This year’s graduating class has finalised their Bachelor’s Degrees in Interior Design, Graphic Design and Fashion Design, receiving the first official qualification in these specialities in the Basque Country
IED Kunsthal celebrates a Degree Show with a selection of over 20 outstanding projects, including its first Fashion Show
Date
08 July 2024
On 4 July, the Istituto Europeo di Design, IED Kunsthal Bilbao, held its Degree Show — an exhibition that brought together a selection of final degree projects from the Graphic Design, Interior Design and Fashion Design specialities, including a fashion show. A day that highlighted the emerging talent of these young designers who have completed their studies. Students, families, alumni, various prominent figures and the press, as well as leading companies and professionals from the sector with whom IED Kunsthal has collaborated throughout the academic year, all had the opportunity to discover the selection of outstanding projects by students who have completed their training this year.
The event was attended by the Director General of IED Spain, Agustí Valls i Prats; the Director of IED Kunsthal Bilbao, Gaizka Zuazo; and institutional representatives such as the the Deputy for Culture of the Biscay Provincial Council, Leixuri Arrizabalaga; the Councillor for Economic Development, Trade and Employment of Bilbao City Council, Xabier Ochandiano; the Councillor for Basque Language, Citizen Services and Participation of Bilbao City Council, Eider Inunciaga; the Director of Culture of the Biscay Provincial Council, Begoña de Ibarra; and the Director of the Agency for Employment and Entrepreneurship of the Biscay Provincial Council, Gloria Mugica.
“The effort and great capacity” that the students have shown throughout their training was highlighted. “Today, IED Kunsthal Bilbao is proud to bid farewell to the students of these graduating classes of Bachelor’s Degrees in Design, specialising in Fashion, Interiors and Graphic Design; a group of young designers who will undoubtedly take Basque design very far,” expressed the Director of IED Kunsthal.
PROJECTS THAT EXPLORE THE LIMITS OF DESIGN
The final degree projects included in the exhibition are an example of this aptitude, and of the students’ concerns.
The Interior Design proposals explore issues such as improving people’s well-being through creativity and their interaction with their surroundings, a reflection on disused spaces and the preservation of local life, the fusion of traditional residences with co-housing to meet the needs of senior citizens, and strengthening women’s individual and collective confidence through a community centre in Busoro, a rural village in Uganda.
The Graphic Design projects invite reflections on the saturation of images in contemporary society, propose the materialisation of music through graphic pieces in different media, promote the preservation of traditional cuisine through workshops and a recipe book, and explore the human-machine dialogue established by artificial intelligence.
In terms of the Fashion Design projects chosen to appear in the fashion show, the issues addressed range from archetypes and the conflict between the expectations and reality of a desired person, to the concept of beauty itself, the dialogue and meeting point between the urban and the ancestral and how they can mutually enrich each other, the relationship between reality and copies or simulacra, and an adaptation of Camilo José Cela’s novel ‘The Hive’ to a dystopian video game universe. Sofía Ruiz de Velasco, Director of S Moda, a magazine specialising in fashion and lifestyle by the newspaper El País, attended the event as a special guest and highlighted “the innovative character and emerging talent present in the proposals of the recent graduates.”
The five students from the Degree in Fashion Design selected to present their collections on the catwalk constitute the first graduates in this speciality, which is also the first official degree in Fashion Design in the Basque Country. “A milestone for IED Kunsthal Bilbao and a boost for Basque design,” stressed the Director of IED Kunsthal Bilbao, Gaizka Zuazo.
IED Kunsthal Bilbao also offers a Degree in Product Design, with the first class graduating in the 2024/2025 academic year.
Look of the “Olympia” collection by student Gaizka Albizu
Carlota Navarro, graduate in Interior Design, exhibits her project “Timbre”.
Julen Astorga, Graphic Design graduate, during the exhibition of his project “YET”.
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