top of page
Katharina Sand bw 2023_edited.jpg

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. 

Screen Shot 2019-03-12 at 20.14.51_edite

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

Home: Recent Work

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.

MariaWttergrenScreenshot.png

L'OFFICIEL SUISSE

Screen Shot 2019-03-12 at 21.24.52_edite

 L'OFFICIEL Suisse

Screen Shot 2019-03-14 at 21.53.17.png

 L'OFFICIEL Schweiz

Screen Shot 2019-03-12 at 21.01.20_edited.png

L'OFFICIEL Suisse

Home: Recent Work
Home: Recent Work
Home: Recent Work
Home: Contact

GET IN TOUCH

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Home: Recent Work
Home: About
bottom of page