász was another designer to take inspiration from Matyó embroidery, applying the technique to some brightly coloured heels. Beáta Kutasi's designs were very bizarre - created using braided wires, nylon strings and felt, the shoes looked like a cross between Roman sandals and ice skates. Renáta Mán and Vanda Berecz collaborated together for their collection which included metal ornamental patterns from the Hungarian Conquest via and very intricate laser cutting techniques.