Poland Fashion Week: Blogger’s Angle

When thinking about the past week, it does feel a bit like it never happened. Similarly to a wonderful event which happened so quickly, your mind could not catch up with it, so Fashion Week (whether Milan or Seoul or Lodz) is mind-blowing. Arriving at Lodz and racing to the first fashion show at a Fashion Week I have actually been too proved to be a bit stressful at first, as the security there is extremely tight. Once in though… it is a whole different world. Although the event is split up into two parts which do not correlate with each other, each fills up a different space in the mind of their viewer by their content.

Off Out Of Schedule is a ravine of new talent- the unexpected, the theatrical, the different, full of young people with fresh ideas and unruled approaches. These are the ones to watch- if you spot and write about a certain brand-in-the-making, you are going to be a part of their creation in their future. What is wonderful about this part of the Polish Fashion Week is that every designer is completely and utterly original. There is no fear- not in mixing fabrics, doing presentations which might be too unexpected at more traditional Fashion Week’s or choosing performers to help move their vision into being.

Then there is the other side- Designer Avenue. If you want to see celebrities, this is where you come. Press (yes, including me) are milling about everywhere, trying to get a shot of that woman or that editor or that reality TV star. You want to be famous? This is where you come. If you come wearing something that could potentially be perceived as interesting- get in front of those cameras, as you never know, it might be your picture which is on one of the first pages in a magazine that was partners with Fashion Week.

Designer Avenue is a haven for the brand-loving, it is here that you can meet famous designers, and not only Polish ones, although there are definitely some individuals here. From Joanna Klimas, who started off proper international stage fashion shows in Poland, to an emerging and wonderful Shumik 100%, who blew me away with their simple, yet wonderfully effective designs. This year, the international stars of the show were Custo Barcelona (whose show unfortunately I missed) and Jeremy Scott who could not grace us with a show but presented a marvellous exposition showing his collection for Adidas.

At the end of the day, when the shows finish and you’re thinking about your hotel room, what about all the photos? What most people don’t understand with fashion work is that there is far more time spent editing and deleting photos/ re-writing text than the shows and goodies. It is always, always worth it to go to a fashion show or fashion week. No matter where it is, new talent usually emerges from the most unlikely of places and surprises you at the most unexpected time.

That is why a mantra for Fashion Week is always- “Keep aware, keep your eyes open, don’t miss details, and don’t be selective. You are like a net- you take in all, then you just filter those things that interest you.”