Luxurious. Beautiful. Aspirational - a group of models walks down the runway.

How did these creatures come to be here? What are their stories? Trapped in the machine of creation, it seems to be a matter of time before the unsustainable nature of this repetition can no longer keep going. How can we reclaim freedom of imagination when it has been co-opted by the systems in which we move?

In their graduation work, Lou Seidel and Inge Gutzeit explore scenography on/of the body and how to claim back joy in a practice that has been taken over by pressures to keep producing.

Luxurious. Beautiful. Aspirational - a group of models walks down the runway - How did these creatures come to be here? Trapped in the machine of creation, it seems to be a matter of time before the unsustainable nature of this repetition can no longer keep going. We see bodies creating and sabotaging what seems to be a fashion show, showing decay and creation in an almost unbearable tension until an outburst of joy and celebration becomes the reaction to a machine that they don’t want to be a part of any longer.

"Through the use of a scenographic approach to fashion making, Inge Gutzeit, Lou J. Seidel and Floor Broer guided the audience through a journey from the absurd and rigid canons the fashion world imposes (mostly on female identifying bodies) to a possible liberation from these canons: in the second part of their performance, the models/performers invade the catwalk with strong images of empowerment, referring to current and past political actions of protest, speaking to the audience about the most relevant transformations happening right now in society." - Rita Biffulco in a letter of recommendation


Production intern: Sien de Bekker
Technique: Kiki Heslenfeld
Video assistance: Tobias Roeven, Sam Yates