On June 6, a press conference dedicated to the international release of the Russian Seasons took place in Moscow. For the first time, showcases with products from Russian factories and designers – participants of the IV Festival competition «Russian seasons» will be opened on the global marketplace – eBay and on the largest Japanese market place Rakuten Global Market. Buyers from the USA, Europe, Canada and Australia, Japan will be able to buy Russian goods on the trading platform.

This was told at a press conference by the deputy head of the Department for the Development of Domestic Trade, Light Industry and Legalization of turnover of products of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia Sergey Lobanov. 

Within the framework of the Russian Seasons project, domestic factories and designers have developed industrial collections and products made from Russian materials and raw materials of cotton, linen, lace, wood.

"The main requirements for competitive works are a successful design solution, the possibility of serial replication of the competitive model and economic orientation," noted S. Lobanov. First of all, the Ministry sets itself the goal of cooperation of designers with enterprises. For the work, the participants were invited to use traditional materials for our country: cotton, wool, linen, viscose fabrics, lace, leather and wood. The purpose of this year's competition is to test the model from domestic raw materials to an export product. Therefore, an important step for the development of the project will be the launch in September 2018 of the showcases of the "Russian seasons" on the two largest international Internet sites eBay and the Japanese Rakuten Global Market, which will give the festival participants the opportunity to enter the international sales market, both factories and designers from Russia.

For the first time in 2018, in «Russian seasons», in addition to the traditional nominations, a new direction – «Wooden architecture» is presented. With. Lobanov noted that today there is an active development of the Russian timber industry complex, new production facilities are being launched, existing capacities are being modernized.

"Developing the showcases of the Russian Seasons, we aim to acquaint foreign buyers with the unique history of Russian fashion and design, to develop an idea of Russia as a country capable of creating a practical, beautiful and high-quality product for people from different countries.", noted the president of "Russian seasons" Daria Matsievskaya.

Among the partners of the project are "Russian Seasons" The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Russian Export Center, VTB Bank, TSUM, DHL Express and eBay.

The participants are young fashion and interior designers, architects, domestic factories. Among them «Tchaikovsky textiles», «Krestetskaya stitch», «Trekhgornaya manufactory», «Kadomsky veniz», «Ecolife» and others. As part of the press conference, several articles from the industrial collections of factories were demonstrated «Cross stitch» (designer Alexandra Georgieva) and "Kadomsky veniz" (designer Ekaterina Petrova).

According to the CEO of eBay in Russia and in the emerging markets of Europe Ilya Kretov, today tens of thousands of Russian sellers are already placing their products on eBay.

"Uniting more than 170 million buyers around the world (which is the largest population of our country), eBay is a leading platform in Russia capable of accepting export sellers of any scale and opening sales to the whole world at once. We are very happy to join the project "Russian Seasons", because we see similar goals of the organizers to tell and rediscover Russian designers to the general public, not only inside Russia, but now with our direct participation and for foreign buyers. Our designers have something to offer to foreign buyers, and we are proud of the opportunity to prove abroad that Russian means quality, and to promote the development of small businesses in Russia," I am sure Ilya Kretov.

Development Director of the Small Business Department of VTB Bank Ilya Abud presented the VTB platform "Business connection" to the participants of the event. This is a free service for VTB customers that simplifies the processes of product placement and allows you to work with several Russian and international online trading platforms at once.

As part of the Russian Seasons competition, VTB will select the best business case and appoint a personal mentor to the author of the project. It will help refine the business model and bring the project to the market not only Russian, but also foreign. Also, all semi-finalists of the competition will have the opportunity to open a VTB account for free and service for 3 months.

The head of the business development group with key clients DHL Express in Russia Dilara Dolotkazina said that DHL Express actively supports the development of the fashion industry in Russia, helping manufacturers and retailers of designer clothing, fashion houses and designers to achieve success and enter the international market.

"In partnership with "Russian seasons" DHL Express will provide participants of virtual storefronts "Russian seasons" special conditions for express delivery of goods to 220 countries of the world. Attracting a reliable logistics partner will strengthen the positions of Russian designers in the international market and will contribute to the formation of their positive reputation among foreign buyers," said Dilara Dolotkazina.

In 2018, as part of the festival "Russian Seasons", a competition was held for Russian factories and talented youth in three categories: "Fashion", "Subject design»and «Architecture». 10 factories and 118 designers and architects advanced to the semifinals. On June 14, an exhibition presenting their work will open in TSUM.

Photo: press service of "Russian seasons"