Author: Silvia Kabaivanova

On April 1, 2026, the city of Ruse became a vibrant hub of creativity, sustainability, and forward-thinking fashion during the FEA-VEE Multiplier event, featuring a Fashion Workshop Creative Lab “The Clean Waters of the Danube”. The event was organized by the Bulgarian Fashion Association and was part of Ruse Fashion Week. Hosted at the professional high school PG Apparel ‘Nedka Ivan Lazarova’, the event brought together students, educators, and fashion professionals for a day dedicated to innovation and environmental awareness.

The program began with a presentation of the FEA-VEE project, delivered by the team of the Bulgarian Fashion Association. Attendees were introduced to the project’s mission and its role in developing a greener, circular and sustainable economic models in the textile, fashion and clothing industry. The discussion highlighted new opportunities for emerging designers to expand beyond local markets, collaborate across borders, and integrate sustainable practices into their creative processes.

A special highlight of the event was the presence of acclaimed Belgian designer Guy-David Lambrechts. With over 40 years of experience in the fashion industry, he addressed the audience with a motivational talk, sharing insights from his extensive career. Lambrechts spoke about the evolution of fashion, the importance of perseverance, and the value of maintaining craftsmanship in a rapidly changing industry. He also shared details about his current role, overseeing the wardrobe of the Prime Minister of Belgium, offering students a rare glimpse into the world of high-level professional fashion.

This was followed by an inspiring motivational lecture and presentation titled “Fashion and Society,” led by renowned designer Ivan Donev. His talk encouraged young designers to view fashion not only as an aesthetic pursuit but also as a powerful social and cultural tool. Through examples from his own career, Donev emphasized the importance of responsibility, storytelling, and innovation in contemporary design.

The second half of the event transformed theory into practice. Participants engaged in a hands-on creative workshop focused on producing textile panels from recycled materials. This collaborative session challenged students to rethink waste and explore the artistic potential of discarded textiles. The activity aligned perfectly with the event’s theme, “The Clean Waters of the Danube,” reinforcing the connection between fashion and environmental sustainability.

By the end of the day, the workshop had not only fostered new skills but also sparked meaningful conversations about the future of fashion in Bulgaria and beyond. The FEA-VEE initiative once again demonstrated how education, creativity, and sustainability can come together to inspire the next generation of designers.

Discover your perfect look with Miss Queen! Exclusively on the opening night of Ruse Fashion Week.

Looking for a dress that will make you feel like a true queen? 👑

At MISS QUEEN, you’ll find elegant formal dresses for every special occasion—a prom, a wedding, a gala, or an unforgettable event.

Elegant designs, high-quality fabrics, and styles that highlight your individuality.

Let yourself shine and be unforgettable!

With Miss Queen, you’ll find the dress of your dreams!

DANINI is a Bulgarian women’s clothing brand founded as a family business in the 1990s. What began as a small sewing workshop gradually evolved into a stable manufacturer of elegant, high-quality women’s clothing. Ruse Fashion Week is eager to present the Ruse-based brand DANINI to its guests on April 2, 2026.

Today, the brand combines traditional Bulgarian craftsmanship with a contemporary European vision of women’s fashion. The collections include dresses, suits, blouses, and outerwear designed for the modern woman—dynamic, confident, and naturally elegant.

All DANINI designs are created and manufactured in Bulgaria by a team of experienced specialists—designers, patternmakers, technologists, and seamstresses—who work with attention to detail and respect for the tradition of the tailoring craft.

The creation of each new collection is the result of a collaborative effort among various specialists. When discussing the styles for the new season, patternmakers, designers, technologists, and the sales department come together to analyze trends, customer needs, and the practical aspects of production. This collaborative effort enables the creation of designs that combine aesthetics, functionality, and the ability to meet a wider range of women’s needs.

Once the designs are approved, the production process begins—from the careful selection of fabrics and precise cutting of the materials to the final crafting of each garment. Quality control is an important part of this process, with each garment undergoing a thorough inspection to ensure it meets the brand’s standards for fit, comfort, and finish.

Over the years, DANINI has built a strong connection with its customers, creating collections that combine style, comfort, and practicality. A core principle in the brand’s work is the pursuit of high-quality fabrics, precise craftsmanship, and designs that highlight natural femininity.

Today, the company continues to grow and expand its presence while remaining true to the values on which it was founded—family tradition, sustainable production, and respect for Bulgarian craftsmanship.

On April 3, we’ll see the streetwear brand Lowky Broken on the runway at Ruse Fashion Week at the Central Railway Station! Introducing Lowky Broken:

Chapter 1: The Beginning

It all started with an idea—too bold for mainstream fashion and too authentic for the traditional industry. The goal was never to follow trends, but to break them. To create something that stands out among the glossy, mass-produced collections.

From sketches to the first prototypes, every detail was crafted with precision. Every stitch, every cut had meaning. These weren’t just clothes—they were a statement.

The challenge? To stand out in an industry that fears originality.

Chapter 2: Breaking into the Industry

The first collections weren’t promoted with massive billboards or celebrity endorsements. Instead, they appeared where true culture is born—on the streets, in underground circles, among those who set the trends before the fashion world took notice.

The limited editions created a sense of exclusivity. The designs spoke for themselves and caught the attention of those who truly understood.

Word spread. Fast.

Soon, the industry had no choice but to take notice.

Chapter 3: The Turning Point

What began as a vision had now become a movement. The name was no longer just a brand—it carried weight.

The collections appeared on stages, in music videos, on people who understood their essence.

No compromises. No shortcuts.

With growing demand, expansion was inevitable. But instead of chasing the mass market, the brand remained selective, preserving its authenticity.

The goal was never to reach everyone.

The goal was to reach the right people.

Chapter 4: Independence

With foundations built on originality and a community standing behind it, the industry had no choice but to respect it.

New opportunities arose—collaborations, international recognition, and a presence in places that once seemed out of reach.

But the philosophy remained the same:

Be real. Be different. Be Lowky Broken.

Tasquira is an established brand for bridal and formal wear that combines contemporary design with European quality. The brand positions itself as a high-end choice for women who seek the finest in fashion. Tasquira operates internationally, serving customers throughout Europe.

At the heart of Tasquira lies its own atelier—where every dress is handcrafted with precision and attention to detail. The brand offers both designer collections and the option for custom orders. It works with carefully selected, high-quality fabrics.

Tasquira’s collections include wedding, prom, and formal designer dresses.

Its distinctive signature lies in its innovative modular approach—a concept that gives every woman the opportunity to create more than one look. Tasquira offers two-piece dresses, such as:

various combinations of a short dress and a long skirt; a skirt (mini or long) and a corset; pants and a corset. Even more valuable is that these elements can be worn after events, integrated into everyday or formal wardrobes, creating new combinations and extending the life of the design.

The word Tasquira (from Arabic) symbolizes a memory that leaves a lasting impression on the mind. Inspired by this meaning, designer Neshe Kurtova created the brand in 2014 to turn every look into an unforgettable experience:

TASQUIRA – CREATED FOR THE WOMAN WHO CHOOSES TO BE REMEMBERED.

On the first evening (April 2) of the fashion shows at Ruse Fashion Week, Tasquira will shine!

With great respect, we present Ms. Zhou Jin — a fashion designer and one of the leading figures in the contemporary preservation, reinterpretation, and promotion of Chinese cultural heritage, folk clothing, and traditional costume. Her brand, “De Jin,” and the iconic Chinese mamian skirts will be presented at Ruse Fashion Week on the first evening (02 April 2026).

Zhou Jin is also a leading figure in promoting the folk tradition and craftsmanship of the mamian skirt, transforming this historical form not merely into an object of study, but into a cultural symbol with renewed life in the contemporary world. In recent years, this type of skirt has become popular even for everyday wear.

The designer is an artist of both national and international recognition, recipient of the distinction “Top Ten Fashion Designers of the Year in China” and the first woman from China to be awarded the Italian prize “Le Grandi Guglie della Grande Milano.” Her work brings together fashion, research, education, cultural memory, and the strategic development of traditional Chinese clothing as a living and relevant art form.

Zhou Jin is a researcher and custodian of Chinese cultural heritage, with a deep professional focus on traditional textiles, garments, ritual aesthetics, and historical costume. She is Chair of the Fashion Design Association of Shandong Province, as well as a respected lecturer and academic partner, serving as a guest professor at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, the Central Academy of Drama, and the Beijing Film Academy.

She is also the chief organizer and sponsor of the International Traditional Chinese Huafu Costume Design Competition, as well as an ambassador for Chinese textile intangible cultural heritage. Her work is inseparably linked to the preservation and transmission of the knowledge, techniques, and values embedded in traditional Chinese clothing forms.

Alongside her, a delegation of prominent figures from the Chinese fashion industry will also attend the fashion evenings of Ruse Fashion Week, including Associate Professor Jiang Xiaoxi, Head of the Department of Performance and Communication and academic supervisor at the Faculty of Fashion and Art at Hubei Institute of Fine Arts. She is a member of the China Textile and Fashion Education Society, a member of the academic committee for the Fashion Performance Committee, and a member of the academic committee of the China Fashion Designers Association.

Mr. Duncan Feng will also attend the fashion shows. He is a fashion director and curator, a member of the executive board of the China Professional Fashion Model Committee, and a guest professor at China Women’s University.

We also warmly welcome Ms. Xu Ruomiao — creative producer, art director of Beijing Legend Art Communication Co., Ltd., and founder of X.X Studio.

We are thankful to be able to welcome these creative talanted individuals to our humble city of Ruse.

BenModel is a Bulgarian fashion brand created with the mission to highlight the beauty, confidence, and individuality of the modern woman. The brand has established itself through a distinctive style that combines elegance, a modern aesthetic, and attention to detail. Watch Benmodel on the 2nd night of RFW (03.04.2026)!

Each BenModel collection is inspired by the dynamics of modern life and a woman’s desire for self-expression through clothing. The designs feature refined silhouettes, carefully selected fabrics, and stylish accents that turn every garment into a unique experience.

BenModel creates looks for both special occasions and moments when a woman simply wants to feel beautiful and confident, even at home. Often, a single garment is all it takes to shift one’s mood, self-esteem, and how the world perceives them.

The brand’s philosophy is simple: fashion should inspire, instill confidence, and allow every woman to express her uniqueness. BenModel is more than fashion—it is a style, an attitude, and a sense of beauty created for the woman who loves to be noticed. It represents the strong connection between designer, garment, and client—a trio that, when working in harmony, guarantees success, quality work, and satisfaction.

SABINNE focuses on creativity and sustainability in fashion with an open and inclusive approach. The brand’s goal is to offer sustainable haute couture for trendsetters with an authentic sense of style. Ruse Fashion Week is more than happy to let people from Ruse and guests of the show sample the beauty of Romanian Fashion on the 2nd night of RFW (03.04.2026) and feel a bit closer to the country that sits so close to the city of Ruse.

SABINNE appeals to people defined by their personal sense of style, who are curious about the new but not swayed by trends. The combination of avant-garde elements with a strong focus on professional tailoring skills, alongside the constant exploration and development of new silhouettes, defines SABINNE’s couture.
The designer is Sabina Georgescu. She holds a master’s degree from the National University of Arts in Bucharest and is currently pursuing a PhD in sustainable fashion. For more than a decade, as a professional with an eye for intricate details and multi-layered structures, Sabina has dedicated her work to creating sustainable designs that carry profound messages and aim to create a life-changing experience.

The collection she will present is inspired by ocean waves crashing against spectacular cliffs, eroding seemingly “immobile,” massive structures to create new forms that naturally evolve into others, microorganisms that constantly regenerate—these “endless structures” (formations that never stop growing, developing, and evolving) captivate the designer’s imagination, as she attempts to recreate 3D structures and contrasting textures to represent this endless natural process (sea foam, waves crashing against high cliffs, small sea creatures, sunbeams reflecting off the water’s surface).

She uses pieces and items of denim collected over the years to create new, innovative pieces, giving the fabric a new lease on life. The intention behind this project was to create sustainable fashion, where 80% of the fabrics come from existing denim garments. To transform the denim, SABINNE uses collage, draping, and specific stitching techniques to create new, interesting 3D textile structures and layers, as well as other techniques such as fraying, painting, or bleaching.
Designer Sabina Georgescu typically chooses bold contrasts in textures, volumes, and colors, and this project is no exception. We are proud to welcome her to Bulgaria!

Ignis Atelier is an artistic fashion brand that creates unique clothes from authentic tapestries. Each tapestry was hand-embroidered decades ago and carries its own story. In their atelier in Sofia, Bulgaria, these textile works of art are transformed into contemporary clothes with character.
No garment is repeated, each model is one of a kind. Ignis will be participating in both evenings of the fashion shows and we can’t wait to welcome them in Ruse!

Ignis Atelier is wearable art!

Galidona Fashion Atelier doesn’t just make clothes. It creates sensations of specialty, of tenderness, of stage. You will be able to enjoy a tale for the etherealness of fashion, told by Galidona on the 2nd evening of RFW Ruse Fashion Week (April 3, 2026).

“We believe that a dress should not only look beautiful, but also make a woman feel confident and truly herself. From delicate airy fabrics to sophisticated silhouettes, the models are created to turn every appearance into a celebration.”

With a dress from Galidona, you don’t need to say anything. Your presence says enough.
“We create more than dreams!”

Mona Grace is a brand from Ruse for formal and cocktail dresses and outfits, created to emphasize the beauty of femininity through timeless and elegant silhouettes.
The brand presents collections of sophisticated clothing that combine classic style with contemporary glamour.

Mona Grace from Remix Iva follows the principles of sustainable fashion, introducing circular models into her production and striving for a more responsible approach to fashion creation.
See Mona Grace on 2nd of April 2026 on the podium of RFW. Stay tuned!