How Central European Fashion Week of Budapest went

Traditional craftsmanship and modern design are the hallmarks of Budapest Central European Fashion Week (BCEFW), which ended in the Hungarian capital on 6 February. The eleventh edition of the event took place in various historic locations in Budapest, places that recall the splendor of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and a national identity swept away by the Soviet Union, presented in a new light to an international audience of industry experts: the National Dance Theatre, the Hungarian National Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the ELTE University Library and Archives. 15 Hungarian, 2 Polish, and 2 Slovakian brands were presented, from the most established brands representing Central Europe in the world, such as Nanushka and Aeron, to emerging talents like Odivi, Sentiments, Artista, Elysia, Virag Kereny, Tomcsanyi, Zsigmond Dora menswear, Kata Szegedi, and others. The goal? «To strengthen Budapest's role as a regional destination and the image of the country in general, not only through the creativity of the designers but also through the diversity of the locations,» said Zsófia Jakab, managing director of the Hungarian Agency for Fashion and Design. All this, of course, by offering a deserved space to a new generation of Central European creatives.

The agency's goal is to integrate the Hungarian fashion and design industry into the international professional circuit and, in the long run, to transform Budapest into a melting pot of influences, a cultural and economic capital for Central Europe that is still far from the international radar. In this sense, fashion becomes one of the fundamental tools for the tourist growth of the city and the nation as a whole, with collections strategically presented in the city's most important locations. The same endeavor that has made Copenhagen the fashion capital of the Netherlands. Today, Fashion Week is a must-attend event for anyone who wants to follow the evolution of a Scandinavian aesthetic so distinctive that it is a category in its own right. After years of trying, brands like Ganni, Wood Wood, and Henrik Vibskov are benchmarks on the international stage, ways that are reflected in the work of Sandra Sándor for Nanushka and Eszter Áron for Aeron under the leadership of the Vanguard Group, representing a new Hungary in the world.

But apart from proper consideration, there seems to be a lack of creative cohesion, a solid aesthetic capable of transforming economic and productive support into growth. There is a need for a distinctive and relevant style that can characterize a new Hungarian creative generation that also reinterprets the country's unique cultural heritage to find a narrative that is attractive to international markets, that exports the distinctive features of Hungarian fashion and enters into dialogue with the territory to build a solid and receptive community. For Budapest, as for Copenhagen ten years ago, it is a run-in period, but conditions give hope that the launch is imminent.