Belgrade Fashion Week is a fashion show held in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

twice a year. It is the largest event of its kind in the country. Attracting international buyers and industry experts, the show has helped launch the careers of several Serbian fashion designers, such as

George Styler George Styler ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Тамбурић; born Đorđe Tamburić) is a Los Angeles-based fashion designer originally from Serbia known for his ethno-look knitwear. His clients include Nicki Minaj , Rita Ora, Gloria Trevi , George Cli ...

, Ivana Pilja, Ana Ljubinkovic, and Boris Nikolic. British designer Roksanda Ilincic, who is originally from Serbia, has regularly presented her collections at the show since 2002.

Italian Vogue ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first ...

has called the festival "... the most interesting platform in the Balkans for designers and international buyers".

About

Belgrade Fashion Week was founded in 1996 by Nenad Radujević who is also the festival's director. The first fashion week to be held in Eastern Europe, it is supported by local media sponsorship and companies such as Textil distribution center and Matrix hair salons. Belgrade Fashion Week takes place twice a year, at the end of October and in March, and lasts about two weeks. It is mainly held at the Belexpocentar, a conference hall located in

New Belgrade New Belgrade ( sr, / , ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. It is a planned city, built since 1948 in a previously uninhabited area on the left bank of the Sava river, opposite old Belgrade. In recent years, it has become the central bu ...

. Other venues are also employed, such as various galleries for the "Fashion and Art" segment or the Museum of Applied Arts for accompanying exhibitions. The primary goal of the event is to support local talent and young designers by promoting them in Serbia, as well as internationally, and also by combining the artistic and commercial aspects of fashion. The show also presents designers from Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia in the "Fashion Scout SEE" contest, which is judged by European fashion industry experts.

Highlights

Belgrade Fashion Week features numerous activities that are related to the fashion industry. In 2006, students from Belgrade's

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

were asked to present their designs. In 2009, a one-off competition was held to design the uniforms of the pavilion staff representing Serbia at

Expo 2010 Shanghai Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...

. In 2012, Belgrade Fashion Week launched project "Zone 45", aimed at showcasing the best designers from the surrounding countries and further developing a fashion scene in the region. In 2014, Indian designer

Manish Arora Manish Arora is an Indian fashion designer based in New Delhi. In early 2011, he was appointed creative director of the womenswear collection of the French fashion house Paco Rabanne, although he left the company in May 2012. Born and brought ...

was a special guest at the show, with the support of the Indian Embassy in Belgrade, Etihad Airways and Air Serbia. The "Fashion Scout SEE" competition was introduced in 2017. The jury consisted of British fashion editor

Hilary Alexander Hilary Alexander (5 February 1946 – 5 February 2023) was a New Zealand-born British journalist and past fashion director of the '' Daily Telegraph''. She was twice named Journalist of the Year (1997 and 2003) in the British Fashion Awards. ...

, the Italian director of Rome's "Academia Costume e Moda" Adrien Yakimov Roberts, and Martyn Roberts who founded London's Fashion Scout showcase. The winner, Serbian designer Nevena Ivanovic, got to compete in

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

's "Ones to Watch" program, a contest that supports emerging designers. According to

, the event "...raises the profile of fashion for the whole region – with the winner being awarded the opportunity to show on the catwalk during London Fashion Week and thus potentially be seen by press and buyers from the UK, US, Asia and Europe". In 2017, the show introduced "BFW Choice", a new concept in sales that supports local designers through pop-up shops. In 2018, Belgrade Fashion Week had a special show featuring local designers whose clothing lines were purchased by Serbian department store Martini Vesto. Serbian pop singer Ana Stanic performed during the show wearing one of the mentioned designs. In 2018, several designers from the Belgrade show were profiled at

, in an event called "Belgrade Fashion Week Showcase". In addition, Serbian womenswear designer Ana Ljubinkovic presented her collection in London's "Ones to Watch" contest. In 2018, the Belgrade Fashion Week commemorated Serbian fashion designer Boris Nikolic who had died ten years earlier.{{cite web, url=http://belgradefashionweek.com/index.php/program/#, title=Program – FashionWeek, website=belgradefashionweek.com, accessdate=10 April 2018 An award is also named in his honour.

Competition prizes

The following prizes are handed out at each Belgrade Fashion Week: * Boris Nikolić Award * Belgrade Fashion Week Special Prize * Bazart Award for Best Collection * Award for Style Personality * Textile Young Designer Award * Best Model BFW * Best Male Model BFW * Beauty and Health Prize for Best Make-up * Beauty and Health Prize for Best Hairstyle * Wannabe Magazine Award for Best Digital Presentation * Insta Shot Award for Young Photographers * Gloria Glam Award

Serbian designers

* Roksanda Ilincic * Aleksandra Lalić * Ivana Pilja * Ana Ljubinković *

Nevena Ivanović Nevena Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Невена Ивановић, born 16 March 1992) is a Serbian fashion designer behind the brand NEO Design. The label is known for being inspired by Japanese culture and hairstyles, as well as African and Balka ...

, fashion brand "NEO Design" *

Evica Milovanov-Penezic Evica Milovanov-Penezic is a Serbian glove designer known for her fringes, cutouts and use of vibrant colors. Biography Penezic started off as a clothing and handbag designer but switched to leather gloves in 1997 while living in Germany. Notici ...

* Boris Nikolić *

Ines Janković Ines Janković ( sr-cyr, Инез Јанковић; born 1983) is a Serbian fashion designer based in Belgrade. She is known for her wedding dresses, sportswear separates, leather jackets and jewelry line. Her style has been described as classic ...

Sonja Jocić Sonja Jocić ( sr-Cyrl, Соња Јоцић; born 1988) is a Serbian fashion designer known for her origami shapes, draped layering, and androgynous silhouettes, as well as for creating sustainable fashion. Her work is described as having a Scand ...

Marijana Matthäus Marijana Matthäus (; sr, Маријана Матеус, , Marijana Mateus; born 27 September 1971) is a Serbian entrepreneur, businesswoman, writer and European socialite based in London. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Lux Uniform ...

Bojana Sentaler Bojana Sentaler is a Canadian fashion designer, Founder, President and Creative Director of Sentaler since 2009. She is known for her line of luxury alpaca outerwear and accessories. Background Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Sentaler emigrated to Can ...

* Ana Kras *

Zoran Ladicorbic Zoran Ladicorbic (born 1947), known as Zoran, is an American fashion designer who launched his business in 1976. He is particularly known for extremely minimalist, understated garments following the American sportswear principle, in neutral color ...

Daniel Vosovic Daniel Vosovic (born March 25, 1981) is an American fashion designer and a finalist in season 2 of the reality show ''Project Runway''. Biography Vosovic was born March 25, 1981, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in the nearby city of Lowe ...

Gorjana Reidel Gorjana Reidel (born 1978) is an American jewelry designer based in Laguna Beach, California. She co-founded the jewelry line gorjana in 2004, alongside her husband Jason Griffin Reidel. Early years and education Reidel immigrated to the US fr ...

* Jelena Behrend * Ana Rajcevic * Melina Džinović, fashion brand "Hamel" * Aleksandar Protić * Ana Šekularac * Verica Rakocević * Ivana Sert * Mihailo Anušić, fashion brand "Mihano Momosa" * Bata Spasojević *

Zvonko Marković Zvonko Marković (born 11 April 1975) is a Serbian fashion designer known for creating sculptural leather clothing, as well as opulent gowns made of lace and silk. In 2018, he celebrated twenty years in the fashion industry with a special collect ...

External links

Official website

References