Russian Fashion Week 2009

Following fashion weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, Russian Fashion Week announced in Moscow it has shortened its Fall/Winter 2009/2010 season schedule this week. Russian Fashion Week (RFW) will commence on March 29 - April 4, 2009 in the Congress Hall of the World Trade Center in downtown Moscow. The most renowned fashion event in Eastern Europe, RFW will host approximately 50 shows of the best Russian and Ukrainian designers with insets of French, Italian and Spanish names. "In peak seasons RFW had 65-75 shows, but this season we see a decrease in the number of participants," says Alexander Shumsky, President of Russian Fashion Week. "As is the case in Paris and Milan, a lot of designers prefer to make presentations instead of full fashion shows. The fashion markets are down, so brands and designers need to reduce expenses." Russian Fashion Week is known for being the gateway to the Russian market. A number of international fashion designers staged their collections on RFW runways, including Vivienne Westwood, Julien Macdonald, Jenny Packham, Francesco Smalto, Frankie Morello, La Perla and Baby Phat, just to name a few. Designer rental fees for RFW catwalks are 4 to 5 times less than the smallest venues at fashion weeks in Milan or New York, but the total production costs of fashion shows in Moscow still remain consistent for most of the local designers. The schedule of the upcoming Russian Fashion Week includes 48 shows, which marks almost a 20% fall compared to the October 2008 event. "Good news is that all key names of Russian fashion stay on the RFW catwalk this season," states Alexander Shumsky.
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