On July 12, we awarded the La Biosthétique Fashion Prize as part of the exhibition. Three graduates were honored for their outstanding theses: Henning Sadau (Prix de Style), Simon Bakenecker (Prix d'Innovation) and Lilian Brade (Prix de Concept Contemporain). The prizes are endowed with 3,000 euros each. The aim of the award is to give visibility to committed young people and to support their career entry.

The La Biosthétique Fashion Prize has been awarded by Pforzheim University for more than 10 years and is financially supported by the Pforzheim-based company. The prize is not only a recognition of design excellence, but also a strategic promotion of young talents whose work helps to shape the discourse on fashion, society and aesthetics.

Prix de Style: Henning Sadau

Henning Sadau received the Prix de Style for his trans* collection, which recognizes particularly striking design positions. The designs deconstruct traditional gender norms and are characterized by exaggerated, ambiguous forms that deliberately leave room for ambivalence. Foam is used to create complex silhouettes that challenge conventional notions of what clothing is or should be. The result is a collection that turns fashion into a performative medium.

"trans* is a final project with outstanding stylistic acuity that has succeeded in creating a visual discourse of holistic topicality," the jury said in its statement. It particularly praised the high quality of style and aesthetic coherence on all design levels as well as the outstanding sense of proportion: "With his work, Henning Sadau has dissolved binary codes and created new, non-binary proportions in fashion."

Prix d'Innovation: Simon Bakenecker

The jury awarded the Prix d'Innovation to Simon Bakenecker and his work chum. Clothing, film and artistic documentation are combined to depict euphoria, paranoia and liberation - a dreamlike journey through the unconscious. The looks translate psychological conflicts into material, form and styling. The cinematic scenes reinforce this through settings, camera techniques and symbolic objects that turn the inside out. Accompanying booklets serve as a haptic, visual extension, documenting the design process and the aesthetics of these states on an additional level.

The jury sees chum as a conceptually forward-looking work: "Simon Bakenecker turns fashion into a narrative medium, albeit no longer as a protagonist, but as an integrative part of the action. On two visual levels - in the digital film and in the haptic booklet - fashion merges with storytelling and appears as an emotional, visual accessory."

Prix de Concept Contemporain: Lilian Brade

For The Feminine Urge, Lilian Brade receives the Prix de Concept Contemporain, which honors graduation projects that deal with contemporary discourses. Her collection and the accompanying film position themselves as a vestimental resistance to patriarchal representations of femininity. The focus is on the "monstrously feminine" as a counter-image to the passive, desired or rescued woman. Inspired by the horror genre and psychoanalytical archetypes, she creates self-empowered antagonists. Brade transforms iconic items of clothing such as nun's habit, wedding dress or lingerie into an aesthetic language of open seams, dripping surfaces and organic alienation.

The jury praised the extraordinary clarity of the concept on all levels - from the theoretical foundation and visual language to the choice of materials: "With The Feminine Urge, Lilian Brade has created a collection that is provocative in its unconventionality and impressive in its conceptual sharpness. She knew exactly what she was doing and found a powerful visual language for it."

Award ceremony as part of the exhibition

The decision was made by an international jury consisting of

• Adrian Gerard Cooke (Amsterdam) - AI designer and creative software developer for innovation
• Sonja Eismann (Berlin) - journalist and author, co-founder of Nylon Germany and Missy Magazine
• Gabriella Fenwick (Paris) - Senior Designer Womenswear at Flou, previously worked for Marine Serre, Chloé, Céline, among others
• Anneloes Ouwehand (Amsterdam) - fashion designer, trend researcher and illustrator
• Jaro Kim Schöllkopf (Metzingen) - Senior Designer Menswear at Hugo Boss and Boss Orange
• Hannah Wild (Berlin) - designer and art director

At the celebratory matinée on Saturday morning at the School of Design, the jury announced the winners and praised the wide range and high quality of the nominated works. They were particularly impressed by the critical thinking and theoretical references that were evident in the final theses.

In her speech, Libera Mayer, PR officer at La Biosthétique, emphasized how crucial targeted recognition and encouragement is for the path of young creatives: "The fashion award should not only be recognition, but also a tailwind - financially, but above all in terms of appreciation. The three main prizes of 3,000 euros each are a sign of our confidence in your talent."

Partnership with prospects

The cooperation between the School of Design and La Biosthétique is much more than just an annual award ceremony. The company has been committed to promoting young creative talent for over ten years. The company also supports the annual activities of the fashion course during Berlin Fashion Week - a Pforzheim alliance that brings together creative innovation and craftsmanship.

For Jean-Marc Weiser, Managing Director of La Biosthétique, the long-standing collaboration with the university is more than just a cooperation. It is part of a targeted promotion of young talent: "The promotion of young talent - whether creative minds in the salon or dedicated students in design - is a matter close to our hearts. Because it combines our values with the future of an industry that thrives on inventiveness, style awareness and passion. The fashion award impressively demonstrates the creative potential in the region and we are delighted to actively support it."