Nethanel F. Kantor - Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft Hamburg

VerZogen – Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft Hamburg

My name is Nethanel Fidelius Kantor, I am 24 years old and completed my Bachelor’s degree last year at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. Since then, I have been living in Paris, where I completed an internship at Lutz Huelleas an “assistante modéliste.” In September, I will begin my Master’s studies at the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM). Growing up in an artistic household – my father a sculptor, my mother a painter – creativity has always felt natural to me. From an early age, I was surrounded by art and design, which deeply shaped me. In fashion, I bring together opposing forces. I play with contrasts, letting them interact and charge one another. Materiality, sculptural objecthood, and clothing – I try to make what seems incompatible wearable. In doing so, I create new identities and narrative layers that reflect my own search for belonging.

My graduate collection “Verzogen” is an exploration of the balance between object and fashion, the sculptural and the functional. Each outfit serves as a proposal of this idea. The work examines how unconventional, non-fashion-related materials, such as cardboard and metal, can be incorporated into and recontextualized within a fashion context. It embraces the origin and rawness of the materials. A continuous dialogue with material lies at the heart of my design process. I explore how far the inherent logic of a material can be stretched or reshaped, both physically and conceptually. The act of shaping and bending metal, layering paper, becomes a tool of discovery. In doing so, new silhouettes and surface treatments emerge, ones that could not arise through traditional approaches. The contrast between hard and soft materials— such as construction bolts embedded in cardboard or simulated rust created by burnt edges—creates material-based contrasts and narrative tension throughout the collection. The aesthetics of imitation, in which one material mimics another, form unexpected associative bridges between different looks. This becomes especially evident when paper is processed to resemble metal, prompting viewers to reconsider the function and perception of materials. Ultimately, “Verzogen” is not merely a collection of garments, but a series of sculptural studies and conceptual proposals. The collection reflects my personal exploration of the boundaries between fashion and art, object and garment, convention and experimentation.