Romani fashion designer successful at International Fashion Showcase

Six designers from the Czech Republic are being presented at the prestigious International Fashion Showcase (IFS), which is happening concurrently with London Fashion Week from 13 – 23 February at 180 The Strand. Czech fashion is being successfully represented there by Pavel Berky, a Romani designer from Slovakia who lives in Prague.  

Together with colleagues from Hungary and Slovakia, Berky is presenting a new collection of dresses, fashion accessories, and jewelry at IFS. The show by Czech designers is part of a broader concept, "Voyage through Central Europe", which includes the most recent collections of dresses, fashion accessories and jewelry created by young designers from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. 

The aim of the project is to familiarize the global public with young talents from countries that were once behind the Iron Curtain. The Czech Republic is being extensively presented at IFS for the first time ever.

The curator of the Czech project is Olo Křížová, founder of the Czech Fashion Council, who selected the work of six young designers for the London show whose creations walk the line between fashion design and visual art. The unifying creative line in the work of Pavel Berky, Hana Frišonsová, Lucie Jelínková and Monika Nováková of the Awkward group, Jana Mikešová, and Petra Ptáčková is the novelty of their combinations of traditional materials with modern technology, mixtures that underline the personal story and style of each designer. 

"For me this is a fabulous experience and yet another step forward for my work to be seen abroad. It was totally brilliant," Berky said enthusiastically. "Each designer presented two models. Mine are from my most recent collection," he told news server Romea.cz.  

IFS has been organized since 2012 by the British Council and the British Fashion Council. Almost 30 international cultural institutions and embassies present up-and-coming fashion designers from their home countries there. 

The event takes place parallel to London Fashion Week, which is visited annually by more than 20 000 fashion professionals from all over the world. Curators include the Czech Fashion Council, the Hungarian organization Design Terminal, the Slovak Fashion Council, and the Czech Centre in London, which organized the Czech part of the show.

"This is the biggest project in the field of fashion that Czech Centre London has ever done, and its set-up is adventurous, beautiful and creative, just like the work of the designers we are presenting. I hope the International Fashion Showcase will be a good platform for opening up the contemporary Czech fashion industry to the diverse world of London fashion," said Tereza Porybná, director of the Czech Centre in London.

The exhibition is taking place in the industrial space of 180 The Strand and features luxury glass light fixtures by the Czech company Lasvit as well as original designs of dresses and jewelry. Connections to an interactive video-map also make the exhibition a unique space in which to discover the most recent ideas and fashion trends from Central Europe.