ArtEZ alumna Natalia Anna Dabrowska wins the Apolda European Design Award 2026

In her collection Shaped by shrinkage, Natalia Anna Dabrowska explored the shrinking of wool: “I was curious to see if I could use this as a deliberate process for both the design and the production of garments.” For the collection, she worked with coarse wool tweed fabrics combined with materials including silk and synthetic satin. By washing the fabrics at high temperatures, folds, creases and three-dimensional textures emerged, becoming defining elements of the silhouettes. According to the jury, the collection combines craftsmanship with wearability, functionality and a strong contemporary design concept.

The Apolda European Design Award is an international competition for graduates of European fashion academies. The competition takes place every three years in Apolda, a German town with a rich textile and knitting history. For the 2026 edition, 26 designers from 15 fashion academies across Europe participated in the competition.

Natalia Anna Dabrowska was part of Generation 67, the 2025 graduating class of the bachelor’s programme in Fashion Design at the ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design Arnhem. Her collection Shaped by shrinkage was awarded by the international jury during the competition. Fellow ArtEZ alumna Dorka Szabó was also shortlisted for the award. Earlier, Dorka received the De Heij Konijn Foundation Prize 2025.

The bachelor’s programme in Fashion Design is an internationally oriented fashion programme in which concept development, craftsmanship, material research and artistic experimentation play a central role. Students develop their own design vision and regularly present their work on international platforms and exhibitions.