Contemporary Responses to a Historical Style: Introducing the Selected Teams of the ‘Get in the Picture – New Talent of the Year’ Programme

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) announced the ‘Get in the Picture – New Talent of the Year’ tender for the third time in 2025, focusing on the 100th anniversary of the Art Deco style. The programme, co-organised with the Budapest Complex Vocational Training Centre (BKSZC), aims to support the professional development of students in creative industry vocational training and provide talent management and career guidance. Entries were submitted from four areas – fashion, design, fine and industrial art, and beauty and cosmetics – from all around the country.

The 2025 theme invited young people to reinterpret the heritage of Art Deco, flourishing in the 1920s and 1930s, through a contemporary lens. Altogether, students from 13 vocational training institutes, including from Győr, Szeged, Nyíregyháza, and Zalaegerszeg, submitted their works.  The geometric forms, luxurious material use, and the timeless elegance of the style presented in the entries were embodied in the creative reimagining of the participating teams, in a functional or conceptual form. Following the pre-screening of the entries, twelve teams can get an opportunity to develop the project with the support of professional mentors.

In the fine and applied arts category, three distinct artistic perspectives were reflected in the selected concepts. The Gertrude team will design illustrated story booklets for children inspired by the Art Deco style and the artwork of Anna Lesznai during the implementation phase. The Stamp Deco collective reimagines modern buildings in European cities as a series of stamps using the visual language of Art Deco. The Művész Négyes will conceptualise the artistic message of female perseverance and strength in an installation project, reinterpreting the world of Art Deco female figures in a contemporary form.

In the design section, DekorÁlom based their submission around the design of a multifunctional Art Deco lampshade inspired by architectural forms under the name Szolár Szálló (Solar Inn). The Gatsby Crew contrasts a painted model of a panel apartment building with the historicist and modern urban environments. The Formabontók team has set the goal of creating a monumental, dismountable Art Deco gate and various masks, which will represent the different facets of the style through contemporary colour usage and constructed functionality.

The projects in the fashion category focus on the connection between contemporary attire and the legacy of Art Deco. The Pearl & Velvet team is designing a transformable garment that can be worn in four different ways, blending the world of The Great Gatsby with contemporary festival culture. The Deconi collection translates the aesthetics of Hungarian Art Deco architecture into clothing featuring dark green, gold, and brick red tones with symmetrical embellishments. The Charlestone Ladies’ project focuses on sustainability: their innovative, transformable garments are created from recycled fabrics, responding to the challenges of fast fashion.

In the beauty and cosmetics section, the Marlene team will showcase the style features of the Art Deco era on live models, with three different hairstyles and makeup designs tailored to distinct characters. The Főnix team evoked the spirit of The Great Gatsby by creating an elegant yet conscious female archetype. The Flapper Girls formation revived the era's iconic hairstyle and makeup trends with contemporary solutions.

During the mentoring period, student teams will be assisted by outstanding professionals in each category: in fashion, Anna Keszeg, PhD, university associate professor (MOME); Bori Ferencz, fashion designer (BORBALA); and Daniella Sovány, founder of the DAN!ELLE brand. In the design section, Dóra Eiler, ceramicist; Bence Sárkány, furniture designer; and Fanni Hegedűs, furniture maker and restorer, worked alongside the students. In the fine and applied arts category, the mentors are Attila Dóczi, a fine artist; Balázs Antal, a ceramic designer; and Ákos Lipóczki DLA, senior lecturer at MOME. In the beauty section, the mentors are Zsófia Marencsák, editor of the beauty section at GLAMOUR Hungary; Sarolta Tombor, makeup artist; and Melinda Varga, co-founder of CRÉEM.

Throughout the programme, alongside the professional mentors, ambassadors associated with each category will also support the participants' work. In the fashion sector, Hedvig Harmati, CEO of Sugarbird; in the design section, Attila Bálint Ferenc, sustainability expert at IKEA; in the applied arts category, Róbert Mascher, President of the Young Artists Studio Association; and in the beauty and cosmetics sector, Zsolt Kovács, CEO of KALLOS Cosmetics, represent industry connections and the opportunity for professional integration. The Ambassadors will offer special offers to the winning teams, such as a professional workshop, exhibition opportunities, campaign photography, headquarters visits, gift packages with professional products. They will also follow up on the work of the contestants and will be involved in the follow-up and professional support of the ideas after the competition.

The closing event of the programme will take place in May 2025, where the selected teams will present their completed projects to a professional jury and a broad audience. In addition to receiving material prizes, the winners will also benefit from long-term professional support: HFDA aims to provide a platform for talented young individuals to thrive and to foster the growth of the next generation within the creative industries.