Labels to Watch: Newcomers to Mode Suisse

At Mode Suisse, the Swiss fashion landscape will once again show what it has to offer on Monday evening. This year’s edition at the Kunsthaus Zurich will feature a number of brands selected by a jury, such as Kazu and Sarah Bounab, as well as “Friends” and fashion schools such as the Geneva School of Art and Design.

In addition to the students, the event also offers a stage to some newcomers who have already founded their own brand. FashionUnited took a closer look at the three newcomers, who not only share their debut at Mode Suisse, but also their made-to-order approach.

Ba Si

Ba Si was founded in 2022 by British designer Dylan Basi. The Basel-based brand focuses on socio-political issues and deals with gender, identity and sexuality. The design philosophy integrates British satire viewed through the lens of intersectional feminism, the brand explains.

Since the beginning of the year, Ba Si has adopted a phygital approach, in which design processes such as research, prototyping and pre-production are digitized to minimize waste. Therefore, the respective pieces and accessories are made on request for the customers in their own studio. Nevertheless, pieces are also available in pop-ups and soon in their own online shop. In addition, the sale of small quantities via selected dealers is also planned. In the long term, however, the brand plans to dispense with physical samples completely and only offer the products on the basis of digital pieces made-to-order.

At Mode Suisse, Ba Si is presenting the “The Chameleon and The Cockroach” collection, which has presented the entire product range – since the label was created – in 12 outfits. “The collection is an insightful, playful analysis of the interplay between our social identities and our instinctive survival tendencies that drive us to adapt and thrive in the context of today’s society. It does this by appropriating and distorting visual stereotypes attributed to different social groups,” explains Basi.

dance

Glarus-based Danz was founded by Mara Danz in 2021 after the designer worked in Paris for various fashion houses such as Maison Margiela. Since then she has been presenting her creations in various approaches such as fashion shows, performances, exhibitions and showrooms.

The sustainability-oriented label relies on local production and also works with the Mitlödi Textildruckerei as a partner from the region. The collaboration came about after the designer trawled through the print shop’s archives in search of old print motifs to breathe new life into. This resulted in the ‘You have a beautiful Voice’ collection last year, in which the pieces were printed using the screen printing process. Collections are made from leftovers and, for the ‘Reloved’ line, also from second-hand pieces.

Danz wants to keep the production routes as short as possible in order to get an insight into the working conditions and to keep the ecological impact as low as possible.

Anastasia Bull

The Anastasia Bull brand was founded by the Swiss-American designer of the same name, who studied fashion design at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland.

Bull’s designs are intended to fulfill the imagination and display of body and soul as a means of increasing self-love. The fashion designer experiments with folds, prints, colors and silhouettes to create a contemporary look with playful details.