On Friday, October 26th, Alexander Shumsky, the President and Co-Founder of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia, announced the launch of the Russian Fashion Council.

The institution will be supervised by Slava Zaitsev, a reputed Russian fashion designer, and will be entirely dedicated to support local fashion designers.  ‘’The idea is to teach emerging designers, promote them and help them to do business. A lot of designers are surviving from show to show,’’ stated Alexander Shumsky during a press conference. The council aims to bring together Russian fashion designers with local manufacturers and experts, in order to support Russia’s local fashion industry. Similar to other national fashion councils, which operate in key fashion markets, such as the British Fashion Council in the UK and the CFDA in America, the RFC will promote its members both on a local and international level, through a range of creative contests and artistic projects. The RFC will also launch a program that will allow a selected group of Russian designers to showcase their collections in Milan, thus offering them an unique exposure to international press and buyers.

In this context, MBFW’s Program Director Elena Kuletskaya together with Daria Yadernaya, the Head of Russia's leading textile and apparel consulting company, Esper Group, will be at the helm of the new-born fashion institution, in addition to Russian designers Zaitsev,, Alena Akmadullina, and Julia Dalakian; and other local industry leaders.

Picture courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia.