Textile & Fashion Futures – a celebration of new talent, innovative design, and the transformative power of fashion
Exit25 – fashion show and exhibition
The Exit fashion show took place at Borås Congress Centre where 17 graduates from the Bachelor’s and Master’s programme in Fashion Design showed their graduation collections. The audience was treated to innovative design related to everything from traditional crafts to the exploration of the human body.
After the fashion show and exhibition, scholarships were awarded to design students. Professor Clemens Thornquist, Head of the Department of Design, addressed the students, saying, “I want to celebrate your courage and bravery to stand out and to be different – it's the cornerstone of freedom and democracy – so I want to highlight the courage it takes, but also the unease to be different and to stand out."
One of the award recipients was Paul Frankenius, founder of the “Paul Frankenius Foundation for the Swedish University of Fashion & Textiles.” He summed up this year's fashion show and exhibition, saying, “What you have done is absolutely fantastic. Compared to previous years, I think the works are getting a little better every year and this was the best year so far, and I've been around since forever.”
Sweden's first showing of the UN collection
The day began with a showing of the UN's new tour guide uniforms, which were designed by 20 Design students at the Swedish School of Textiles to be worn by the tour guides at the UN headquarters in New York – a project that exemplifies how functionality and innovative design can be combined.
Alum conversation with Ellen Hodakova Larsson and Alban Adam
Graduate of the Swedish School of Textiles, Ellen Hodakova Larsson, founder and creative director of Hodakova and winner of the LVMH Prize 2024, shared her journey and thoughts on the future of fashion in conversation with Alban Adam, creative content and marketing consultant.
Facts about Exit
The historical Swedish Textile Institute in Borås began to be dismantled in 1983 and finally closed down in 1985. Over time, its activities were phased in under the auspices of the university and the University of Borås started up its first textile educational programmes. The first fashion show and exhibition was held in 1985, when the Swedish Textile Institute's very last graduating students and the university's first cohort together showed their clothes and projects. Since then, graduation shows and exhibitions have been regularly held at the university.
Around 2002, the graduation show started to be called Exit when the students chose to call their exhibition by that name.
About the Swedish School of Textiles
The School of Textiles at the University of Borås is one of the world's top-ranked fashion schools and plays an important role in making Sweden a leader in sustainable fashion and a key player in shaping the future of textiles. Some of the world's most prestigious designers are alumni of the Swedish School of Textiles, including Ellen Hodakova Larsson, who won the LVMH Prize in 2024.
The Swedish School of Textiles has its roots in the time when Borås was the centre of the Swedish textile industry. As early as 1866, the first textile education programme started at Borås Technical Weaving School, the foundation of what is today the Swedish School of Textiles: an internationally leading institution for the education and development of textiles and fashion.
The Swedish School of Textiles has unique expertise, research, and educational programmes in textile and fashion design, textile technology, and textile management. Our laboratories are remarkable. Our textile environment is located in the Textile Fashion Center in Borås, a textile hub that brings together education, business, industry, and innovation under the same roof.
Anna Kjellsson, translation Eva Medin