BCEFW’s program extended with new regional brands placing emerging designers in focus
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The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency will organise one of the region’s leading professional events, the Budapest Central European Fashion Week (BCEFW), between the 28th of August and the 3rd of September. Renewed professional concept, strengthening the regional role, and the Fashion HUB concentrating on Generation Z – these will be the main buzzwords of the autumn event. The BCEFW aims to act as a bridge between regional countries and open a gate for designers to the international scene.
Between the 28th of August and the 3rd of September 2023, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency will hold one of the determining fashion events of the Central European region for the twelfth time, the Budapest Central European Fashion Week, which will be hosted in the buildings of Millenáris.
On the 2nd and 3rd of September, all in all, 39 brands will exhibit their collections; 24 Hungarian fashion designers, and Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech, Polish, Slovakian and Serbian designers will present their creations. In the BCEFW, it has become an even more important aspect to exhibit regional brands as well as Hungarian ones, and it is further enhanced by the presence of the international press, influencers, and buyers. The region’s acknowledged fashion industry magazines’ representatives will attend the event; along with the Polish Vogue, Elle, and Twój Styl, journalists from the Czech and Ukrainian Vogue, and the Italian L’Officiel and Vogue Italia will visit the BCEFW. Organizers are committed to creating opportunities for talented designers and brands that live and create under war-torn conditions. It is an honor that the BCEFW provides a platform for outstanding Ukrainian designers to showcase their work in the SS24 season again.
“A key pillar of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s strategy is to strengthen the Hungarian fashion and design industry’s regional position. An accentuated goal of the BCEFW, held twice a year, is to connect the industry players from Hungary and other regional countries as a bridge which provides a possibility to expand their trade relations and widen their international visibility. The event also has a significant touristic role as we are again expecting a wide circle of international press and digital content creators to the event, who can get to know the best of Hungarian fashion at arm’s length from the World Heritage-listed Castle District. The central location of the event allows guests arriving from abroad to explore and showcase the captivating sights of Budapest, thereby further enhancing Hungary's tourist appeal.” – said Zsófia Jakab, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s CEO.
The BCEFW, presenting 2024 spring-summer collections, has many novelties in store, among which one of the most important is that the event’s categories were created based on a new professional criteria system, and the framework defined in a detailed manner facilitated the application process as well. The new concept was realised based on the Advisory Board’s suggestions, created in January 2023 by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, with the primary goal of cultivating the BCEFW’s appeal, aiding cooperation among Central Eastern European countries to draw the international profession’s attention even more efficiently to the area’s creative competitiveness.
“We trust that a coordinated professional event supported by the Advisory Board, such as the BCEFW, can transform the creativity in domestic and regional countries into a competitive edge. We are devoted supporters of future generations, and in this event, we would like to cover as many aspects of this ambition as possible. This year, we will open the Fashion Hub during the BCEFW for the first time, which we have designed in line with young people’s interests. The focus on talent management will be seen on the runways as well. We hope that many of the new and emerging designers, stretching their wings and evolving in front of our eyes, will enter the international arena” – emphasised the innovations for the young generation Anita Forintos-Szűcs, Deputy General Managing Director of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency.
For the first time in the history of BCEFW events, the newly established Fashion Hub not only features designer presentations, but also offers a variety of exciting programs to the general public, with a particular focus on the younger generation, to get a closer look at the world of fashion and behind the scenes of the creative industries. There will be exceptional presentations that guide us into the topic of Streetstyle photography or the universe of TikTok trends, but other exciting workshops, roundtable discussions, and pop-up stores will also await the visitors. Participation is free of charge, but some programmes require registration.
The range of side events will be further expanded as well; those interested can connect to the flow of the fashion industry throughout the whole duration of the event, in several locations in Budapest. Reaching out to Generation Z will be pivotal during the side events, too; UNREALINDUSTRY will welcome the youth with a musical programme on the weekend days alongside its pop-up store. And the variety of professional programmes will be boosted by the first event of the W Hotel Faces of Budapest programme series. The programmes realised by the partners will further diversify the BCEFW’s programmes which are more colourful than ever.