Meet Flora Miranda, one of the designers at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2015. Flora was born and raised in Austria, had been experiencing art since her early years - her artistic roots shared the genes of creativity Her childhood and youth was filled with many artistic achievements, what resuletd in graduating at Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
"I presented not only the fashion collection _sidereal_ethereal_immatereal_ but also a piece of art: „Openinghours“, a huge velvet curtain that brings to discussion our sexuality and physical sense in the age of the Internet. These two works spring from my intense occupation with the human body and constant search for it´s different potentials. In the fashion collection I created a digital, immaterial, deathearted physique. In opposition to this I made the public search for sensuality within the digital dimension with the art piece. "
What does your collection try to communicate (what is about)?The collection _sidereal_ethereal_immatereal_ is based on the phenomenon of quantum physics and tele transportation. I visualized how it would look like if a human body is pure information, how it would dissolve in its single particles to travel from a to b. Imagine you can just break up you physical borders, leave behind the heaviness of your physique. In a way that is actually what we possibly imagine death to be like, but here I did not work upon spirituality but the technological progress of our time.
How would you describe your work ? The clothes I create are expressive, extravagant and experimental. What technique I apply really depends on the specific project and I do not want to limit my work by describing it through words at this moment. I rather stay open minded to treat each project individually; if I feel the importance to create in a way I never did before then I won´t hesitate to take this freedom. Eventually I find myself creating explicit characters through my designs who look as much part of another world as many of us feel and wish to be born in a totally apart dimension. By instance I would dress you up in a lasershow inspired garment from a rhythmic pattern of red green and blue fake fur that mixes in movement of your body to iridescent rainbow colors. Then we would see what happens - how would you move? I find it very exciting to observe how one reacts to a certain garment - the garment itself can make you do things you would otherwise never have thought of. This power can be used in so many different ways…
![]()
I am especially attentive to the human body, physical border experiences, our perception, societal observations, conversations, music and art in general. A person that inspires me since a long time on various levels is the artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. His vast spectrum of musical output throughout his life in collaboration with other artists (who then were forming bands like Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle or Thee Majesty) is absolutely fascinating in combination to his manifestly views on the world and eventually the love story of his life with Lady Jaye: They performed plastic surgery on their bodies until they looked like the same human being. To look into such ideas gives me so much energy and drive!
Finding your own voice is difficult, where and how do you find your creativity ? My topics develop over a long distance of time. I carry several areas of interest with me and continuously collect additional fragments. Atmospheres, music, personas, garments, philosophies, materials, artistic approaches and any other sort of details or generalities in this world. Eventually I feel the need of dealing with a certain imaginary „universe“ that has grown over time - this is always connected to a current happening in society: A general desire, life question or tendency of interest. All together this is a big amount of information that I bring together, therefore I tend to experience creation between horror and joy. To clear my mind I produce an excessive amount of sheets of paper with ruff and fast sketches on them, the same happens with material experiments and like this I dig my way through.
What are the key factors in your design? Usually the garments I create are rather complex, detailed and often hard to grasp on first sight. While so far I have rather focused on outfits that are „show only“ I do see the beauty in dressing people off stage, that is a new path to explore.
What sets you apart from other designers ? I will surprise you with flamboyant, alienated apparel and artifacts.
Fashion needs to progress year in year out, how do you keep innovating? I find innovation a very natural personal drive. I am eager to find out, look deeper, push materials further, bring to perfection and then destroy it all again. Also we shall not forget that it is not always needed to progress the garments themselves so much but all the elements around it that finally form fashion. Of course, my own curiosity is focused on creativity, but I do also feel responsible to seek for progress concerning working conditions within the industry and to consider moral questions. Every moment in time opens different ways out of obsolete systems and I constantly am looking for those. What is happening with work-life balance of employees? Where does the internship-trend go? What about the possibilities of the Internet, data maintenance and consequently production output and consumerism?
Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival? I am still very drawn to the artistic approach of creatives in the Benelux region. Coming from Austria, where we generally carry around a very serious, conceptual attitude, I love to absorb the open minded way of working here and the aesthetics that take their shape through this process. By taking part in the FASHIONCLASH Festival I wish to get triggered by the exchange with the other attendants and to absorb more of this Dutch crazy mind!
All images are by brankopopovicblog
