SENSEs

The exhibition SENSEs explores textiles and garments through various senses – sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste – and the more subtle forms of perception that (un)consciously shape our relationship with the world, the body, and materiality. Students of the Department of Textile and Clothing Design at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering of the University of Ljubljana (UL NTF), have developed their projects based on sensory experience, emotional responses, and associations, transforming them into conceptual, unique, or commercially viable design solutions.

In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, fashion is primarily consumed visually, making sight the dominant sense within the fashion and textile industries. Precisely for this reason, the exhibition redirects attention to a more holistic experience of the material world. Multi-sensory-based approaches allow for the exploration of design practices that go beyond the visual, highlighting the role of touch, sound, smell, and taste as equally relevant experiential dimensions. The featured works, created as part of various university classes or thesis projects, address the body as a sensory organ and open up space for more in-depth creative processes.

The projects are arranged into five sensory spaces, each corresponding to a specific sense. In the “office”, visual artefacts – such as Tilen Gorenjak’s clothing, Ana Pelcar’s jacket, and Julija Potočnik’s objects – appear and disappear through black-and-white mimicry. In the “carpenter’s workshop”, the sound of a saw, a video piece, and a research book accompany garments by Anika Katušić Kocbek, who tailored her designs using a saw. The “living room”, featuring garments by Taša Blatnik, Alja Rojko, and Pia Wallner, together with fashion accessories by Tadej Šandor, creates a soft, home-like atmosphere. The “dining room” combines the large wall tapestry Fibering the Landscape, made from yarns that were hand-dyed using food waste, with fashion jewellery and a silhouette by Izabel Čebokelj, inspired by pastry-making. The exhibition concludes in the “playroom”, where tactility takes centre stage in Tadej Šandor’s experimental garment, exploring the contradictory nature of an embrace through the motif of the hand.

SENSEs is not merely an exhibition of textile, garment and fashion design – it is an experiential field that questions how we perceive and shape the world around us. It invites slower, more mindful engagement with materiality, and encourages reflection on the role of the senses within the design process.

More about the projects: kotofolio.si

Participating students: Julija Arnšek, Taša Blatnik, Ema Cestnik, Brina Cotič, Ema Čargo, Izabel Čebokelj, Klara Čretnik, Urban Dereani, Alex Devetak, Petar Domić, Tilen Gorenjak, Larisa Gregor, Marija Grupčeva, Zarja Ivačič, Anika Katušić Kocbek, Neža Kavčič, Alina Kolar, Amelija Kracina, Laura Kresevič, Nađa Kurtalić, Dino Kurtović, Lia Sara Likar, Julija Lorenzutti, Zala Marolt, Matic Možina, Hristijan Nashulovski, Ana Pelcar, Isak Podgoršek, Žana Polšak Vahter, Julija Potočnik, Klara Povirk, Sandra Pregelj, Alja Rojko, Taja Sejdić, Ana Seles, Lučka Simič Hrovat, Valentina Sinkovič, Lune Siter, Jaka Sojč, Eva Strnad, Tadej Šandor, Grega Štor, Tara Urbanč, Vita Velikanje, Pia Wallner
Photographers: Tine Bohinc, Katjuša Peterka, Lucija Pintar, Jernej Strmšek, Nik Velikonja
Mentors: Prof. Almira Sadar, Prof. Nataša Peršuh, Prof. Elena Fajt, Prof. Marija Jenko, Assoc. Prof. Katja Burger Kovič, Asst. Prof. Petja Zorec, Asst. Prof. Arijana Gadžijev, Asst. Nataša Hrupič, Asst. Alenka More, Asst. Sara Valenci, Tjaša Bavcon MA (Oloop collective)
Associate mentors: Asst. Prof. Dr Mateja Kert, Peter Dragolič (Center Rog)
Technical support: Nina Glavič, Mojca Košir, Veronika Vidmar, Andrej Vilar
Head of project: Asst. Prof. Petja Zorec
Exhibition sponsors: Čopomana, Bovton, Center Rog, Humanistika, to si ti!
MGBS curator: Hana Čeferin
Production: University of Ljubljana