The eco village with organic vegan food, a water bottle refilling spot, mobile sustainable home on show, eco-boat by the see, and a water circulating shower and sauna underlined the ecological approach of the festival.
There were 4 to 5 shows every day. Seminars, presentations and lectures were scheduled between the shows. All the designers had a 100% sustainable collection and brand. Each show was a whole universe of its own, and had its own vibe which was created by the collection and the accompanying music. The designers had got inspiration from different cultures and countries for their collections.
The week was opened by shows by Estonian Designer Liisa Soolepp and Saneras from Italy.
On The second day, Hoh Pabissi from UK had a very beautiful and unique show of her evening dress collection. Most of the pieces had a lot of golden details and colours like sand, dark blue and turquoise. All of the pieces were hand crafted in London.
Next there was MEM from Finland with the amazing collection named ENDURE. Most of the pieces had the colour black, and either red or blue. The last piece of the series - a long and big dress with tons of colours such as red, yellow, green, blue and pink broke ties with the rest of the collection in an elegant way.
Last show of the second day was by AITO Studios, a street-style focused brand from Finland witch gathered a lot of crowd. The pieces dominated by colours black, white and pink, and spiced by a cool vibe. A perfect finish for the day.
On day three the Columbian-American designer Nathalia Jmag, presented a stunning collection called Maria. Summery, denim pieces in white, blue, yellow and red, with occasional stripes were inspired by the Columbian and American flags.
One of the interesting Finnish designers in the programme was Mai Niemi, with a focus on Nordic nature and timeless contemporary design. Mai Niemi’s ethically crafted and locally produced designs and organic accessories were a perfect match for the nordic setup and the theme of the week.
Hungarian Kata Szegedi played with “Hungarian sensibilities and global motifs”. Szegedi used custom fabrics and tailoring to provide cosmopolitans with clothing fit for self assured dressers proud of their individual image. Berlin based FUENF, on the other hand focused on street-style, but elegant design, bringing digital culture and fashion closer.
Seminars and exhibitions related to sustainability and innovation, Future-focused technology and circular lifestyle, and an startup panel were intelligent additions to the runway rounds.
Can a regular consumer impact the future of fashion, making it more sustainable? We interviewed some of the designers and team members to find out. Here are some of their tips from different designers in the programme:
“Next time you buy something, think about whats essential for you, find out about the conditions of the people who make the clothes. Buy more consciously, buy less, recycle, wear vintage, think about what you’re buying and why you’re buying it. Creating a better future is about everyday choices, so make them wisely.”
These may sound strange coming form designers who’s interest is expected to be in selling more. For that reason, this change in mind set is a welcome sign of social conciseness which doesn’t start or end with fashion.
Text and images
Tara Kouros
