The CFA - Contemporary Fashion Archive is an international project addressing contemporary fashion design. Six renowned European fashion institutions join forces to establish a unique information network, which detects and presents current positions and developments in fashion design. This information network consists of an Internet platform with a digital archive and local documentation centres located at the different institutions of the partners in question.

Collections and projects of international curated fashion and accessories designers will be presented who work experimentally and innovatively such as Helmut Lang, Walter van Beirendonck, Martin Margiela, Viktor&Rolf; or BLESS. The ever increasing connections between fashion design and neighbouring creative fields such as photography, industrial design, graphic and web design, styling, architecture and contemporary music are highlighted and documented. In addition, relevant institutions, magazines and exhibitions are presented.

Since May 2002, the CFA has been set up as a European cooperation project. It has been awarded funding as an exemplary project in the area of fashion by the European Union in the context of the Commissions' culture program Culture 2000. The grant has been based on the project's clever use of modern communication technologies for the aesthetic world of fashion and design.