RUNNING THE RUNWAY

“Playing dress-up begins at the age of five and never truly ends.” — Kate Spade.

RUNNING THE RUNWAY enters its second round. A diverse range of panel discussions and glamorous guests await you. Together, we’ll continue our conversation about fashion as an art form and its intertwining with theatre. People from the worlds of fashion and theatre will come together; and, together with you, explore the many facets of these two worlds. Which role do you choose when you get dressed?

THE PREVIOUS 4 EPISODES:

No.1: ENCHANTING THE RUNWAY

WITH: curator Katharina Krawczyk and philosopher Emanuele Coccia"
MODERATION: Birte Carolin von Knoblauch & Lisa Walder

No.2: FIGURE THE RUNWAY

WITH: literary scholar and fashion theorist Barbara Vinken
MODERATION: Birte Carolin von Knoblauch & Clara Schiltenwolf

The second edition of the new talk series at Schauspielhaus Zürich is titled FIGURE THE RUNWAY and is dedicated to the development of characters within design processes. We will be discussing this with guests from the worlds of fashion and performance. What constitutes a "figure"? What does its silhouette reveal? And what story do its costume and body tell? Fashion and theater thrive on their characters, their beings, and their forms—creatures that captivate, inspire, and enthrall us.

No.3: INHABIT THE RUNWAY

WITH: Kaat Debo, director of the ModeMuseum Antwerpen, and costume designer Aino Laberenz
MODERATION: Birte Carolin von Knoblauch & Clara Schiltenwolf

Behind every art form lies a craft. Before fashion or theater becomes visible and meaningful on stage, it requires a multitude of steps and the interplay of diverse trades and expertise. Every single detail is born from a precise eye and many hands. What does the journey from the initial idea to the final show look like? We discuss this with our guests, shedding light on the craft of fashion design and the dialogue between the garment and the body that wears it.

NO.4: STORY THE RUNWAY

WITH: fashion historian and curator Olivier Saillard
MODERATION: Birte Carolin von Knoblauch & Pınar Karabulut

How is the story of a fashion show created? A conversation about fashion as performance and a narrative medium, accompanied by excerpts from Olivier Saillard’s poetic, often humorous performances, full of wit and esprit.

Olivier Saillard is one of France’s leading fashion historians and curators, known for exhibitions on Balenciaga, Alaïa, and Yohji Yamamoto. Together with Tilda Swinton, he has been developing performative works at the intersection of fashion, the body, and memory for over a decade, most recently including «Embodying Pasolini» and «A Biographical Wardrobe».

Supported by the Hulda and Gustav Zumsteg Foundation and the Zurich Silk Industry Society