The European Fashion Council (EFC) turned 10 years
May 19th is announced as the European Fashion Day
A program of 10 events in 10 member-states celebrates the fashion anniversary of the EU and Europe
EFC Press / October 20, 2017
On the 19th of May, 2007 in the Southeast part of the continent, in Ancient Plovdiv, Bulgaria the national representative non-government fashion organizations of BULGARIA, BELGIUM, DENMARK, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, AUSTRIA, ESTONIA, UKRAINE, ALBANIA, NORWAY, ROMANIA and HUNGARY established an international union for fashion and fashion design of the EU and Europe. It has set for itself the big goal of representing and uniting the continental fashion industry. None of them had suspected, on one hand, how extremely difficult this process might be, and on the other, that the existence of such a Council dedicated to the most dynamic and fast-evolving industry, in which style, culture, economical and artistic progress are so diverse, would even be possible.
No one probably expected that in the span of one year, the organization would expand so quickly and have 13 members with the joining of the NETHERLANDS and ICELAND, 17 members in 2010 with including of MALTA, ARMENIA, LATVIA and CZECHIA, and in 2011 would proudly bring the European identity by the logo of the EU with stars on a blue background, so it can continue expanding by including SWEDEN in 2011 and SERBIA in 2012.
2012 has great meaning for the European Fashion Council – from 41 organizations, the EU approved only 16 of them and being the only one for fashion, that received the right to represent the EU in the implementation of the EU-UNESCO Convention for protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. In 2014 with the inclusion of PORTUGAL, MONTENEGRO and F.Y.R. of MACEDONIA, the European Fashion Council grew bigger with its 22 member-states and even more in 2015 with the affiliation of GERMANY and SWITZERLAND, to reach its current establishment of 25 member-states with the inclusion of IRELAND in 2016.
The unification of more than half of Europe was a solid reason for the European Fashion Council to announce the date of its establishment-May 19th to be known as the official European Fashion Day. It will be traditionally celebrated every year from the following 2018, and until then the 10-year anniversary will be celebrated with 10 event in 10 member-states. With the proposals of the members-states, the jubilee program constructed the main goal for transition from national fashion events to pan-European. Until now the European Fashion Council only executed politics and strategies for the evolution of the European fashion industry only to can be continued with pan-European fashion events, for which it was created for.
Merely days ago, during the Czechia Fashion Week in Prague ended the pre-European Fashion Summit. A work group of three countries including Romania, Bulgaria and Czechia finalized the definitive jubilee program, nominated 10 honor members for contributions and analyzed all received proposals for the development of the European fashion industry in strategy up until 2030.
From November 20th to 27th, 2017 the fashion jubilee of EU and Europe will be celebrated in Novi Sad, Serbia and Serbia Fashion Week as a host, with establishing of the pan-European Street Style photo contest during the Fashion Weeks in Europe with annual ranking of TOP-10 Fashion Weeks, TOP-10 Fashion NGO’s and pan-European Fashion Awards. They are small, but so important series of initiatives which Europe and the world expect from the European Fashion Council. The honoring of the jubilee will continue to be on the territory of the Balkans from December 1st – 2nd for the founding of the European Fashion Film Festival as part of the Sarajevo Fashion Film Festival with Bosnia & Herzegovina’s capital as a host. The Fashion Film festival is a part of an international film consortium and the European winning member-state will become a host of the next EFFF edition.
EFC map 2007-2016
In the beginning of 2018, the celebrations of the 10-year anniversary continue in Berlin, Germany on January 16th – 19th. An Academy for training in fashion design, trends, styling etc, and the establishment of the European ECO and Green Fashion Week are the events, which will be in preparation during the Eco fashion show during the Berlin Fashion Week.
From February 1st – 7th, the celebrations on occasion of 10 years EFC will be on the territory of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, during the 31st Fashion Week Bulgaria will be held the European Diplomatic Fashion Summit, the announcing and start of the nominations for the 1st European Capital of Fashion, founding of the European Fashion Executive Board (identical to EC, but for the executive activities of EFC), founding the European Fashion Week Zone (like Euro zone, but for a fashion industry) with the Digital Fashion Week Showroom for buyers. This period includes also the official opening, semifinals and finals of Euro Fashion Rise – the pan-European contest for young designers, similar to Eurovision, but for fashion design.
During March 2018 the festive program in honor of the European Fashion Council will go under the convention of the European Union and UNESCO. On March 8th – 10th in Dublin, Ireland during the Irish Fashion Summit and Irish Fashion Week will be established the Atlantic Fashion Week. It will be with rotary households selected by the fashion organizations of the 4 continents from Europe and Africa, to North and South America, bordering the Atlantic ocean. The March 2018 program continues from 20th – 24th in Bucharest, Romania, where during the Fashion Week Romania we will see a unique event. The European Fashion Synergy is a international fashion show, which the European Fashion Council dedicates in honor of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. That way we will praise the unification for diversity and the rich variety of our European cultural heritage. The event will be held during the 1st legal national-representative Fashion Week Romania under the honorary patronage of the Government Romanian Cultural Institute.
The celebratory program for the month of April 2018 will remain on the Balkans, but in Skopje, where the capital of the F.Y.R. of Macedonia will host the 2nd Balkan Fashion Week and after that to be moved on the territory of Central Europe, where the Danube Fashion Week will be set up in the Austrian capital Vienna, with the election of President and rotantional Hosts by member-states with a program up to 2020.
Before turning 11 years, from May 17th – 19th the European Fashion Council will launch new other two events. May 17th -18th is going to be the founding of the Knight Fashion Awards for worldwide humanitarian and charity achievements under the initiative of Malta, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Israel, with producing an annual Charity Fashion Week with rotational hosts. For the celebration of the European Fashion Day 2018 on May 19th there will be preparations for the official ceremony of the 1st European Fashion Awards, which will be held in the beautiful 7 century old Ancient Theater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where the European Fashion Council was founded on May 19th, 2007. The event is expected to be under the honorary patronage of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU with an official Photo exhibition with the theme being European Fashion Council 2007-2017.
With the current program, which the realization of has already begun, the European Fashion Council has its doors open with every intention of broadening the organization and including those counties, who haven’t yet found their own representative in the Council. The EFC want for each representative of the European fashion industry to get a chance for participating in the events and management of the European Fashion Council, because this is a European Union of Arts and Ideas for each country, just like the slogan of the organization.
The EFC Press Editor
E-mail: press@europeanfashioncouncil.eu
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