Three Designers on the Future of Fashion in Eastern Europe

Eastern European fashion is indeed having its moment of fame. I can’t speak on behalf of the whole of Eastern Europe, but I can name some of the reasons why interest has been raised around Georgia. In addition to a unique style and vision that Georgian designers can be proud of, I think the two main factors that have contributed to this moment are: First, the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Tbilisi, whose organizers do their best to support Georgian designers by bringing so many interesting guests and buyers into the country; and, secondly, Demna Gvasalia. As the creative director of Balenciaga, Demna has raised the interest and definitely brought a lot of attention towards the country.

COOLS: What do you think makes the industry there so different than what you would find in other capitals?

I think a factor of hardship has made the scene very unique. Because there’s a lack of necessary equipment, materials and skilled labor in some Eastern European countries, many of the designers here have to think outside of the box in order to achieve that same level of high quality, without the same resources.

I think the Ukraine has been building its fashion industry for a long time already, and that those collective efforts have resulted in this international acclaim.  It didn’t just come overnight – we’ve been working a long time for it. Personally, I think the interest that the Western world has in us is just logical; it’s a proof of the rule that hard work pays off. Both of our fashion weeks are working hard every season so that more and more foreign journalists are coming to see the designers. And the designers keep up to the Western level of quality – well, the ones who do receive the reviews and international fame.

COOLS: What do you think makes the scene in the Ukraine, or in Eastern Europe, different from what you find in other cities?

I think the fact we are young brands works for us. We are something new with a slightly different attitude and vision of the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are manipulating the fact that we are from Eastern Europe. I don’t think Rihanna wore my dress because she wanted to wear a “Ukrainian brand” – she just wanted something that was cool, good quality, and something that fit her progressive style. When I think about our uniqueness, I don’t think about Cyrillic alphabet prints on T-shirts or something like that;

COOLS: Lately, Eastern Europe seems to have risen to a sort of new frontier in the global fashion scene. Why do you think that is?

I think the world of fashion is always looking for some “fresh blood,” and when following only fashion scene in cities like New York, London, Paris, etc., somehow you can always predict what you’re going to see on the runway there. But, when it comes to Eastern Europe, for example, the young designers who live here are in a completely different surrounding, studying art and design in an entirely different way, and with not as much access to resources, museums, exhibitions, and materials; so we have to push our creativity to achieve something significant. Also, being somewhat excluded from the Western fashion world can be good for a designer, because we don’t have to follow the insanely fast rhythm of today’s fashion industry, we can dictate that on our own. I think this relaxed way of working is the reason we’re seeing some good results coming from Serbia.

COOLS: What do you think makes the fashion scene/industry in Serbia (and in Eastern Europe) unique from other “Western” fashion capitals?