Russian Fashion Week Cuts Agenda Due to Crisis

Photo Credit: Westwood Gallery

17 Mar 2009 12:55 Africa/Lagos

Russian Fashion Week Cuts Agenda Due to Crisis

MOSCOW, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Following fashion weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, Russian Fashion Week announced in Moscow it has shortened its Fall/Winter 2009/2010 season schedule this week. Russian Fashion Week (RFW) will commence on March 29 - April 4, 2009 in the Congress Hall of the World Trade Center in downtown Moscow. The most renowned fashion event in Eastern Europe, RFW will host approximately 50 shows of the best Russian and Ukrainian designers with insets of French, Italian and Spanish names.


Watch out for Evgenia Ostrovskaya at the Russian Fashion Weeek


"In peak seasons RFW had 65-75 shows, but this season we see a decrease in the number of participants," says Alexander Shumsky, President of Russian Fashion Week. "As is the case in Paris and Milan, a lot of designers prefer to make presentations instead of full fashion shows. The fashion markets are down, so brands and designers need to reduce expenses."


Russian Fashion Week is known for being the gateway to the Russian market. A number of international fashion designers staged their collections on RFW runways, including Vivienne Westwood, Julien Macdonald, Jenny Packham, Francesco Smalto, Frankie Morello, La Perla and Baby Phat, just to name a few. Designer rental fees for RFW catwalks are 4 to 5 times less than the smallest venues at fashion weeks in Milan or New York, but the total production costs of fashion shows in Moscow still remain consistent for most of the local designers.


The schedule of the upcoming Russian Fashion Week includes 48 shows, which marks almost a 20% fall compared to the October 2008 event. "Good news is that all key names of Russian fashion stay on the RFW catwalk this season," states Alexander Shumsky.


The renowned Russian fashion designer Slava Zaitsev will open RFW with his haute couture collection dedicated to the 100 Year Anniversary of Dyagilev's Seasons in Paris. Slava Zaitsev is a real Soviet/Russian fashion legend, known as Red Dior by international media.


The Russian Fashion Week schedule will include the most famous and edgy Russian designers: Arngoldt, Tatiana Parfionova, Julia Dalakian, Elena Souproun, BIRYUKOV, Poustovit, Cyrille Gassiline, Viva Vox, Xakama, Masha Sharoeva, Chistova&Endourova, TEGIN, Yulia Nikolaeva, MainAim, Personage, Liudmila Norsoian, and more. The international flavor will be added by Spanish designers Toni Francesc and Maria Lafuente, and Italians Leitmotiv, BeeQueen and a.VE. The collective Italian fashion show is a part of long-term cooperation between Russian Fashion Week and Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. "Russia is a key destination for Italian fashion," says Mario Boselli, President of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. "In 2009 we take the next step in our relations despite the crisis."


Celebrated French designer Jean-Charles De Castelbajac will make his RFW debut on March 29.


Russian Fashion Week is acknowledged as the #1 fashion event in Russia; it attracts over 50,000 guests seasonally, with over 1,000 journalists and buyers. Russian Fashion Week's shows reach millions via live broadcasting on World Fashion Channel.


For more information:

Maria Popova
popova@artefact.ru
Artefact Communications Agency
Tel: +7 (495) 232-14-75/76/77
http://www.rfw.ru/



This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.


Source: Russian Fashion Week

CONTACT: Maria Popova of Artefact Communications Agency for Russian
Fashion Week, +7-495-232-14-75-76-77, popova@artefact.ru


Web Site: Russian Fashion Week

Notes from the Heart of Lagos City

Christabel Momodu on the yellow motor bike for a photo shoot.

Work has become very challenging and even success can come with stress as I have discovered working for Supple magazine in Lagos. We have been working all days, including on Sundays since the beginning of this year 2009.
The third issue of Supple magazine is going to be worth celebrating for many reasons. Three members of Nairaland Forum who responded to our open invitation for contributors have been published and one of them is a very brilliant young woman whose two articles were irresistible and the humorous title of one of her articles is even making the cover of this special international edition of Supple magazine. Supple magazine was the only Nigerian news media accredited at the 30th Festival of 3 Continents in Nantes, France, and for the 81st Academy Awards in the U.S. and we are organizing the First Supple Magazine Forum on Nollywood and the Cannes Film Festival before going for Cannes in May.

I am also busy writing and preparing three unpublished volumes of my writings for publication. The most important volume is my book on the presidential campaign, nomination and election of Barack Obama as the first Black President of the United States of America. The book is in the good and safe hands of my American Editor Pamela and I have appointed the Publisher of Supple magazine as my manager in Nigeria and abroad.

I have not been with my Sweetest since last August and I am missing her. I appreciate the company of Linda Ikeji, the beautiful model and Publisher of the FM&B magazine, Funke, Vicky Charmy, Christabel Momodu and other beauties who have been making my life in Lagos exciting. Christabel is one of the hottest models in Nigeria today and you can see her in the latest edition of True Love magazine. She is hottie on the motorbike in the picture above. Isn’t she dark and lovely?!


But yesterday, I was heart broken by the predicament of a 13 year old house girl who was lured away Friday night and raped till day break. She could not even tell the location of the man who abducted her and raped her in the suburb of Shomolu in Lagos, Nigeria.
The girl is from Togo where many housemaids hired by Nigerian families come from.
Many young girls and women are abused and raped daily in Nigeria and the rapists often escape from prosecution. This is the subject of the new novel of Bisi Daniels, The Girl From Nigeria.

Thuy, Rising Luxury Designer, Presents Versatile Fall '08 Collection

Thuy's Baby Alpaca Yarn and Lambskin Leather Knit Caplet Jacket, Silk Dropped-Shoulder Blouse and Slouchy Satin Skirt. (PRNewsFoto/Thuy) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 03/25/2008.

27 Mar 2008 10:06 Africa/Lagos


Thuy, Rising Luxury Designer, Presents Versatile Fall '08 Collection

NEW YORK, March 27 /PRNewswire/ --

In her Fall/Winter 2008 collection, designer Thuy Diep exhibited that contrasting ideas can come together to form one complete, cohesive collection. As the models parted the curtains, romantic yet modern designs filled Exit Art gallery on the first weekend of New York Fall 2008 Fashion Week. The play between asymmetric shapes, masculine and feminine forms, sheer and opaque fabrics, bold and neutral colors, defined the designs.


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080327/NYFNSC01 )


"My collection is about contrasts -- harmony within disharmony," said Thuy when discussing her inspiration.


For her third collection, Thuy demonstrated her strong grasp of tailoring and architectural lines once again. She materializes the myriad of inspirations of her Manhattan environment, where contrasts of colors and forms are ubiquitous, creating a collection to dress the modern, chic and sophisticated woman. Thuy's unique designer perspective was conveyed through her outerwear as she showed a command of layering techniques.


Her original approach for delivering luxurious clothing with modern and unique details continued to evolve within the array of versatile and structured coats. Chunky knits paired next to sheer tops and flowing skirts with puffed pockets at the hips, created a fresh and innovative style -- signature Thuy. The designer's fresh and fearless New York point-of-view was evident in every piece. The full collection may be viewed at www.thuynewyork.com.


About Thuy


Born into a family of tailors in Vietnam, the label Thuy is a true reflection of its designer. As a child, under the direction of her mother and father who ran a tailoring school and custom-made clothing shop in her native home, Thuy began honing her tailoring skills at an early age.


Thuy's education at Brown University and early professional career as a Pricewaterhouse consultant laid the groundwork for her creative entrepreneurial passions. Returning to school-and back to her first love, fashion-she attended Parson's School of Design. After graduating from Parsons, Thuy held diverse jobs, including work for Carolina Herrera, Peter Som and Zac Posen while with a New York-based Parisian atelier, as well as time at labels such as United Bamboo.


She formed her eponymous label "Thuy," producing women's designer ready-to-wear clothing in 2006, while living and working in her New York City Soho Studio.


Thuy's clothing is sold in fine stores in the United States and Japan, including Divine Girls (San Francisco), Nicchia (Chicago) and Drawer (Tokyo and Osaka).


Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080327/NYFNSC01
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Thuy

CONTACT: Erin Fischer for Thuy, +1-212-219-0168, erin@jujuthepr.com


Web site: http://www.jujuthepr.com/