Arnhem Mode Biennale

"How are we to conceptualise and account for the establishment of shallow instability as a permanent system?"

Gilles Lipovetsky, The Empire of Fashion: Dressing Modern Democracy

Arnhem Mode Biennale aims to unravel the identity of fashion in order to encourage a more faceted approach towards the phenomenon. Fashion has countless appearances, a quality that enables for human characteristics to be bestowed upon it. Nationally and internationally, various organisations focus on the economic trait of fashion. Arnhem Mode Biennale however, gives center stage to her cultural and social values. Herewith we provide insight into a phenomenon that like no other symbolises the society we live in today. The typically Dutch climate of creative, investigative and expressive freedom has provided the fertile soil Arnhem Mode Biennale and its internationally unique position have sprung from. This makes Arnhem Mode Biennale a worthy ambassador of Dutch fashion.

Arnhem Mode Biennale pays tribute to its muse by organising a biannual event that is unique in the world. This event shows the status quo in international fashion in an inspiring and informative manner. Within the event, a special role has been reserved for fashion’s sphere of influence; the landscape in which she manoeuvres, leaving her footprints wherever she goes. The target audience is divers: fashion professionals as well as a broad interested public find various levels in which they can take note of developments and speculate about possible directions for the future. Arnhem Mode Biennale’s goal for the future is to spread this universal message about the identity of fashion on an international scale.

"As modernity pushes forward towards the future, never, even for a moment, standing still, fashion moves alongside it. She is a fleeting moment in time, blink and you will miss it."

Anja Cronberg for Arnhem Mode Biennale

Arnhem Mode Biennale has consciously chosen an alternative calendar for the biennale; inciting a different pace than the fast one fashion is used to. The resulting leisurely pace offers the organisation a possibility to simultaneously operate inside as well as outside of the fashion system. Arnhem Mode Biennale follows fashion’s every move and chooses the developments it considers important for further discourse.