PRAGUE — Eager to attract the attention of international buyers and press, 18 Czech designers participated in the inaugural spring edition of Mercedes-Benz Prague Fashion Weekend, held at the ZIBA Glass Experience Museum and attended by about 2,000 local and 200 international guests.
The invitation-only event, which ended Sunday, attracted press, private clients, local Czech buyers, celebrities and MBPFW partners.
“I’m keeping my eye on the collections of Chatty and Martina Spetlová,” said Martin Premuzic from the Berlin-based Temporary Showroom. “It takes me three seasons to see if the designer’s line will be integrated and matches the selection of my showroom….I am surprised with the level of talent here in the Czech Republic.”
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Having participated in last September’s runway shows in Prague and following showroom presentations in Paris, Petra Ptácková and Martina Spetlová returned to the Prague weekend showcase.
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This season, Ptácková’s creations were acquired by concept store Doshaburi in Barcelona and online retailer Notjustalabel.com.
A Central Saint Martins graduate, Spetlová succeeded in attracting the attention of Dover Street Market buyers, who also acquired items from her fall collection again this season. “Louise Wilson helped me define my signature trademark and my participation at MBPFW was a great step in my career because it equipped me with a quality runway look book and video to show my clients in Paris,” said London-based Spetlová.
Tomas Vacek, business development director of Pietro Filipi, said the brand had originally planned a private runway show for its clients but “the MBPFW platform gave us an opportunity to generate international exposure for our brand.”
Pietro Filipi exports about 25 percent of its apparel to its flagships in Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania, and to its franchisees in Russia, Serbia and Kazakhstan.
In order to support the potential value of Czech design exports, Pietro Filipi also collaborates with several local designers such as Ivana Mentlová and Vladimir Stanek, who presented their own collections.
The Czech fashion industry represents about 3.7 percent of gross domestic product, said Lukás Loskot, chief executive officer of MBPFW. “This season’s main mission was to elevate the international promotion of our designers and to support this important industry,” he said.
MBPFW scheduled five runway shows, each slot showcasing up to four different designers, with participants asked to present a minimum of five looks from their fall collections.
The closing show on Sunday evening by Pietro Filipi was attended by top models Linda Vojtová and Daniela Pestová, who also showed up to support Jakub Polanka’s show, which was titled “Epistolar.”
Polanka sells exclusively to about 50 private clients having no retail presence in the Czech Republic.
Czech model Filip Hrivnak — who appears in the latest Versace campaign and recently shot editorials with Steven Klein — was the VIP guest of the evening and walked the runway wearing Spetlová’s leather creations.