19 November 2022

Insights into the Austrian Fashion Awards 2022

The Austrian Fashion Awards 2022 handed out by the BMKÖS (Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport) and the Culture & Science Department of the City of Vienna were celebrated this year on 17 November at the spacious halls of the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. The winners of the Austrian Fashion Awards 2022 are Vienna-based Klaus Mühlbauer for his headwear label 'Mühlbauer Hutmanufaktur Seit 1903' (received the 'outstanding artist award für experimentelles Modedesign' of the BMKÖS) and Berlin-based Austrian shoe designer Matthias Winkler (fashion prize of the City of Vienna 'Modepreis der Stadt Wien').

Klaus Mühlbauer is one of the most successful Austrian producers of headwear with an export rate of around 60% in countries all over the world with prominent wearers of his hats like Meryl Streep or Brad Pitt. The winner of the Modepreis der Stadt Wien Matthias Winkler studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and at the Royal College of Art in London. He grew up in Austria in a family of hunters and foresters surrounded by garments of materials that were long lasting and with the consciousness of the unity of nature and wearer. Matthias Winkler develops his designs from the dichotomy of the mountainous homeland and the typical architecture of Berlin, where his studio is based.

The jury of the BMKÖS prize consisted of Nicola Eller (culture editor at the Austrian national public broadcaster ORF), Anne Feldkamp (fashion editor at the Austrian daily newspaper magazine RONDO of Der Standard), Petar Petrov (fashion designer and winner of last year's BMKÖS award). The winner of the Modepreis der Stadt Wien 2022 was selected by an international jury consisting of Alban Adam (Communication and Marketing Director of the fashion label 1017 ALYX 9SM, Creative Consultant and Lecturer), Olya Kuryshchuk (Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the fashion platform 1 Granary), Alexandra Tistounet (buyer at the Paris fashion house Printemps), Tuomas Laitinen (Director of the courses BFA Fashion Design and MFA Fashion Design and the Arts at Parsons Paris | The New School, Fashion Director SSAW Magazine).

Images, from left: It was a successful Austrian Fashion Awards 2022 evening at the MAK halls filled with the ambient live-sounds by harpist Miriam Adefris and electro musician Ganaël Dumreicher. The presentations of the fashion creations of the AFA winners and selected designers who were supported through public fundings (database) were attended by an illustrious crowd from the creative industries. BMKÖS winner Mühlbauer showed a selection of headdresses on models outfitted in wild-fur-Krampus-like costumes walking through the halls in a manner which reminded the traditional Austrian Perchtenlauf. The art-design shoes by Matthias Winkler were shown in an installation with chairs where the models with Mühlbauer headgear took place from time to time. Find another picture of the scenery with Mühlbauer models on Instagram @austrianfashionassociation. Right: Fashion by the designers who received support through public fundings - Alessandro Santi, Christoph Rumpf, Florentina Leitner, GÜÇ, HISU PARK, INFFOLDER, Ivan Iveljic, Larissa Falk, MIT STRESS, MOB Industries, René Scheibenbauer, Stephanie Edelhofer - was presented in three halls by models sitting on chairs that were standing in a line. The models changed places from time to time. Pictures captured on 17 November 2022 at the MAK in Vienna.