There was a big focus on children’s wear during the week, with one of the days committed just to children’s wear shows. Even in the main schedule, we saw a couple of brands introduce the current ‘mini-me’ trend, which was executed beautifully by Women Fashion Brand who included several adorable little girls in their show.
The language barrier at international fashion weeks often mean that I don’t get to talk with the designers as much as I would like, having to rely on an interpreter to support the stilted conversation. But sometimes even with limited mutual understanding, I can recognise the passion behind a brand and discover a shared love for fabulous silhouettes and designs. This happened in Belarus when I was taken to the atelier of Natalia Korzh. She has a little store in front of her atelier and we were hosted and shown through the collection by her in-house design / seamstress team before meeting the delightful Natalia herself. The whole team were charming and welcoming, and showed that they provide their customers with exquisite pieces and customer service. I was shown through the collection that was due to be shown the next day and I wanted to own nearly every single piece in the range. I am still dreaming about the most covetable green silk dress and gorgeous oyster cream silk coat that I could ever wish to own. Whilst the brand is unlikely to scale their business to reach greater international markets, I highly recommend that visitors to Belarus put the brand Natalia Korzh on their agenda to visit.
I think Yanina and her team have a hard road ahead to drive international recognition for the brands from Belarus, and they certainly need more support from their government agencies to raise global awareness. However, Yanina is determined and passionate about the fashion week, and is already making some impactful relationships that I am sure will open up new markets and opportunities for both her, Belarus Fashion Week and the brands.
BALUNOVA Fashion Design Studio