The HFDA collaborated with nearly 200 industry players while supporting the fashion and design industry in 2020

Due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency had to rethink almost all of its event and programme, however, this led to not only the successful implementation of the already planned projects but new ones were also able to be launched. The industry has reached a decade-long milestone, thanks to the HFDA’s professional proposals. As a result of the Agency's founding activities, the Ministry for Innovation and Technology has expanded the tender which supports the fashion and design sector to HUF 15 billion. Additionally, the Agency coordinated no less than 20 domestic and international projects in 2020, working together with nearly 200 industry players. The professional presentations and talks were mostly held online, during which the participants were able to learn from domestic and international lecturers.

In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, operating as an integrative coordinating organization of the creative industry, rethought its projects, and while actively keeping in touch with industry players considered various possibilities for the future. Last year, the HFDA contributed to overcoming the challenges posed by the changed economic situation in the fashion and design sector, typically through online programs, events and gaining significant industry support.

In the spring of 2020, in order to map out the current situation, the HFDA used a questionnaire to assess the effects of the pandemic on the fashion and design industry, as well its visible consequences. The questionnaire received close to 400 responses, with almost the same number of companies with a manufacturing or design profile filling out the form. The majority of the respondents identified the lack of financial support and professional development as their difficulties, and therefore the HFDA shaped the new and existing projects based on the feedback received.

Based on the professional proposals of the HFDA, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology's (ITM) launched a 10 billion tender for the support of SMEs in the fashion and design industry with the aim of mitigating not only the damage caused by the virus situation but also to increase the sector's competitiveness. However, due to high interest, the tender has been expanded to HUF 15 billion in December 2020. The GINOP-1.2.14-20 targeting enterprises in the convergence regions has been expanded to HUF 12 billion, and VEKOP-1.2.7-20, known as the mirror project of the GINOP, will start in February with a budget of HUF 3 billion, which will support enterprises in the Central region of Hungary. The HFDA has participated as a professional partner in the development of the prequalification system and the call for proposals. As a result of numerous consultations, the possible range of participants in the tender was expanded, and wages were included in the supported activities. Such level of support for the creative industry has been unprecedented for decades and is an important feedback on the work of the coordinating organization as well as of the importance of the industry.

At the beginning of 2020, at the Maison & Objet interior design trade fair in Paris, 11 talented domestic designers represented Hungary, and their joint stand was highlighted and present among the trend-dictating brands. For the third time, 5 Hungarian fashion brands achieved amazing success at Milan Fashion Week in February, where fashion industry experts such as Suzy Menkes and Sara Maino also visited the Budapest Select Collective Show. The work of the Cukovy brand was awarded the Buyers Award by international buyers. At the fashion week event in Milan in September, 8 domestic brands had already represented Hungary.

Budapest Central European Fashion Week has once again received high priority status on the Agency’s fashion division calendar. Originally scheduled for April, the AW21 show was finally able to take place in September in front of an exclusive domestic audience in the form of special trunk shows. The event’s sales promotion was supported by a pop-up store set up on Fashion Street, one of the busiest streets in Budapest, where those interested in Hungarian fashion could buy the products of the most famous Hungarian designers. The SS21 event, which consisted of the presentation of the Spring and Summer 2021 collections, took place in October digitally, in the form of pre-recorded runway videos.

The SS21 runway recordings have also reached international media outlets such as Vogue Ukraine or Vogue US. In 2020, for the first time, independently of the BCEFW, the III. Budapest Fashion & Tech Summit (BFTS) professional conference was able to come to life as a separate event, which was also the first digital BFTS, followed by more than 4,000 spectators from no less than 30 countries. It was a great honour for the HFDA to greet one of the biggest icons in the fashion industry, Anna Dello Russo, as the keynote speaker of the event.

The Hungarian Mentoring Programme also resulted in great success for the 5 Hungarian fashion designers, while the International Mentoring Programme organised jointly together with the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana for 8 brands, also had a successful outcome. Two designers of the Hungarian Mentoring Programme - DÜSK and Alma Vetlényi - took part in the International Young Designers Contest in Kiev, where DÜSK also received a special award. Three of the brands that participated in the first International Mentoring Programme (ABODI, Cukovy, Elysian) were able to join NuOrder's digital showroom, and the MERO brand, which participated in the second International Mentoring Programme, joined the Sari Spazio Showroom straight after Milan Fashion Week in September, which counts as a real rarity after taking part in an international fashion week for the first time. The aforementioned brands, Alma Vetlényi and Cukovy, also received capital investment funding in 2020 from the Fashion & Design Capital Fund, in co-operation with Hiventures Venture Capital Fund Management. The Young Talents Programme, which focuses on the development of young fashion designers and serves as a prelude to further fashion mentoring programmes, was also launched in the second half of the year.

Together with the Hiventures Venture Capital Fund Management and Startup Campus, the HFDA was able to implement the HFDA Startup Programme for the second time. A record number of 61 applications were received for the programme – which can be considered a success - out of which 3 innovations eventually won the investment offer of HUF 15 million from Hiventures.

An important milestone of the year was the launch of the Budapest Select Concept Store webshop, which showcases exclusively Hungarian fashion and design brands. After a long planning process, the webshop provides fantastic domestic and international design and sales opportunities for Hungary's outstanding designers.

In the Spring, due to the epidemiological situation, the Agency had to postpone several of its programmes. However, virtual space, on the other hand, has made it possible for events aimed at the professional development of industry players to continue without health risks, such as the HFDA Academy Fashion Flash and design DIALOG, which has been held 10 times in an online-offline form. The latter, with the involvement of foreign speakers and guests, has reached an international level. The HFDA Academy New View video and podcast series was also a new programme, in which domestic and international experts gave insightful lectures on the new economic challenges and solutions affecting the fashion and design industry throughout 19 episodes.

The second design START and the design SPEED Mentoring Programme held jointly with the Italian Istituto Europeo di Design also continued online - where the mentees focused on online marketing and sales opportunities to successfully overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic. The HFDA has also transferred its digital solutions to international mentoring programmes to support the retail of Hungarian brands internationally.

Further, the first Manufacturer Mentoring Programme was also launched, in which participating manufacturers were able to take part in professional, high-quality, yet personalized training courses, which has already led to significant changes in their company's development, digitization and collaboration opportunities, and with the support of the programme they are also now one step closer to market entry.

Beyond the mentoring programmes, the HFDA Academy also launched a Vocational Training Development Programme to restore the prestige of the professions in the creative industries suffering from shortages. Two online roundtable discussions were held within the framework of the programme, as well as a short film presenting career pathway models that became the most visited video of the year on the Agency’s YouTube channel with over 23,000 views. The created materials have also become available in the Digital Vocational Training Curriculum.

The first design LAB incubation programme was also implemented, along the strategic development pillars of the HFDA, targeting design and production pairs in the hope of successful collaborations. The Agency facilitated and supported these meetings online through the Speed ​​Dating programme. As a result of the programme, 7 manufacturer-designer pairs began working together in 2020. The HFDA Spot online interface launched in 2020, also provides opportunities for further collaborations and close to 200 industry players registered on the interface in its first year.

Within the framework of Design Week Budapest, the HFDA’s first Hungarian sales promotion exhibition, 360 Design Budapest, was also implemented. The exhibition’s “Phygital” mode, ie. physical and digital implementation, enabled the involvement of 20 Hungarian and 4 regional designers. The online interface of the exhibition is still open and viewable to the public.

The Agency’s strategic growth will continue in 2021, and its main focus will be on restoring the prestige of industry jobs that are suffering from a shortage in supply.