Profile: Natalia Dabrowska – Only Natural Design Competitions

Natalia Dabrowska

ArteZ University of the arts

My name is Natalia Dabrowska, and I am a part of the 2025 graduating class at ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem. I was born and raised in Krakow, Poland. During my teenage years I have attended fashion design classes in Gallery ‘Autonomia’ in Warsaw, where I was additionally featured in a design exhibition. The classes have allowed me to start my journey with fashion design, where I created textiles, learnt the basics of fashion drawing and built my portfolio for further studies. Additionally I have completed a short fashion design course at Central Saint Martins, that gave me a deeper insight into fashion research and translation of inspiration into design. I have then proceeded to complete a Foundation in Art and Design specialising in Fashion at Arts University of Bournemouth, graduating with distinction. During the preparatory year I have explored not only Fashion design, but also fine arts, product design and photography. The blend of disciplines have made me aware of possibilities within the design field and how I can translate them into what captivates me the most, fashion design. This preparatory year has allowed me to not only built a strong foundation for my bachelor studies, but also made me absolutely sure that fashion design was what I wanted to specialise in. These experiences have prepared me to successfully complete a four year bachelor studies in Fashion Design at ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem. During my bachelor studies, I discovered a deep interest in the relationship between the texture and the shape of the garment. I have since prioritised these ideas in my work, focusing on the development of new textures and their application in my designs. I investigate this relationship thoroughly as a part of my creative process to achieve harmony between shape, fabric, and texture. I am interested in creating innovative textures, while using staple fabrics and materials such as woollen tweeds and raw fibres well as silk satins, in combination with traditional hand finishes. I often draw inspiration from nature and human interventions in the environment. I specifically feel drawn to the land art movement from the 1970s, where artists explored the relationship between humans and the environment. The boundaries of art were blurred as one could not determine where the artwork ends and environment begins. I research this thinking in my work through texture and fabric exploration, aiming to shape the garments through texture and fabric features. In addition, my studies allowed me to complete an internship at a ready-to-wear brand, where I realised I feel more drawn to the haute couture and high fashion ateliers rather than fully wearable brands. This experience encouraged me to research more deeply haute couture techniques and tailoring such as structuring the garment through hand stitched paddings and interfacings, the finishes of bias cut silk satin garments as well as various types of hand stitches: whipstitch, overcast stitch and stab stitch amongst others.

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Shaped by shrinkage

Category: Apparel

Competitions: Fashion Competition 2025

‘Shaped by shrinkage’ is an exploration of wool shrinkage as a technique of textile and garment creation. The inspiration for my came from an earthwork, ‘Sculpture for the Earth’ created by a polish artist, Teresa Murak. The salient aspect of my experience with this artwork was the appreciation of its exploration of the relationship between negative and positive space. I was curious how this could be translated into fashion. The notion of fabric shrinkage was inspired by Comme des Garçons' F/W 1994 collection, featuring woollen, tailored, and lined garments that were boiled. I was curious whether I would be able to use wool shrinkage as a deliberate process for both design and garment execution. The shrinkage of a man-made woollen tweed, turns it into a felted piece of material, reestablishing the connection to the fibre origin. Felt is one of the oldest fabrics in human history, known for its weather-resistant and durable qualities. My process while technically damaging the tweeds; proved to increase the quality of cheaper wool, as it resulted in binding the fibres together. It is irreversible, and the shrinkage results in the regeneration of tweed through losing or breaking the regularity of its structure into a sturdy, far more durable felted piece of fabric. In the context of the shape of the garment, the wool shrinkage process helped me reimagine the garment as not the finished product, but as changing with time and environment. Even though I have made multiple tests to achieve a desired result, the process included far more trials and errors than my usual projects. The acceptance of the unpredictability became a vital part of my process. The process of shrinking the garment changes its shape and texture in a mostly unpredictable way, leading to new forms and appreciation of imperfection. The regeneration occurs through new unexpected results transforming the garment into a completely new design. The coat that I have created is a combination of fabric deconstruction, shrinkage, and traditional tailoring techniques. The whole upper body part is reinforced with toile cotton providing structure and holding the weight of the texture.The garment provided an opportunity for finding textures in the shrinkage technique but also a method of using leftover materials. As the texture was created by cutting singular woollen rectangles out of wool, it allowed not only minimal waste but also usage of woollen pieces of fabric that were too small to use for pattern cutting.