Prague Fashion Week

PRAGUE (AFP) - Half-way between haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion, the Czech Republic's clothes designers are fighting to cut out a place and stand out on their local market.

 "After the end of Communism, women rushed to buy Western labels in the biggest department stores, but things are beginning to change," explained Daniela Flejsarova, who began work as a designer before the end of the communist regime. While two out of three Czechs today claim they want to wear something original, according to a recent survey, small fashion houses still face an uphill battle developing their clientele.

The twice yearly "Prague Fashion Week" allows an opportunity for the most celebrated Czech designers to show off their latest ideas and change consumer trends in a market where they are often still struggling to make a mark. Purchasing power has climbed in the 17 years since the fashion evoking "Velvet Revolution". The average monthly wage has risen from around 90 euros (120 dollars) at the start of the 1990s to around 710 euros with household spending increasing in step. But average spending on clothing levelled out at around 300 euros a year in 2005, according to National Statistics Office figures. In the higher bracket of earners, the proportion of spending consecrated on clothing has not increased at all in contrast to household spending. "My Czech clients, even the best off, do not crack so easily, their purchases are always considered," stressed Geraldine Berouard, a French woman who runs a fashion boutique in Prague. "A Parisian woman who wants to give herself a treat buys a nice coat. A Czech will rather choose a new washing machine, " Daniela Flejsarova said, pithily summing up the challenge. Prague, however, has a long established passion for elegance, often nurtured by the influence of Paris, London or Vienna.

One of Europe's first fashion reviews (Mode Fabriken - Gewerbzeitung) was published from 1787 in the Bohemian capital.After a fashion spree under the First Republic (1918-1939), the Second World War quickly followed by Communism were fatal blows to the vitality of local high fashion houses, all of which were nationalised in 1948. The prevailing ideology curbed the creativity of stylists, who were forced to give up suggestion of frivolity in favour of strict utilitarianism.

The end of Communism gave opportunities to a new generation of designers, but at the same time put an end to the country's privileged status as fashion and clothes provider for eastern Europe. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, those with money generally prefer to spend on international labels, commented Monika Drapalova, a young designer who works for the Korloff fashion house in France but strives with difficulty to develop its activities in her native country. While Drapalova loyally presents her personal creations ever year on the podium of "Prague Fashion Week," she admits "at this moment, it is more for the pleasure than to make money. "To convince buyers, she tends, like most of her local counterparts, to present clothes that are "made to be worn," rather than to make dreams. "In contrast with the Russians, Czechs do not lend themselves to visible spending, the showy or ostentatious," underlined Philippe Cam, director of the Taiza fashion house, which flatters itself on furnishing the wardrobe of the new Miss World, Tatana Kucharova.

Flowing styles, classical, and black evening dresses showcased at the inaugural evening of the 2006 edition of "Prague Fashion Week" under the crystal chandeliers of Prague's art-deco Municipal House, testify to the Czech tendency for sobriety. For the organisers, the target is simple: to recapture Prague's reputation as a fashion capital. "French, Italians and Russians are well known and the Czechs hardly at all, but the world of fashion is fed by innovation," commented Jan Chudoba, the executive director of the company organising the festival.

With around 6,000 visitors at its last event last Spring, Prague Fashion Week has hopes of becoming a true crossroads for fashion professionals, like Berlin or Madrid.

Prague's Fashion Week 17/11/2006,  by Sophie Pons (AFP)

Autumn-winter collection Hana Havelkova / Image AFP - Michal Cizek