Ötza's Miniskirt Design Contest (2023)

After her speech for graduating class of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Ötza was unable to locate her precious denim miniskirt at the academy. After a call for help—which led to an unsuccessful nationwide search for Ötza’s miniskirt—she decided to cut her losses, move on and do the unthinkable: find a new miniskirt.

Understanding her visibility as a fanfiction entrepreneur, Ötza is always thinking about ways to platform others, and contribute to the artistic ecosystem. Therefore, Ötza announced a very special open call to design her new miniskirt: open for designers, artists, makers, or anyone that can construct a miniskirt.

The miniskirt was spectacularly revealed during the closing event of W139 hosts... 2023 at W139, Amsterdam.

Costume and styling Ötza by Leila El Alaoui
Jury members — Leila El Alaoui, Armia Yousefi, Eduardo Leon
Design miniskirt by Pablo Salvador Willemars

Special thanks to team W139

(open call — design contest — performance)

Levi van Gelder

Photography: Giovanni Salice

Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder

Ötza's Spectacular Miniskirt Reveal — W139, Amsterdam
Photography: Elodie Vreeburg

Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder

Miniskirt design by Pablo Salvador Willemars

Ötza's Miniskirt Design Contest (2023)

After her speech for graduating class of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Ötza was unable to locate her precious denim miniskirt at the academy. After a call for help—which led to an unsuccessful nationwide search for Ötza’s miniskirt—she decided to cut her losses, move on and do the unthinkable: find a new miniskirt.

Understanding her visibility as a fanfiction entrepreneur, Ötza is always thinking about ways to platform others, and contribute to the artistic ecosystem. Therefore, Ötza announced a very special open call to design her new miniskirt: open for designers, artists, makers, or anyone that can construct a miniskirt.

The miniskirt was spectacularly revealed during the closing event of W139 hosts... 2023 at W139, Amsterdam.

Costume and styling Ötza by Leila El Alaoui
Jury members — Leila El Alaoui, Armia Yousefi, Eduardo Leon
Design miniskirt by Pablo Salvador Willemars

Special thanks to team W139

(open call — design contest — performance)

Levi van Gelder

Photography: Giovanni Salice

Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder

Ötza's Spectacular Miniskirt Reveal — W139, Amsterdam
Photography: Elodie Vreeburg

Levi van Gelder
Levi van Gelder

Miniskirt design by Pablo Salvador Willemars

LEVI VAN GELDER (1995) — ARTIST/DESIGNER
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS — MFA DESIGN SANDBERG INSTITUTE ('18-'20) — DE ATELIERS ('24-'25)

Through working in performance, writing, sculpture and video work, Levi explores fanfiction as a tool for queer resistance and counterfactual reclamation of histories and fictions. By writing, performing and making as Ötza (5300 year old mummified fanfiction entrepreneur and drag adaptation of Ötzi the Iceman) Levi creates a subversive, post-historical rendering of the Neolithic mummy, queering (pre)history in a meta-textualized account of misrepresentation, questioning and resisting claims to truth with quick-witted storytelling and playful critique. Levi lives and works in Amsterdam.
Levi van Gelder