Two Luxembourg voices take the stage at Prague's Designblok

Two designers represented Luxembourg at the 28th edition of Designblok, the largest design and fashion festival in Central and Eastern Europe.

Designblok returned to Prague from 6 to 11 October 2026 for its 28th edition, held under the theme "Light" — a symbol of knowledge, truth, hope and life. This year's festival brought together 368 exhibitors and brands from 24 countries, across several venues including the Trade Fair Palace of the National Gallery, Prague Castle's Riding School, the Museum of Decorative Arts and — for the first time since its extensive reconstruction — the historic Industrial Palace, which rose again after the devastating 2008 fire. Dutch design star Marcel Wanders was this year's main guest.

Two representatives of Luxembourg were invited to join this year’s program.   

Ana Luisa Teixeira: reweaving fashion's systems

On 10^th October, Ana Luisa Teixeira of Lët'z Refashion took part in the Reimagining Systems panel of the EUNIC Imagine Festival's Unweaving Fashion programme, alongside speakers from France, the Czech Republic and Poland — Millie de la Valette & Elisabeth Dieupart (FR), Andrea Vytlačilová (CZ) and Ewa Polkowska (PL).

She presented Lët'z Refashion, the Luxembourg initiative — run by HUT – Hëllef um Terrain, as part of the government-backed Rethink Your Clothes campaign — which aims to address the environmental footprint of the country's textile industry through awareness campaigns, repair and upcycling workshops, and support for local sustainable designers.

"Extend the life of a garment."

During the panel discussion Ana Luisa Teixeira stressed that “the most sustainable garment is the one already hanging in your wardrobe”. The panel discussion that followed explored how the fashion industry can shift towards more responsible systems of production and consumption, and why real change will come not from individual guilt, but from collaboration, innovation and a truly circular economy.

Karya Anliak: growing new landscapes from industrial ruins

Karya Anliak, a Turkish-Luxembourgish multidisciplinary designer who studied at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), was selected as one of the 2026 Diploma Selection finalists in product design.

Her graduation project explores biomineralisation — a natural process in which bacteria produce calcium carbonate minerals. By combining bacterial cultures with 3D-printed ceramic vessels and a rotating steel system, her work proposes an entirely new relationship between industrial design and environmental regeneration: “instead of leaving post-industrial landscapes as scars, could we grow them back — with the help of microorganisms”? she asked, and emphasizing : "design doesn't have to impose itself on a landscape — it can collaborate with living processes. If bacteria can build minerals, they can help us reimagine what regeneration looks like."

Both participations illustrate the same idea from two angles: design as a tool for transformation — of systems, of materials, of habits.

The EUNIC Imagine Festival, organised by the EUNIC Prague cluster together with European cultural institutes, embassies and local partners, aims to build bridges in connecting designers, researchers, cultural practitioners and decision-makers across borders, and putting culture at the heart of Europe's shared challenges — from sustainability to responsible consumption.

The Chargé d’affaires of Luxembourg in Prague, Gabriel Baptista had the pleasure of welcoming Karya and Ana Luisa at the Embassy of Luxembourg and to discuss their respective fields of work.