“costume&contemplation on religion”
The international online conference, based on the 2025 exhibition Costume &
Contemplation On Religion held at Vilnius Academy of Arts gallery Titanikas in Vilnius, brings together fashion educators and researchers from Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia to reflect on the intersections between fashion and religion. This event builds on the second installment of the ongoing Costume & Contemplation research cycle, which explores how fashion design can act
as a medium for engaging with spiritual experience and inner reflection. The exhibition delved into the subtle and deeply personal connections individuals have with the sacred, presenting fashion objects that capture experience often difficult to articulate in words. In this same spirit, the conference considers how religious narratives, symbols, and contemplative practices
influence the creative processes and research perspectives of designers. Rather than proposing a singular understanding of religion, it highlights the diversity of faith experiences embedded in the work of each participant, offering new insights into how fashion can embody the tension
between the sacrum and profanum.
abstract
On Becoming a Fashion Artist
We are all familiar with the terms ‘fashion designer’ or ‘fashion stylist’. That is the field I came from. But what about ‘fashion artist’? Is there such a thing, or maybe art and fashion are completely different worlds? I am currently exploring the landscape of art, trying to find my place here as a fashion artist. And, luckily, I am not alone. Using fashion artefacts as my main inspiration, I am aiming to take them away from their conventional context, disconnect from the body and put on a pedestal of an art space. In this conference, I will present my approach to fashion as a medium of artistic expression, exploring how ready-made objects gain new meanings and roles, and how they evoke new understandings about fashion and the collective identity of humankind created by its means. My art object (H)anger, exhibited at the ‘Costume & Contemplation on Religion’ exhibition, plays a crucial role. I will speak about how it served as the focal point for more extensive artistic research, which is currently being pursued through my doctoral studies at Vilnius Art Academy.
Organized by
Vilnius Academy of Arts
Partner
The Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz
The project is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
FASHION EROSION 