KATHARINA SAND (PhD)
Writer. Professor. Curator. Entrepreneur.
As an editor, curator, and as a professor, I discover new stories and potential every day.
My over 160 publications focus on in-depth interviews with creative industry experts and the investigation of innovation.
My career as a an arts/culture and fashion correspondent in New York led me to become the CEO/founder of the design platform SEPTIEME ETAGE in the year 2000, and towards over twenty years of art and design practice and research. While my academic writing can be found on ORCID, my other writing has found its way into a variety of publications, including L'OFFICIEL Suisse, PAPER Magazine, Bolero Magazine, Bilan, AgefiBliss, Time Out Switzerland, New York Magazine, Manhattan File, and many more.
I write in English, German and French, and chit-chat in Italian.
I am also a professor and speaker. Currently I am visiting professor at AMD Akademie Mode & Design and part of the Parsons Paris faculty. I have taught at the HEAD-Genève University of Art and Design, as visiting professor at the Kunstuniversität Linz, and as professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and at the École supérieure de mode/École de design of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Let's make change happen through education!
Through my research, I explore the cultural and societal challenges and potential of digital transformation. As a curator of design and ideas, I dedicated myself to the support of the creative industries. My projects include co-curating "Textile Design Now" at the Centre de design in Montreal in 2023-2024. It showcased 22 highly innovative international artists & designers, including Julia Körner, Pauline van Dongen, A+N Studio, and Veronica Ranner. The 2020 exhibition "Making Fashion Sense" at the HeK in Basel, explored technology as a transformative tool for artists & designers. It featured designers such as Iris Van Herpen, Hussein Chalayan and Ying Gao, as well as the rising star of creative AI, Robbie Barrat and virtual fashion designs by the artist Alfatih. Funding partners have included the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (CRSH/SSHRC), Creative Industries Fund NL, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), the Japan Foundation Toronto, Goethe Institut Montreal, the IKEA Foundation Switzerland, Cornercard, and the Fondation Didier et Martine Primat.
As a researcher and academic, I combine speculative design thinking regarding arts and technology, rooted in 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the creative industries, with theoretical frameworks. I enjoy letting my experience infuse and enthuse the hearts and minds of visitors, students, and readers. My research and speaking engagements have taken me from Shanghai to Dubai.
In 2021, I was commissioned to document twenty art and technology collaborations for ReFREAM, one of the pillars of the S+T+ARTS (Science + Technology + Arts) programme. S+T+ARTS is an initiative of the European Commission, launched under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme to support collaborations between artists, scientists, engineers and researchers.
In 2024, I was selected as an expert evaluator for the MUSAE project, which is also supported by Horizon Europe through S+T+ARTS.
I have been active in professional and academic design juries since 2001, including the Swiss Textiles Award, the Design Prize Switzerland, and creative_project of the city of Vienna.
Catch me at one of my lectures or conferences. Or just browse through some of my journalism work below.
INTERVIEWS
ART
Andrea Bellini
Andrea Cohen
Annette Schindler - Swiss Institute New York
Annie Leibovitz
Carolyn Freymond
Catherine Duret
Cathérine Hug
Céline Fribourg
Daniel Zipp - Creative Time
Delphine De Candolle
Dominique Lévy
Edward Mitterrand
Emma Fletcher & Tamara Schlesinger
Elisa Langlois
Fabienne Abrecht
Forrest Myers
Guy Bärtschi
Harumi Klossowska
Holly Woodlawn
Jean-Paul Felley
Jeff Koons
John Armleder
Julian Opie
Karin Handlbauer
Kenny Schachter
Kostabi
Laleh June
Laura Gowen
Laurence Bernard
Lionel Bovier
Marc Jancou
Marc-Olivier Wahler
Maria Bernheim
Maria Wettergren
Mario Testino
Martha Schwartz
Michael Craig-Martin
Nicolas Trembley
Olivier Kaeser
Paul Morris
Pierre Geneston - Xippas
Richard DuPont
STR8UP
Stefano Stoll
Tatiana Franck - Musée Elysée
Thelma Golden - Whitney Museum
The PushPose
Thomas Hug - artgenève
Vanessa Beecroft
Walter Keane & Margaret Keane
Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin - Max’s Kansas City
Ying Gao
DESIGN/TECH
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Alexis Georgopoulos - ECAL
Angela Adams
Big Game
Bill Gates/ Marc Getty
David Carson
David Sadigh
Digital Luxury Group
Franck Bonneveau
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Jonathan Adler
Katharina Otto
Key Kawamura
Maja Bijlengja & Anders Granath
Mark Kornfilt - Livestream
Mélanie René
Nicolas Nova
Propaganda
Reverb
Siegel Arts
Somi Kim & Lisa Nugent & Susan Parr
Stefan Sagmeister
.
FASHION/BEAUTY
Asfour
Alpana Bawa
Anna Sui
Anne-Catherine Luk
Antoni & Alison
Antonio Berardi
Barry Kieselstein-Cord
Bay Garnett - Cheap Date
Betsey Johnson
Catherine Malandrino
Cecilia Dean, James Kaliardos & Stephen Gan
Christina Bronstein & Anthony Gill - Tony & Tina
Christopher Brosius - Demeter
Christopher Totman
Clara Mollloy - Memo Parfums
Dai Rees
Daryl Kerrigan
Elena Bajo
Elisabeth Fischer HEAD - Genève
Elspeth Gibson
Eugene Souleiman
Faye Toogood
Florie Dupont
François Nars
Frédéric Fekkai
Gabriel Asfour
Geova
Guo Pei
Hans Schreiber - Forster Rohner
Helmut Lang
Isaac Mizrahi
Isabel & Ruben Toledo
Jade Jagger
Jamie Morse Heidegger - Kiehls
Jan Zimmerman - Forster Rohner
Jeffrey Deitch
Jennifer Buret
Jimmy Choo
Joe Corre - Agent Provocateur
Joely Nian
John Bartlett
Julien Macdonald
Lev Glazman & Alina Roytberg - Fresh
Linda Cantello
Lisa Sabrier - Wool & The Gang
Léa Peckre
Lulu Guinness
Maja
Marc Jacobs
Marcia Kilgore - Bliss
Mark Kroeker
Marlon Richards
Marina Chedel
Markus Hümer
Masha Calloway
Mathew Williamson
Michael Kors
Miguel Adrover
Mikael Vilchez
Molly Goddard
Ned Ambler
ORFI
Pamela Golbin
Patrick Robinson
Pat McGrath
Philip Treacy
Robert Cary-Wiliams
Simone Cipriani - Ethical Fashion Initiative
Slim Barrett
Susan Cianciolo
Suzanne Freiwald - Earl Jeans
Sylvie Chantecaille
Tatum Mazzilli - Voyage
Tiffany Dubin
Todd Oldham
Tracy Feith
Tommy Hilfiger
Tony Moxham - Interview Magazine
Visionaire
A FEW FASHION CONVERSATIONS
THE SHORT STORY
My career as a culture and fashion correspondent in New York led me to become the CEO/founder of the designer platform SEPTIEME ETAGE in the year 2000, and twenty years of fashion practice and research. Around 150 of my articles have found their way into a variety of publications, including L'OFFICIEL Suisse, PAPER Magazine, Bolero Magazine, Bilan, AgefiBliss, Time Out Switzerland, New York Magazine, Manhattan File, and many more. I write in English, German and French, and chit-chat in Italian.
I am also a professor and speaker. Currently Professor at UQAM in Montreal, I have been a Visiting Professor at the Fashion & Technology department at the Kunstuniversität Linz, have lectured at the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD), SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), as well as at PARSONS PARIS (The New School). I have been active in professional and academic design juries since 2001, including the Swiss Textiles Award and the Design Prize Switzerland. My research and speaking engagements have taken me from Shanghai to Dubai.
Books and dachshunds make me go weak in the knees, and don't get me started on digital fashion, or Bruno Munari.