From the 19th to the 23rd of October, within the context of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Europeana hosted a series of workshops in the context of the Arts Plus (http://theartsplus.com/). Europeana Fashion selected participants amongst three leading fashion school belonging to its network: Polimoda, IUAV University of Venice and Politecnico di Milano. The students took part in different workshops, led by the Spanish commons organisation Platoniq and by the international consultancy company Media Deals, playing with the data hold in the Europeana collections and thinking creatively on how to use them for their projects. The various activities involved developing business models and learning how to best present and promote the projects, as well as finalise them and pitch them to investors.

We have asked some of the participants to share their thoughts on the experience. Here is what Rachele and Elizaveta, two participants from Polimoda, told us.

THE ARTS+ Fair. Courtesy Europeana Foundation, CC BY-SA

Europeana Fashion: First and foremost, can you tell us something about yourself? How and why did you become involved with fashion?

Rachele: After attending high school in my hometown, Cecina, I decided I to enroll at POLIMODA because I needed a change: I was looking for something that could take me away from normality. Then I started the Fashion Design course, which is mainly focused on techniques and practical knowledge: models, graphics and a smattering of business. I enjoyed the course above all because it allowed me the freedom to choose how to shape and develop my own project.

Elizaveta: I am currently studying at the Fashion Design course at Polimoda, an institution that I am very happy to have chosen: the environment is conducive to any kind of creative development and the teachers are always available. The courses are mostly practical, and give you the right preparation to develop a project in its entirety. There has never been a concrete reason why I chose to study fashion: maybe just the fact that I have always seen fashion as an environment where creativity has not limits. Then, in terms of possibilities, it is a field that will never die: people will always need to dress.

EF: Tell us your experience: how was the workshop? What are the main features of the project developed by your group?

R: The title of the project my group developed was “Art out loud!”: an app that would make the visual arts accessible for people not able to see. The idea was that the app could ‘show’ digital material through the comments posted by users in audio note communicate their impressions in front of a work of art. The main objection we got from the jury was that the app was completely free.

E: With my group we have developed an App with the same layout of Tinder, but instead of having to “match” with other people, you have the match with art. The app allows you to easily save images and study your favorite works. It was aimed at making the use of digital data easier and more palatable for anyone.

THE ARTS+ Fair. Courtesy Europeana Foundation, CC BY-SA

EF: We are curious about your general impressions on the experience: did you like? Did you find this useful? You can use it in your path of personal study?

R: The workshop came a bit as a surprise, since I had never before come across online archives; in fact, my training does not currently include courses on digital knowledge and archives. The process was quite standard: we divided into groups, in which we discussed ideas about what kind of App we wanted to develop. Among the many ideas, we voted the one that felt more doable, and then got re-divided into new groups, based on the ideas that had received more votes. Into these new groups, we developed the idea and prepared a business plan. All this was then put into a powerpoint presentation we used to pitch our project to potential investors. Even though it was the first time I worked with digital data sharing and working with digital objects, I think that, thanks to my preparation and the courses I follow at Polimoda, I had the right tools to approach the team work. Overall, I haven’t found the experience particularly new compared to what my school offers.

E: Although it had been difficult, at the beginning, to cope with the intricate organisation of such a complex event, I learned interesting things and had an experience that I think will be useful in the future.

EF: As a fashion student, how do you think you might find useful products such as those developed by the various working groups?

E: I believe that not all the projects developed by the groups are closely useful to the field of fashion; still, doing a lot of research is definitely helpful to have a more comfortable and convenient access to all the content of Europeana Fashion.

EF: Do you use digital platforms in your creative practice? If so, what and how you use them?

R: I don’t, but it was indeed very interesting to get to know Europeana Fashion and its platform.

E: I use a lot especially Pinterest, for more targeted research; Tumblr, for inspiration, mood and to see a bit of trends. Then there are about thirty less-known websites that I found while looking for different ideas and I like to use. I also check fashion magazines’ websites, they are really interesting.