ZURICH – My latest ‘fashion & food’ appointment took me to Switzerland to meet with Swiss designer Julia Winkler who delighted me with homemade cupcakes and some fashion talk. Julia graduated with distinction from Berlin’s International University of Art for Fashion (ESMOD) in 2012, with a Diploma in Fashion Design and Pattern‐Making. Her designs are experimental and avant‐garde. Inspired by her mother’s work as a couture tailor, Julia had experience with textiles, patterns and colors from an early age.
In 2012, she showed her diploma collection “Pinky’s Dream – Watch the Room” and won ESMOD’s Prix du Jury 2013, as well as the annabelle Award 2013 from the renowned Swiss fashion magazine annabelle at Mercedes‐Benz Fashion Days Zurich. In July 2014, Julia participated as one of the five finalists in the fashion talent award “Designer for Tomorrow” with patron Tommy Hilfiger, and showcased her AW 14/15 collection “UTQC” at Mercedes‐Benz Fashion Week Berlin.
While Julia started preparing her delicious cupcakes, I got to learn more about her AW14 collection. The “UTQC” collection is inspired by the album “Until the Quiet Comes” from the electro music producer Flying Lotus. This impressive collection is characterized by its supernatural style and the complexity between illusion and utopia. The pieces consist of highly subtle autumn and winter shades, such as dark violet, grey, black and blue.
The collection stays true to her experimentalist reputation. Julia’s inspiration is multifaceted and pulls from musical influences to different cultures, and its always exciting for her to go about the process of designing and creating new pieces. Her passion for patterns and her spontaneity is reflected in her collections. This coming November, Julia will showcase her new SS15 collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days in Zurich for the very first time.
When I asked Julia what was the inspiration behind her cupcake recipe, she stated that her 4 month trip across the US, from NYC to LA had a big influence in her choice. “During my trip I would discover on a fairly regular basis some small and crazy shops with the most unusual yet creative baking and decoration products. I was confronted with it over and over again. So much so, I began to realize that everyone shapes and decorates cupcakes differently so I reflected what the cupcakes of my generation would look like. I was born in the late 80’s, and I grew up with Mario & Luigi, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pac-man, the Smurfs and of course Sesame Street, so that inspired me. I packed up the right decoration products and flew home to start my baking adventure. I received a lot of positive feedback and still make them from time to time, which reminds me of the memories I created during that trip.”
Recipe cupcakes à la studiowinkler
Ingredients:
2eggs
90 g cane sugar
120 g soft butter
190 g flour
110 ml milk
2 level teaspoons baking powder
A finger twist of salt
Three teaspoons of lemon juice
Preparation:
Beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar. Stir in eggs. Then add flour, baking powder and lemon juice. Add milk slowly step by step. Fill in the dough into the little cupcake forms. Bake at 175 degrees for approx. 20 minutes.
Frosting:
a bit of lemon zest
100g soft butter
100g icing sugar
110g cream cheese
Mix and fill into piping bag and decorate!!!