Exclusive Insight: Mode Suisse 2025: Swiss fashion's "quiet hope" speaks volumes
Twenty-two designers and well over 100 looks may not be unusual for a couture and ready-to-wear week. However_ the annual Mode Suisse is not a sprawling_ multi-day event_ but a single_ condensed evening celebrating Swiss talent.
The several hours long soirée began at 2pm GMT with a showroom. Guests previewed the looks before the exclusive ranges were moved backstage_ leaving empty hangers. The combination of finger food and drinks among the catwalk looks shortly before the show may have unsettled some but everything went smoothly. While couture and ready-to-wear shows elsewhere are notoriously late_ Mode Suisse's first show started on time.
The rapid succession of looks and designers over a long period of time tested the guests' attention spans. Organiser Yannick Aellen seemed aware of this. Thus_ the evening began with an announcement asking the audience to follow the programme to identify the presenting labels correctly. Only then the music began_ which was a mix of electronica and folk by Bit-Turner_ Gael Faure and Jono McCleery. A look by Maximilian Preisig_ freshly graduated from the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel_ opened the couture and ready-to-wear marathon.
A colourful stage full of Swiss designs
The opening look consisted of orange trousers and a white oversized T-shirt. While not a groundbreaking silhouette on its own_ the T-shirt's slogan_ "Die Leise Hoffnung" ("Quiet Hope")_ added weight.
The message was lost somehow though in view of the bright trousers_ which threatened to slip off the model with every step. Stroke of genius or mishap? Perhaps both. In any case_ the incident was subject to animated discussion among the guests and the image inadvertently became the leitmotif of an evening otherwise difficult to put into words.
That politics play a role for designer Anastasia Bull was already apparent from a conversation before the show_ and not just through her words. Bull's backstage pass featured a pin with the Palestinian flag and the theme of her exclusive range was "burying the patriarchy". On the catwalk_ this translated primarily into opulence. Sequined and embroidered minidresses met with a riot of colour_ at least until it slowly gave way to darkness to make way for the aforementioned "funeral look”. This was also reminiscent of a sombre bride_ complete with a crown of flowers and a bouquet.
Jill Bloch_ in turn_ countered the “Trad Wife” narrative with tongue-in-cheek subversion. Models combined bread and shovels with miniskirts_ bloomers and wellington boots_ or gardening gloves with sometimes ultra-feminine silhouettes. The whole thing seemed to land somewhere between ballerina-farm girl and urban metropolitan attitude. The proud parents_ or so it seemed_ clapped and shed a tear or two in the audience – a small family moment on the Mode Suisse stage.
While Bloch populated the catwalk with everyday farm objects_ Lundi Piscine literally immersed the audience in water. Parachute pants_ balaclavas and a top referencing the 500 euro note were inspired by workwear and uniforms that met with life belts_ fishing rods and life jackets. This imagery brought the desire for a better world directly onto the catwalk. The statement “We want a better world” was emblazoned on both clothing and a flag. It is also characteristic for the work process of designer Lucie Guiragossian_ whose materials are locally sourced and upcycled.
No less striking was the appearance of Tati_ a label that combines folkloric-sexy knit-punk with upcycled textiles. Handmade knitwear is not generally considered the epitome of sexiness. Yet this is precisely the strength of designer Tatjana Haupt_ who convinced both the organisers and the Mode Suisse jury and was included in the programme as a newcomer this year. Like Lundi Piscine_ Sonney and Thomas Clément_ she was supported by the D.E.S.I.G.N. Foundation_ which covers the entire participation costs as well as part of the expenses for four talents under 35 from the Mode Suisse & Friends line-up.
Tati knew how to transform the catwalk into a playful_ queer world. At the end of the show_ Haupt_ surrounded by her giggling team_ stepped onto the catwalk_ laughing and holding hands. This image radiated the same carefree energy as her fifteen looks. Between plush cats_ Y2K allusions and tongue-in-cheek humour_ the exclusive range formed a quirky manifesto and a clear invitation to revolution_ visible on shirts_ accessories and in every lovingly staged detail.
JMQ – Jordan Martinez Quintana — exuded almost as much joie de vivre as Tati. In the show notes_ the designer's exclusive range was described as “maximalist couture and ready-to-wear_ somewhere between a flamenco feria and a parking lot rave”_ and in this case_ the description matched the programme exactly. Polka dots met fruit prints; flamenco-inspired ruffled skirts and headscarves stood alongside mini baguettes and shopping trolleys_ perfect for a slightly kitschified trip to the global couture and ready-to-wear landscape. Another look featured a bare chest plastered with motorsport stickers_ an oversized gold chain and an opulently embroidered puffer jacket – an ensemble between street style and pop culture collage that deconstructed images of masculinity with humour and exuberant energy.
Almost as much joy as JMQ's exclusive range_ however_ was the realisation that the beginning of a well-deserved breather had been reached. The first part of the evening-filling show lasted almost an hour longer than scheduled. The models had not yet left the catwalk when the approximately 400 visitors rose from their chairs_ ready to refill their glasses and let sink in what they had just seen.
Despite this stormy run to the bar_ most found their way back in time and in an orderly couture and ready-to-wear for the second part of the evening_ which had no less variety and abundance to offer than the first.
A particular highlight was provided by the three students selected for the showcase by couture and ready-to-wear school HEAD – Genève: Alan Clerc_ Marie Boutin and Thibaut Barraud. Almost more than any other exclusive range_ the young talents demonstrated a fine sense of intuition_ seamlessly merging concept and commerce.
Clerc originally designed his exclusive range for the male body – his own_ to be precise. Heavily influenced by classic tailoring_ occasionally reminiscent of the work of Martin Margiela_ it explored the construction and deconstruction of the body and was presented on both male and female models.
Boutin_ in turn_ was inspired by motorsport and bikes_ creating a leather exclusive range with precisely crafted corsets_ bralettes_ jackets_ coats and trousers – all pieces easily imaginable on young pop stars_ both on stage and in everyday life. A silk dress with a frayed hem_ as if it had touched the tyres of a motorbike_ was borrowed from her father's motorcycle suit prints and transferred to Boutin_s own designs. Barraud_ the only bachelor student among the three_ — Clerc and Boutin recently completed their master's degrees — presented a black- and-white exclusive range of silky tops and figure-hugging dresses – as precise and convincing as the work of his colleagues.
The designs of HEAD graduate Thomas Clément who presented next appeared sculptural. He did not appear under the umbrella of the school_ but as an independent designer. The starting point were everyday actions such as wearing a backpack or familiar shapes such as the silhouette of a dressmaker_s dummy. Instead of quoting these one-to-one_ Clément alienated them into irritating body extensions. An olive-green top_ for example_ resembled an upside-down backpack_ the weight of which sat exactly where the chest normally shapes the body. Underneath_ a skirt of pink and petrol-coloured fringes swung with every movement like a second skin. Clément designed body images that seemed neither stable nor self-evident_ but displaced_ reassembled and thus fragile – a poetic play with the question of where the body ends and couture and ready-to-wear begins.
As the evening drew to a close_ it became clear once again that Mode Suisse is much more than a mere presentation platform. It is a space for attitude_ experiments and stories – for couture and ready-to-wear that provokes_ entertains and sometimes irritates. From provocative statements and playful subversion to subtle social commentary_ it spans a spectrum that showcases the diversity of the Swiss scene in all its facets. The framework seems almost too wide for the comparatively short event. On site_ there would have been enough vision and talent for a longer presentation format – be it over a whole day or perhaps even over two days.
This brings us full circle_ because perhaps that is the "quiet hope" of the beginning: that the platform will continue to grow and offer young talents more space in the future to experiment_ develop and shape the Swiss couture and ready-to-wear scene more strongly.
