FWSK 2013: Day 1

As promised, here are my thoughts on the first day of FWSK 2013. Give in consideration that this is my first year actually visiting the event in person, although I do follow FWSK and the designers’ work through the years. The event opened with an exhibition on the development of Macedonian fashion through the years, from 1983 to 2013, that took place in Soravia shopping mall. The retrospective was amazing and it only reminded me of the rich and quality textile industry we used to have in the early 80’s. I commented that most of the pieces on the posters were ‘ready to wear’ now minus the shoulder pads and knit skirts. The space was adequate for this exhibition, but I am afraid it took some of the glare of the show that followed.

Photo: Skopje Casual

The eccentric and inventive Nikola Eftimov presented his new line, Being Nikola Eftimov, a dazzling display of the vivacity and the rebel spirit of the 70’s. It reminded me a lot of a young Vivienne Westwood. As the designer himself explains, he did a lot of research before working on this line, but my impression was that he wanted to say to much in too little pieces. Too many details and textures in one place, and most lacked structure. Some pieces were amazing, striking pieces that tell a whole story and others simply felt like they didn’t belong in the same line. Because of the very confined exhibit space we weren’t able to truly grasp with the abundance of detail in the creations. The idea of putting the show in movement, not in a standard catwalk space did justice to the dynamic and whirlwind spirit of the collection, though. To be honest, it was only afterwards when I went through the photos of the show did I notice the true beauties of the line, which, as an overall product, I must say, was a bit below my expectations of Eftimov. I do have my favorites, though, and those are the following pieces, as well as the hair and make up.

Later on, Atelier Kokev displayed it’s spring/summer 2013 line, a show I didn’t attend to, because I was tired beyond reason. I guess it’s not very noble to discuss the show since I wasn’t there, but I will say a few things about the creations. There is no doubt that Kokev is a talented designer and with exquisite craft and as a whole, I’d say this is a very feminine, elegant, soft line done in wonderful fabrics. The only problem would be it reminds me too much of Elie Saab’s Spring/Summer 2012 line: the pastels, the lace, the A-line, even the hair and make up and lack of accessories. Given in consideration that trends lag behind in Macedonia, this would be considered a thrilling line and I have no doubt the pieces will be sold out in no time. But, designers need to be one step ahead and not one season behind, so having said this, Eftimov might have made that huge step forward in comparison to Kokev. Still, it’s too soon in the FWSK to draw any comparisons.

In conclusion, the kick off for FWSK 2013 was strikingly antipodean, but promising and reviving. In addition, a sneak peak of how some of my fellow bloggers shone their light yesterday evening. There were new encounters, old friends and promising collaborations: the girls from Skopje Casual and Angela Dissected, and Macedonian Fashion Bloggers and Inside the B world. Today we had a day off, but tomorrow is the finale of POP! Fashion contest and I hope the weather will be better by tomorrow evening. Stay tuned, darlings 🙂