It's the oldest and most prestigious fashion award in the world: The jury of the Festival d'Hyères, which annually draws the who's who of the fashion world to the picturesque Côte d'Azur, includes Marine Serre, Grace Wales Bonner, and Ludovic de Saint Sernin this year. We at the Fashion Council Germany are therefore all the more delighted that two former participants of Fashion x Craft are among this year's nominees. In partnership with eBay Germany and The King's Foundation, we support young fashion and textile designers in the areas of sustainability, craftsmanship, and innovation through this program. Sofia Hermens Fernandez and Taskin Goec share their insights from the experience in this interview.

Sofia Hermens Fernandez

Please summarize in one sentence what you stand for as a designer.

I stand for girlish, playful details and elaborate textile manipulations.

Girlhood is the overarching theme of your collection, which you'll be showing at this year's Festival d'Hyères. Where does this fascination come from? Was there a key experience or a specific event during your upbringing that sparked it?

My fascination with fashion has always revolved around how it's an influential tool for constructing different visions of femininity. Girlhood as a concept is one of these visions, and I'm fascinated by all the textile details inherent in Western girl culture. I myself loved pink and playful details like bows. At some point, I felt like society was telling me I couldn't indulge in these things if I wanted to be taken seriously. Of course, I wanted to be taken seriously, so I abruptly rejected them. But my fondness for girly things never truly disappeared, and now I dedicate myself to them as a designer, in my own personal way and with handcrafted materials.

In your designs, you both glorify and deconstruct girlishness. What effect do you want to achieve with the final result?

I want to show that handcrafted pieces made with great care and dedication have high value. For me personally, girlhood is a way of life that embodies curiosity, freedom, creativity, and attention to detail, and I incorporate all of that into my work.

Describe a key piece in your collection that most clearly reflects your vision.

I would choose the pink, completely hand-knitted dress that also made me a finalist at Hyères. It's made from mohair-silk yarn, and I knitted it with my mother's help. With the draped tulle dress underneath, it's a single pink cloud – incredibly light to wear and warm thanks to the yarn.

An important part of your vision is handicrafts, which in our collective perception are also closely linked to girlhood , as these techniques were once primarily learned by young girls. Many therefore view them critically today. How do you see the tradition of women's handicrafts in all its facets?

The narrative surrounding women's handiwork is historically shaped by viewing it as a mere "pastime" at home. Yet, handiwork embodies an incredible amount of knowledge and technical skill, as well as the power to create things oneself, which can be quite powerful in our neo-capitalist world. Women are unfortunately still a minority in influential positions in the fashion industry, and I think this is simply because, in the collective memory, they are born with a needle and thread in their hands, while a man is more likely to be seen as a genius in the fashion industry.

What role has Fashion x Craft played in your development as a designer?

Fashion x Craft is a wonderful program; it provided me with food for thought and made me feel seen over a long period. I hadn't yet finished my studies, but through the program I already came into contact with many inspiring people who encouraged me in my work.

What were the most valuable learnings, contacts, or experiences you gained from Fashion x Craft?

Many of the people I met through the program were very warm and possessed interesting skills and extensive knowledge, from which I personally gained a great deal. Wonderful friendships and collaborations developed with the five other participants. The Fashion Council Germany provided us with excellent opportunities to present our work professionally and continues to support us.

As part of the program, you spent three weeks at an educational center run by The Prince's Foundation in Highgrove, England, which was part of Prince Charles's estate. What is your favorite memory or anecdote from that time?

The three weeks there were incredibly wonderful; we had amazing mentors, and the whole environment was very inspiring. I gained a lot of valuable insights during that time and had incredibly close exchanges with the mentors and other participants—and lots of laughs. There are far too many memories and anecdotes from that time, but what I particularly cherish is my birthday there and how even the police officers guarding Highgrove warmly congratulated me.

As we all know, it's not always about winning – what is your personal motivation for participating in the Festival d'Hyères?

Being a finalist is already a great endorsement of my work. I hope to make valuable new contacts and connections that will help me progress as a young designer.

Taskin Goec

What exactly is Studio Taskin about?

Studio Taskin bridges the gap between conventional and digital fashion, connecting the sensual with the virtual.

You describe yourself as a "mixed-reality fashion designer" – what do you mean by that and what are the special features of your creative process that still seem new and intangible to many people?

There's no established term yet for what I do. I use "mixed-reality fashion designer" because my work takes place both physically and digitally. In my studio, I freely combine tools and techniques and continuously develop new workflows, from simple embroidery hoops to high-end computers. I see technological innovation as one of the greatest opportunities of our time. That's why I ask myself every day: What new tools are there, and how can they enrich the design and production of fashion?

What do you say to people who fear that digital technologies and AI will stand in the way of traditional craftsmanship and possibly displace it?

I want to show that both go hand in hand and that digital craftsmanship also exists. Behind AI models are people who train them, fine-tune them, and generate content with them. We need to learn to use AI applications in a targeted and controlled way. The displacement of traditional craftsmanship is also a development that is related to global markets, among other things—and not a new phenomenon solely attributable to AI. Since this year, Rafael Herzberger and I have been offering workshops, seminars, and courses in which we teach AI workflows for design. Our goal is to provide an overview of this complex landscape and to help develop individual processes.

How would you describe the interplay between you as a person and the tools you use? Are they an extension of yourself? Or rather an outsourced pool of knowledge and skills?

I treat my tools like a team of assistants.

What aspects of Fashion x Craft did you find most beneficial?

Craftsmanship means openness to the material: learning to let it speak and recognizing its potential. This attitude can be applied to many aspects of everyday (working) life.

What is your favorite memory from your time at Fashion x Craft?

Rope braiding and learning about traditional Irish rituals. The creativity required to create flexible, robust structures from raw materials like rye straw, and the appreciation for this, expressed in celebration, play, and ritual. And of course: jumping rope with it!

You are nominated in the Accessories category at this year's Festival d'Hyères – can you describe one of your designs that will be on display there?

The centerpiece of the collection is a modular pair of sunglasses. Their design was developed using a generative AI that I trained with all my previous designs and renderings – a kind of digital copy of my creative DNA.

What personal goal have you set for yourself at the Festival d'Hyères?

The Festival d'Hyères is iconic. As a finalist, I represent a new approach: that of a mixed-reality designer. It's not just about my designs, but about thinking about and communicating design from an innovative perspective.