(text: Silvia Haupt Kozoňová)
A new year has the promise to fulfill new dreams and resolutions. At Fashion MAP our new dream is clear: we want to support local industry on a bigger scale and to deliver the most valuable information to creative professionals within the region as much as the ones on the other side of the world. We have been working hard behind the scenes the last few months; designing every detail of our new website, adding new international members to the Fashion MAP team, discussing potential column topics, and making sure Fashion MAP will stay relevant in 2018.
Lot of things have happened since we were founded in 2013. Back in 2013, none of our current influencers were well-known, none of our new designers were pursuing the international market, there was no fashion week buzz in the Czech Republic as we now know it, and there were barely any places where fashion designers could sell their clothing. Back in those days, Fashion MAP had one aim: to spread the word among people who had never heard about the local fashion industry. The lack of knowledge wasn’t because people chose to be ignorant, but because there simply wasn’t any platform for people to share information. We are happy that this is no longer the case. Local fashion is no longer for just for a few elite people, typically a designer’s friend and family circle. Our designers grow stronger and bigger every season. MBPFW is one of the strongest central European fashion weeks. The variety of designers and overall organization and production is on the same level as government-funded fashion weeks’ abroad. In addition, fashion events like Ostrava Fashion Week, Malá noc módy v Brně, Slovak Fashion Life and the student fashion show in Zlín are good indicators that local production is on the arise. We have noticed the increase in fashion-educated journalists in the biggest media firms and the presence of more young millennials with international experience becoming industry leaders. New photographers, art directors, and buyers are trying to support this growth and change. And it will take the efforts of all industry members to ensure we get to the next level together.
With all of this in mind, we realize that Fashion MAP needs to evolve as well. That means not only redesigning the layout of our online space, but also changing our way of thinking about the local fashion industry and where it is heading. What is it that our industry needs next? How can we help support its evolution? What topics are most important to highlight? How do we support our talented designers?
Maybe we don’t need to search too far in order to answer these questions and to redesign our mission. We still need to educate and widen our audience. The major difference between 2013 and 2018 is that we are making our site available to everybody. No man is an island and therefore we want to widen our own horizons as well. After Czech and Slovak fashion news, we would like to introduce stories covering the rest of the V4 countries, including Hungary and Poland. These countries have similar historical background and had to face similar hardships as the Czech and Slovak markets. We know we have so much to learn from each other! Therefore, we are proud to announce our Fashion MAP/ V4 mission. Thanks to funding from Visegrad, our partners at the Slovak Fashion Council, and the Societe Hub, we can raise awareness about the great talent present throughout the entire region.
Let the adventure begin!
