Youngest Talents Awarded in Fashion and Design – 2024 “Get in the Picture” Call’s Winners Announced

The results of this year’s “Get in the Picture – New Talent of the Year” tender, organised by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA), the Budapest Complex Vocational Training Centre (BKSZC), and Startup Campus, are in. Five teams got into the finals of the competition, in which they presented the result of two and a half months’ work to the professional jury. The students received valuable prizes and an invitation to further HFDA events.

In the “Get in the Picture – New Talent of the Year” program, launched for the second time, 14 to 21-year-old Hungarian vocational school students in fashion and design were invited to participate in a two-and-a-half-month creative project supported by professional mentoring. This year, again, there was great interest in the call; numerous creative ideas were submitted, and the applicants dreamed up innovative projects. The teams selected by the jury gained experience in complex design processes, teamwork, creating concept presentations, and implementing the entries in the program. The theme of this year’s call for applications was “Heritage Reloaded: Design for Tomorrow”, emphasising value preservation and reinterpreting the cultural heritage. The professional jury – Zsófia Jakab, Ministerial Commissioner, CEO of the HFDA, Judit Osvárt, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decoration, and Krisztina Maróy, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of GLAMOUR magazine and Glamour.hu – selected three teams from fashion and two from design for the final.

The afternoon with the presentations, crowned with the award ceremony, was held on the 6^th of June, 2024, in the imposing exhibition space of HAB Hungarian Art & Business. In one section of the room, the projects created during the program were installed, while in the adjacent space, the finalist teams presented their creation methods. The event’s host was Bence Csalár, ambassador of “Get In The Picture – New Talent Of The Year”, fashion journalist and -expert, he moderated the event, then Zsófia Jakab, Ministerial Commissioner for the development and sectoral coordination of the creative industry and CEO of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, spoke about the mission of the vocational training development program, and stressed the importance of supporting the next generation.

In the fashion section, the first prize was awarded to team FAKIE from the Győr SZC Sport and Creative Secondary Technical School, inspired by the skateboarding subculture of the eighties, mentored by Anna Keszeg, culture researcher; the team mentored by Adél Kovács, design consultant and trend researcher, the HETLEKOTLA team from BKSZC Creative Technical School got second place for their project, the “Heje-Huja” Hourglass. Third place in the fashion category was given to the students of BKSZC Creative Technical School, Molylepkék (Moths), with their work titled “Halott Menyasszony” (Dead Bride) under the mentorship of Bori Györök, fashion and jewellery designer. In the design category, BKSZC Kozma Lajos Woodworking and Creative Technical School’s Bohém Banda (Bohemian Crew) won first place with their space installation, “Bohém Budoár” (Bohemian Boudoir), created under the professional mentorship of Sára Kele, product designer. Misztérió (Mystero) group, also from BKSZC Creative Technical School, closed the day as silver medalists with their vinyl record rescue project, for which Balázs Édes, Managing Director of LumoConcept provided a professional background as a mentor.

The finalist students did not go home empty-handed from the competition: this year, at the award ceremony, the winners received valuable digital gadgets and book packages, clothing vouchers and the opportunity to attend professional workshops in fashion and design. The HFDA warmly welcomes the awarded teams to its further events and professional programs, the Budapest Central European Fashion Week and 360 Design Budapest. After the end of the tender, the Agency continues to monitor the students’ professional journey and, whenever possible, provides them opportunities to participate in further programs and events.