High (on) Fashion: In the frenzy of the fashion industry
A work-in-progress showing at the CCCC of the solo show by Clara Köpf, as part of Zeit für Zirkus in Cologne.
A familiar scene: standing in front of the clothes rail, overflowing them and unable to find anything suitable. Then a sewing machine rattles, the performer slips through the clothes, into a shirt, and climbs energetically up the six-metre-high Chinese pole. So much freedom, so much strength and even more gentleness lie in her acrobatics. She slides down, the shirt remains hanging on a hook, and she looks for a new item of clothing. The sewing machine rattles.
Clara Köpf is a circus artist is a circus artist and her work explores what circus can express beyond technical achievement. She wants to create more than just a circus show. Her piece High (on) Fashion engages critically with the fast fashion industry, carefree consumer behaviour and the constant desire for more. Her call for more sustainability and mindful consumption is a circus performance with powerful images that stick in the memory, followed by an invitation to a clothes swap – a first step towards reducing new purchases.
The performance moves between a clothes rail, a curtain, the Chinese pole and the stage floor. Depending on the garment: oversized jeans, a velvet dress, a loose blouse, she changes her movements from a casual groove reminiscent of breakdancing to posing, turning and doll-like movements. The message is clear: what you wear influences how you feel. But the more clothes there are, the clearer the fine line between ‘possession’ and ‘being possessed’ becomes.
With each scene, more and more clothes fill the stage, so that it soon resembles a rubbish dump of fabrics. Köpf attaches a human-sized bundle of clothes to a rope so that it hangs from the pole like a counterweight to herself: she is stuck to her own rubbish. Then, she wears one garment over the next, proudly presents it and wears another one over it. Soon, she can barely move in the mass of clothing. She clearly shows that we cannot wear everything we own. And yet we buy the next pair of trousers, the next T-shirt, because we like it so much…
In conversation after the show, Clara Köpf explains that the costumes for the stage play are from a second-hand shop:
“When I asked if they might have any clothes left over, they were delighted. “You've come at just the right time, we have 50 bin bags full of clothes in the warehouse that were actually supposed to be thrown away!”’
After the performance, some items will be available for a clothes swap, and Köpf invites everyone to participate, even those who don't have anything to swap themselves. ‘I usually come back with more, anyway.’
Even though the issue is highly topical and controversial, the artist does not want to call herself an activist. She makes art, and although she sometimes feels that she is not making enough of a difference, her piece questions our consumption behaviour and the fashion industry. Clara Köpf delivers a brilliant performance of moments that will remain in our memories. She did not show all the scenes at Zeit für Zirkus Cologne. The piece is still in the creation process. On February 4, High (on) Fashion will celebrate its premiere at the Tollhaus in Karlsruhe.
This article is part of the German project ZirkusBlog, which took place during the Zeit für Zirkus 2025 edition in Cologne. The coverage of Zeit für Zirkus - Zeit zum Reden, organised by the BUZZ - Federal Association of Contemporary Circus, is sponsored by the Performing Arts Fund and the Cultural Office of the City of Cologne. The original German texts were published on ZirkusPlus and on the festival website.
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