Looking Back On 2019 – A Year Of Great Success For The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency

20204February11:30

Five mentoring programmes, eighteen domestic and eight international events with 153 partaking brands

In 2019, the Hungarian Design & Fashion Agency (HFDA) closed a very successful year. Through the Agency, which offers professional support, development and promotion opportunities to the Hungarian fashion and design industry, 153 Hungarian brands were able to take part in 18 domestic and 8 international professional events. By doing so, these brands were able to increase their brand awareness and gain the attention of both the Hungarian and international public. Further, over 80 Hungarian and international professionals took part in the educational programmes organised by the HFDA, and in 2019 over 30 brands took part in the mentoring programmes available. The Agency also signed cooperation agreements with two international organisations in 2019 to strengthen professional relations.

Last year was an important year in many aspects for the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency which was founded in August 2018: In under just one year – in line with the founding principles – the Agency was able to showcase the products and collections of Hungarian designers and fashion designers to the public consisting of tens of thousands of Hungarian and international viewers interested in the fashion and design industry.

In 2019, a total of 26 domestic and international events were organised and/or coordinated by the HFDA, and in the field of fashion 83, and in the field of design 70 brands took part in an agency-related event. Further, twelve thousand people attended the 18 domestic events organised by the Agency, with over a thousand visitors attending the 8 international events of the HFDA.

Following the successful compilation of strategic materials for the fashion industry, and thanks to the 3-year strategic agreement signed with the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, 6 brands taking part in the international fashion mentoring programme of the HFDA, were able to participate in Milan Fashion Week. The exhibitions of these Hungarian brands were visited by several thousand people, and the fashion shows were sold-out.

To secure a successful presence on the international fashion and design scene, it is beneficial for a brand to be present at least three times at an event, and to do so and provide support for Hungarian products, the HFDA founded the Budapest Select umbrella brand. This was an important step to help brands showcase themselves and communicate in a coordinated, unified style, giving a much stronger impression than if the brands appear on their own. Both the fashion brands and designer products are present under this name abroad, while simultaneously retaining their unique traits.

Based on the feedback received so far, the presence of the Budapest Select umbrella brand received positive reviews and was warmly welcomed in the fields of both fashion and design. Regarding the work of the Hungarian fashion designers, the international fashion professionals stated that the Hungarian collections are now at such a high level in both quality and creativity, that they are able to stand their ground in any international showroom. While the success of Hungarian product design can be found in the fact that both traditional and modern elements are present, and it is thanks to these traits that the products are unique and portray a creative picture of Hungary.

The events of the fashion division of the Agency also played an important role, thanks to the organisation of the Budapest Central European Fashion Week, in March and November, 2019. The Fashion Week held in November exceeded all expectations: the numbers doubled, including the number of invited international influencers, journalists/editors, and international – such as Italian, Mexican and

Russian – buyers (70 in total), and a further 150-strong Hungarian journalists, photographers and videographers attended the three-day event to report on the collections of the Hungarian designers. Over 6,000 visitors attended the events of the HFDA, with a growth of over 1,000 visitors attending the fashion shows compared to the previous years. Further, over 30 articles were written in international press outlets, including prestigious magazines such as the US Forbes Magazine, Vanity Fair, Kunst Magazin and Harperʼs BAZAAR Arabia.

For the first time, the Agency also organised the Budapest Central European Fashion Week opening event, the Budapest Fashion & Tech Summit. At the fashion industry conference, held at Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design, top tier industry professionals held talks on the relationship between fashion and technology, and thanks to the invited world-famous speakers, attendees were informed on questions regarding the fashion industry firsthand, such as sustainability, digitalization and innovative solutions.

Another important programme worth mentioning, which also counted as a milestone for the Agency last year, was the organisation of the Budapest Fashion and Design Nights. The event was held with the aim of boosting the Budapest fashion scene, and bringing attention to the high quality, unique, Hungarian products available. The Fashion Flash event, is an event intended to encourage discourse within the industry, focusing on an intense exchange of views and experiences.

The design division of the HFDA also reached significant milestones in 2019, with the Hungarian design industry enjoying a number of successes thanks to the Agencyʼs work. Regarding international events, in 2019, 11 Hungarian designers were chosen by a professional jury to represent the country at the London Design Fair, and the HFDA also coordinated the organisation for Hungarian designers to participate in the BRERA Design District and Paris Design Week.

In order to increase the brand awareness and international recognition of the Hungarian design industry, the Agency joined the Budapest Design Week programmes held at four locations in the past year and also successfully organised the design DIALOG events, aimed at providing general education with the involvement of Hungarian professionals.

In line with the objectives of the strategic working document, in March 2019 a strategic agreement was concluded between Hiventures and the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency. The goal of the agreement is to revitalize the Hungarian fashion and design industry and through the process to support value creation in the domestic fashion and design startup ecosystem. In accordance with the agreement, the parties will provide each other with mutual technical assistance in their programmes relating to fashion and design start-ups, and will jointly develop their ideas for development in this field.

Both Hungarian and international mentoring programmes have also been launched in the field of fashion and design, with the aim of the domestic programme to support the creation of stable Hungarian brands, and for the international programme to contribute to developing the business knowledge of the designers and to prepare them for long-term success on the international market. The programmes were preceded by many months of assessment and preparation, and the Agency, together with several industry players, identified key guidelines. Trainings included topics such as product development, brand management and communication, business planning and branding, based on individual needs. In order to provide appropriate professional support, nearly 80 Hungarian and international professionals participated in the mentoring educational programmes, in which more than 30 brands took part in 2019.

As an integrative organisation, the Agency's primary goal is to achieve effective professional coordination between national and international players of the fashion and design industry. To do so, the HFDA is continuosly expanding its foreign partnerships, and many achievements have been reached in 2019. On the one hand, the Agency has collaborated professionally with the Italian educational institution Instituto Europeo di Design to develop a joint mentoring programme: Design SPEED, and the HFDA has also joined international organisations such as the World Design Organization (WDO), and The Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA), and has also signed a cooperation agreement with the Hungarian Furniture Association to provide professional support to the modern Hungarian furniture industry and to the Hungarian fashion and design industry.

In 2020, the highest quality of professional work will continue: this year's manufacturing capacity survey will be conducted, and the Agency will work hard to develop a plan that responds appropriately to the challenges of the professional industry and to the development of traditional manufacturing business strategies prepared last year. Further, restoring the prestige of skilled workforce will also be an important focus. Another goal is to overcome the lack of resources, with the strategic agreement signed with Hiventures last year being crucial in this respect, as talented designers will continue to be successfully funded by the venture capital fund management company.

The First Event of 2020

One of the largest international design fairs for home decor and international interior design, Maison et Objet, is taking place in Paris between 17-21 January 2020, where eleven Hungarian designers will be representing Hungary with the coordination and support of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA). The aim of the HFDA is for Hungarian design brands to gain international exposure, recognition and success and to raise awareness of the potential of Hungarian products on an international scale.

Further information can be found on the Agencyʼs website: https://archiv.hfda.hu/