Designblok announces winners of the Diploma Selection 2018

Lapland-inspired fashion and a project on the sustainability of materials impress the juries

The winners of the Diploma Selection international competition – held for the fifth year running in collaboration with EUNIC Cluster Czech Republic – have been announced. Juries made up of international curators and gallerists chose the winners from 15 competing finalists in two categories: product design and fashion design. Alexander Schul from the Netherlands won in the product design category for Substantial, a project focusing on the role design plays in recycling and protecting the planet’s resources, while Ramona Salo Myrseth won in the fashion design category for her collection, I Am Not the Grass in Your Boots. In total, there were 109 graduation projects from 22 universities and 12 countries this year. 

Alexander Schulspeaks about his winning project, Substantial: “I believe we’ve entered an era in which design must integrate the idea of protecting our resources and the recycling of objects and materials. In this context, I’m really interested in plastic. I look for ways of reusing plastic waste so that it doesn’t end up in waste dumps or spoiling the natural environment. At the same time, new objects have to be attractive and practical so that people want to use them.”Lieke Ly from the Flemish university Luca School of Arts in Belgium came second for her project on the theme of depression, while Luke Fuller from the University of Brighton came third. 

Ramona Salo Myrseth won in the fashion design category for her collection, I Am Not the Grass in Your Boots: “Using clothes and textiles and inspired by stories of the region, I was able to create an intimate and revealing portrait of Lapland. My exploration of the mythology and traditions of my own culture reflect recent trends among young designers. We’re now returning to themes of identity as a way of integrating authentic values into our work and redefining the real meanings of our roots in this age of “indigenous culture”. I don’t believe that indigenous people should be isolated – they’re people of the world just like everybody else.”Hüseyin Özer from Germany came second and Michal Gruca from Belgium - Flanders came third. The winners were awarded a cash prize of €1,000 to create new collections, presented with complimentary gifts from T-Mobile, and invited to present their new collections at Designblok next year. 

Diploma Selection 2018 finalists

Product design category

Marie Cornil/ École cantonale d'art de Lausanne ECAL, Switzerland
Diego Faivre/ Design Academy Eindhoven, Netherlands
Monika Fišerová/ Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
Luke Fuller/ University of Brighton, UK
Dominik Janoušek/ Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, CZ
Matěj Janský/ Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, CZ
Roza Janusz/ School of Form, Poland
Charlotte Kidger/ Central Saint Martins - University of the Arts London, UK
Sebastian Kitzberger/ Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, CZ
Lieke Li/ LUCA School Of Arts, Belgium
Johana Němečková/ Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, CZ
Philipp Schenk-Mischke/ Royal College of Art, UK
Alexander Schul/ Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design, the Netherlands
Zuzana Svatik/ The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia
Dana Vránková/ Tomas Bata University in Zlín, CZ

Fashion design category

Weronika Draus/ Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland
Maxime Cordier/ Helmo Mode Fashion School, Belgium
Nienke Creemers/ Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Netherlands
Silvia Fröhlich Zrebná/ The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia
Michal Gruca/ Royal academy of fine arts Antwerp, Belgium
Debbie Jellema/ HKU University of Arts Utrecht, Netherlands
Julia Koscienska/ Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland
Ramona Salo Myrseth/ Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Norway
Patricia Narbon/ University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria
Hüseyin Özer/ Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, Germany
Nina Pen/ Artez institute of the arts, Netherlands
Polina Sotirova/ National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria
Jasmijn Taken/ Utrecht School of the Arts, Netherlands
Maria van Steenoven/ Artez institute of the arts, Netherlands
Pia Walter/ Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Netherlands

International jury 2018: