TedxLiberty Bridge Women concluded with a Terike from Budapest fashion show
27 models on the catwalk at once, a contemporary dance, and fashion theory statements – the TedxLiberty Bridge Women event culminated in an unconventional fashion show by Terike from Budapest, a platform founded by MOME students, presenting the core thoughts and values underlying the Terike initiative.
“Who is Terike according to others? A WOMAN who sews. She makes whatever you ask for. She can do it. She can get cheap fabric. She works fast. Even on Sundays”, read Terike from Budapest’s statement at the TED event. Terike from Budapest (TfB) started out in June 2020 as an Instagram page featuring young fashion designers but quickly outgrew the social media outlet. Since then, it has been an independent platform with a mission to defend and advocate for the integrity of the fashion business, and improve the exposure of emerging designers. Re-formed in summer 2023, the team (fashion designers Fanni László and Valentin Szarvas, and design culture researchers Cintia Tamás and Anna Keszeg) regard fashion and fashion design education crucial. In their talk, they sketched the situation and challenges of emerging Hungarian fashion designers around the allegorical figure of Terike the seamstress.
“Terike is not a WOMAN but a SEAMSTRESS. Terike is a fashion designer. Her name is not Terike. She is not a woman. She is a fashion designer. She is serious about it. She wants to make a living from it. She wants to make a living designing clothes. Doing work to order. But not compromising. Terike knows quality fabrics. She knows they are pricey. She knows you must wait for them. Terike knows complex sewing patterns. She knows how to follow complex sewing patterns. She knows how to create sewing patterns. But that’s not her job. She has a concept when it comes to clothes. She wants to convey thoughts through the clothes designed and made by her. People buy lots of clothes. They discard lots of clothes. Terike thinks people should buy thoughts instead. Those need not ever be discarded. Terike takes care to make thoughts future proof.”
The name Terike is thus symbolic of all misconceptions surrounding fashion design in Hungary or globally. TfB’s philosophy is that showcasing projects by young designers and promoting sensitivity to their problems are key to shaping and transforming contemporary fashion culture.
The show began after the reading of the statement, condensing the essence of everything Terike is about. The goal was to reinvent the fashion show genre, and for this purpose, contemporary dancer Réka Oberfrank was asked to create the choreography. The models, altogether 28, included dancers and professional models, and were dressed in the designs of five young talents – three graduates from MOME and two from London schools (Judit Bárány, Dorottya Csókási, Fanni László, Anna Rókusfalvy, Valentin Szarvas).
“It was an exciting challenge for both the choreographer and the composer Renátó Grész to maintain the audience’s interest for 11 minutes while they are shown the same clothes on the catwalk”, said MOME associate professor, culture researcher, and member of Terike Anna Keszeg. “After the classic fashion show leadup, the catwalk was transformed into a dance floor, with excerpts from texts by Hungarian fashion theorists (Gábor Klaniczay, Krisztina Maróy, Petra Egri, Anna Keszeg, Katalin F. Dózsa, Margit Szilvitzky) being read aloud to booming music, giving the event a sort of ritualistic character.”
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Dancers and models involved in the performance: Bánk Bagyinszki, Cristina Agueda, Liza Csóka, Ruben Farkas, Viktória Galambos, Nikolett Gulyás-Szabó, Áron Horváth (Avantage Models), Dóra Málna Horváth, Arina Késely, Gábor Kindl, Mátyás Kovács, Franciska Laczkó, Zsófia Lipták, Míra Markella (Avantage Models), Szonja Mayer, Nikolett Molnár, Réka Oberfrank, Ábel Ónódy, Máté Pálinkás, Dóra Szabó, Szofi Zea Szamosvölgyi, Írisz Szedlacsek, Laura Szomolányi, Ticiána Tóth, Blanka Tóth, Lana Varga, Luca Wéber. Make-up artists: Zsófia Lilla Bán, Bori Füge, Tícia Megulesz.
