The 51st season of the International Exhibition of Light and Textile Industry "Fashion Industry" in St. Petersburg has become a new stage in the development of the event, bringing together a serious professional audience of both exhibitors and visitors.

On the first day of the exhibition, the already traditional began its workFashion Industry Economic Forum a landmark business event that accompanies all the days of the exhibition. The Forum was opened by the conference "Production in light industry. Are we setting a rhythm or adjusting?"During the conference there was a very lively and sharp discussion about the direction of development of light industry in general and the fashion industry in particular. I am pleased to note the constructive dialogue between entrepreneurs and the authorities of the region about opportunities for the development of regional industries and plans for state support of enterprises of various formats and levels. Discussions were held on topical issues of production and promotion of domestic products, the development of startups and new projects of the fashion industry. The Forum's events were attended by heads of industrial and commercial enterprises, designers, designers and technologists, representatives of universities and the media.

At the end of the conference, the focus shifted to the main podium, where the opening ceremony of the exhibition was held, which was attended by: Evgeny Vladimirovich Ryzhov Director of the Department for the Development of Domestic Trade, Light Industry and Legalization of Product Turnover of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; Elgiz Kachaev Chairman of the Committee for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Consumer Market of St. Petersburg; Tatiana Radion – Vice President of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Natalia Murashko – Head of the Department of External­Economic Relations of the concern «Bellegprom» (Belarus); Oleg Shost – CEO of VO «FAREXPO» Tatiana Nesterova – Director of the International Exhibition «Fashion Industry».

Vice President Union of Designers of Russia Victoria Semenova presented the organizers with a Large diploma of the Union of Designers of Russia "For merits in the development of Russian design". The guests of honor noted the importance of the exhibition for all participants of the fashion market, and also expressed their wishes for further development of the project on the new site, the next season of the Fashion Industry will be held in The Expoforum Exhibition Center, which will significantly increase the level of the event.

The opening ceremony continued with the awarding of the winners of the autumn competition "Generation NEXT". Awards received: Anastasia Ivanova (collection of fabrics and clothing models «Graphics of contrasts », direction «Textiles »), Olga Matyukhina (collection of men's clothing models «;#Pinkogram», direction «Costume »), Elizabeth Avimskaya (project graphics «F 63.9», direction «Graphic design»).

The second day of the Fashion Industry, in addition to traditional events, brought participants the opportunity to get acquainted with the new exhibition site and its infrastructure. The organizers of the exhibition invited everyone to visit the Expoforum Exhibition Center. As the participants of the trip were able to make sure, the new exhibition space is convenient from the point of view of transport accessibility and meets the most modern requirements for international business events. More than 25 years of experience in organizing the exhibition «Fashion Industry» and an advanced platform provide unique opportunities for the development of fashion business in the North-Western region of the Russian Federation. "When we started our project, no one considered fashion industry exhibitions seriously," recalls Tatiana Nesterova, Director of the exhibition. – We were treated like another traveling clothing fair-sale. But from the first steps we were able to change the view of the exhibition of both participants and visitors. And we immediately focused on the business component of the fashion industry. This allowed us to achieve serious results and become the first Russian business fashion event. And now we will be able to provide exhibitors and participants with a European format service. I am sure that this will take our exhibition to a new level and give a serious impetus to the development of the industry not only in the North-West region, but also in the country.

Traditionally «The Fashion industry» gathers more than 10 thousand industry specialists. The 51st season surpassed these figures. Fashion business professionals have shown interest in the exhibition, where products from all segments of the fashion industry from companies from Russia, Europe and Asia are presented. Despite the frosty March days, the exhibition was visited by more than 11 thousand people, of whom more than two thirds are specialists working in the industry. These indicators correspond to the attendance of major European industry and procurement events.

"GENERATION NEXT"

On the second day of the exhibition, the results of the next competition of young designers "Generation NEXT" were summed up. In the final, 143 projects were presented in three directions: "Costume", "Textiles", "Graphic design". Professional evaluation of the projects was given by experienced members of the jury. Experts noted the wide variety and high level of works exhibited in the final.

This season, the number of projects in the "Art Textiles" category has increased, and the themes and techniques have become more modern and diverse. Finalists' projects in the direction of "Graphic design" have become more interesting and high-quality. Fashion designers demonstrated a high level of collections, several projects received the highest rating when voting by the jury.

The winner of the competition in the direction of "Costume" became Vyacheslav Basov from the Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship (branch) DSTU in Shakhty (collection of men's clothing models «The way to abstraction»). The best work in the direction of «Textiles» became art objects made of knitwear «Blue ball » and «Green snail» Alexandra Savelyeva and Valeria Magnitskaya (St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design). In the direction of "Graphic design", the main prize was won by Anna Zaitseva (School of Costume Art «ARTIZIA»), who presented a series of illustrations «Persephone's Dream».

The winners of the competition "Generation NEXT" in the areas of "Costume" and "Textiles" will be able to exhibit their works on personal stands at the exhibition"Fashion Industry" (10–October 13, 2018), and the winner in the direction of «Graphic Design » will have the opportunity to publish his own portfolio.

The next exhibition will be held from October 10 to 13, 2018 at the Expoforum Exhibition Center, St. Petersburg.

Photo: press service of the Fashion Industry