Fashion Weeks in Russia, spring 2018

Conclusion of the article by the expert of the b2b platform "Fashion magazin" Oksana Shevlyakova about the main fashion weeks in Russia.

MBFWRussia      Moscow Fashion Week and SPbFWSFW Sochi Fashion Week

Sochi Fashion Week was held from April 18 to 22, 2018 in the historic building of the sea station.

The participants and guests of the screenings noted the high quality of the venue and the good organization of the entire event.

The Fashion Week was opened by the fashion show of the collection of designer Yulia Ivanova, brand IVANOVA, closed the show of the brand Black Star Wear. Of the shows, the catwalks of the brands Saint-Tokyo and Zhaslan Seitov were especially memorable.

Experts noted an interesting business and educational program and extensive information support, but again there was an acute shortage of buyers among the guests of the Week.

I would like to note that at all weeks, with the exception of MBFWRussia, since it did not give accreditation to many specialized media and deprived participants of information support, a lot of work was done to popularize our domestic designers, despite many difficulties with the organization and the economic situation.

Our country is a huge sales market, which, unfortunately, is occupied by foreign manufacturers. Russian designers and manufacturers have good prospects to make them an excellent competition, but for this we all have to work hard and intensively. Designers need to participate more actively in Fashion Weeks, show their collections and declare themselves more actively. So that the domestic buyer understands that our designers can also produce a product worthy of quality and competitive in price, which will be in demand in our and foreign markets.

I hope the management of all fashion weeks will pay more attention to the qualitative selection of participants and will be able to work with The Union of Russian Buyers, the International Association of Buyers, as well as Russian and foreign specialized media. I wish designers not to be afraid to interact with fashion weeks themselves, participate in design Pop-up stores, and competently build work with productions. In addition, I wish them loyal fans and good customers. I really want for a designer to go to fashion week to be not just an act of self-affirmation, but a real practical work that will not only raise the awareness of our designer brands, but also delight fans and professionals with high-quality collections and exciting shows.

In the meantime, two more regional fashion weeks have started this year in Ulyanovsk and Smolensk. Let's hope that they will compete with the existing events.

We all have something to think about, something to discuss, something to work on, something to change, and, most importantly, there are prospects for growth. It remains only to understand that the fashion industry is a very serious business that does not tolerate mistakes and rash decisions.

Photo: IVANOVA, Moscow Fashion Week