

Deep Talk mit "Doing Fashion Graduate" Billie Madrigal
Billie "Bling" Madrigal gehört zu den Doing-Fashion-Graduates des Bachelor-Studiengangs Mode-Design der HGK Basel, die am 27. Februar und 23. März jeweils ab 18 Uhr zwei Performances zeigen. Wir haben mit Billie im privaten Atelier im Kleinbasel Tee getrunken und über queerfeministisches Fashion-Design, die Flucht in andere Welten und über persönliche Visionen gesprochen. von Danielle Bürgin
25.02.25 1130 und 25.02. 26 1630 Billie Bling
Billie "Bling" Madrigal gehört zu den diesjährigen Doing Fashion Graduates des Bachelor-Studiengangs Mode Design der HGK Basel
Hier ein Auszug zur Rede von Billie Madrigal, um zu verstehen, was die Fashion-Designer:in antreibt:
"I have been looking into Whichcraft for the last year, and for my research, I had to
travel deep into the past to understand what my sisters had to go through. To understand where I come from, and to understand why I have felt excluded from
this society for 28 years. I am a witch, and I am an affected person of this history,
you have to understand that my work was created as a resonance to the history
and the present, of a violent system. It's always been the queer, BIPOC, Latinx,
and disabled, people who have created something out of the necessity of
suffering, that has been stolen later from the colonizer. I am a Latinx, disabled, queer, non-binary person, and my answer to my pain in the world is this.
Every witch goes through a transformation, and that's what I've been going
through for the last 3.5 years. Since I was child I knew that I was burning for
fashion. When I first started, I didn’t struggle with finding my aesthetic or
language, I struggled with being confident enough, strong enough, brave enough
to show who I am. Standing behind my own aesthetic and standing behind my
stitches and how my creations look like was a hard process, but here I am, ready
to show off my collection to the world. Some people would say that it looks very
childish and messy. I never understand this because for me it looks pretty much
normal and casual.
Because I often felt alone with the feeling that I have a nonlinear approach and at
the same time I have so much respect and appreciation for traditional haute
couture, that I started to create my own term, and my own design practice. LOW
COUTURE.
LOW doesn’t stand for bad quality, it stands for unlinear, nonpatriarchal queer, working-class child, approach to do haute couture. Because it's known that haute couture only can be produced in France. If it's not produced there, it is not haute couture. But why should I follow a rule that is made out of the
land that has colonized the whole world and is made for excluding people?
Low Couture is made for everyone who doesn’t want to be a part of our messed
up system. Low Couture is handmade, every pearl is carefully selected by myself,
every stitch, every mesh made by my hand or made by the hands of my community. With a pinch of witchcraft and powerful energy included. Now let's talk about the most difficult topic sustainability. I do have the awareness that my fashion and design approach is very maximalist, with big gestures and
bright colors..." Billie Bling auf Instagram.
Im Rahmen der Ausstellung «Activating! – Handlungsvorstellung als Werk», die vom 31. Januar bis 23. März 2025 im Kunsthaus Baselland zu sehen ist, präsentieren die Doing-Fashion-Graduates des Bachelor-Studiengangs Mode-Design der HGK Bael am Donnerstag, 27. Februar und am Samstag, 22. März 2025, jeweils um 18 Uhr zwei Live-Performances unter dem Titel «The Stars In My Room Are Brighter Than The Ones Outside».
Tickets für diese beiden Veranstaltungen am 27. Februar und 22. März gibt es hier.