Debrecen4U March 12, 2026

Science Meets Fashion at a Major Event in Debrecen

Culture, environment, architecture, design, fashion, economics, advertising, and consumption form the basis of the interdisciplinary conference organised by the Art Centre of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Humanities and the BIKSZ Bán Imre College for Cultural Studies on 19 and 20 March.

Contemporary trends and challenges

The chief organiser of the scientific conference is Kata Anna Váró. The lecturer at the Art Centre of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Humanities explained that the event, now being organised for the second time, aims to provide a forum where experts from different academic disciplines can discuss culture, the environment, the built environment, design, fashion and advertising, as well as the closely connected areas of economics, consumption and cultural consumption, and their environmental impact in the context of contemporary trends and challenges.

“Applied arts are integral parts of culture and the environment, taking into account fundamental human needs such as safety and protection, and they also play a role as economic factors. Yet recently we increasingly hear about the environmental damage caused primarily by the fashion industry and increased consumption,” said Kata Anna Váró.

The aim of the conference is to make the relationships between these fields clearer and more transparent, enabling a more nuanced understanding of issues such as the dual nature of fashion, design and consumption: creative creation and the destruction that may follow it; advertising that encourages consumption; and the development of consumer habits and their broad economic and social effects.

The advertising industry and its transformations reflect both the development of the creative industries and changing economic and environmental expectations, and therefore deserve particular attention. The fashion and design industries, like advertising, encourage consumption and play an important role in the economy, where growth is clearly valued, while environmentalists increasingly urge moderation. The tension between these two perspectives has become a research field requiring detailed analysis and complex approaches. Architecture and the built environment have also faced new challenges in recent decades, as have other industries closely connected to design and culture. Cultural consumption and its transformation also deserve special attention as an important aspect of consumption that significantly shapes consumer habits and their evaluation.

The conference’s thematic sections focus on the complex phenomena of culture, environment, architecture, design, fashion, economics, advertising and consumption, highlighting their various interpretative perspectives.

Further information about the details is available online.

Fashion festival returns with a talent-focused fashion show

A related event of the conference is the Fashion Festival Debrecen, which includes a fashion show beginning at 20:00 on 19 March. The show thematically connects to the Time Mimicry exhibition at MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts, where past, present and future intertwine with visual arts and fashion. The event plays with the connection between the concepts of time and tabula rasa.

“Imagine a white canvas filled with colours by our actions, or a pure empty surface on which time writes its stories. The tabula rasa changes over time – it fills up and disappears.

As we move toward the future, it becomes less and less, smaller and smaller, until time consumes it so that something new may be born. Because when it is no longer pure and empty, something is created – something with character, personality and meaning.

Time thus shapes character. We can become someone or something only in an imagined future,” summarised Dóra Balogh, a lecturer at the Art Centre of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Humanities, founder-designer of the WEALL brand and chief organiser of the festival.

She added that the festival is strongly committed to talent development, and as part of building a tradition, visitors will once again be able to view clothing selections created by vocational school students in the exhibition space of MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts. In addition, several talented young people will be involved among the festival’s partners and behind the scenes, and they will also be introduced in event posts.

“The event’s guest of honour will be the Julookme wedding dress brand. Through its founder we aim to present a role model to students of fashion styling and costume design, as Judit herself studied at the institution named after Károly Kós. Her bridal dresses symbolise the tabula rasa – a pure new beginning.”

The host of the fashion show will be Bence Csalár, fashion expert and journalist committed to educating the next generation about awareness, linking sustainability with self-knowledge. He applies his professional experience and broad perspective on fashion as a lecturer at the Budapest Metropolitan University and as programme leader of the fashion expert training at Werk Academy.

On the runway, the bridal creations of the Julookme brand will be complemented by jewellery created by goldsmith Szabina Cziczás. The fashion styling and costume design department of the Kós Károly Secondary Art School, as well as the fashion, costume and stage design department of the Nyíregyházi SZC Wesselényi Miklós Technical School, will present selections from examination and competition collections.

The show will also feature a contemporary performance by talented students from the dance department of the Medgyessy Ferenc Secondary School, under the mentorship of choreographer Emese Lévai. The electronic music accompanying the catwalk was composed specifically for the theme by Péter Varró, a student at the Tóth Árpád Secondary School.

Participation in the event is free of charge, although seating is available with the purchase of a VIP supporter ticket.

FFDD’26 offers several additional events

On 17 and 20 March, visitors can participate in a capsule ceramic jewellery glazing workshop at Sufni2ArtHouse with ceramic artist Ani Puskás, creator of the KA‑PA brand. During the workshop participants can glaze a multi-piece, interchangeable jewellery set on snow-white, once-fired ceramic bases instead of canvas, using colours of their own choice. During the workshop, the studio will also host a pop-up exhibition of upcycled clothing from the WEALL.

On 18 March, silk painter Márta Csajbók will organise an open silk-painting workshop. During the event, unique hand-painted eco-print scarves will be available for purchase at a 20 per cent discount.

Three days later, on 21 March, she will also host an intuitive silk scarf painting workshop, where participants can create their own inspired artwork on white mulberry silk using freely chosen colours. The designer will provide technical guidance, materials and the venue. No prior experience is required, and participation is open from the age of 14.

The chief patron of the event is Zsigmond Lakó, Director of the Art Centre of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Humanities.

Source: dehir.hu