ІІІ. FASHION MERCURY 2006

At a glamorous ceremony in the building of the Opera of Rousse, the Academy for Fashion awarded its annual prizes for fashion business, Fashion Mercury 2006. This happened within the Days of Bulgarian Fashion, organized by the Rousse City Council, the Academy for Fashion, the Regional Administration and the Professional Union of Light Industry Manufacturers of Rousse under the aegis of the Minister of Economy and Energy Roumen Ovcharov. The event was penetrated by the spirit of Eurointegration and was dedicated to Bulgaria's upcoming EU membership. The project had the following major goals: 3 To confer the Fashion Mercury award of the Academy for Fashion to the best representatives of the Bulgarian fashion business and entrepreneurship in 2006. 3 To present to society the most outstanding achievements of the Bulgarian fashion. 3 To stimulate (across the country and in Rousse, in particular) the creation of modern and high-quality garments with the Made in Bulgaria label.

The reason the Academy for Fashion to elect Rousse as a place for carrying out the Days of Bulgarian Fashion on September 24 and 25, 2006, respectively, and to invite dozens fashion houses and designers to show their newest creations is symbolic. Both for the Academy for Fashion and for the society as a whole, Rousse is the pearl in the crown of the Bulgarian fashion industry, and at the same time - a name, which symbolizes the high class of the Bulgarian fashion. The Professional Union of Light Industry Manufacturers of Rouse is the biggest professional union in Bulgaria at all. It is well-known that there are more than 250 clothing and textile companies in Rousse and that their employees stand at about 13,000. Another serious reason is that Rousse is the entrance to united Europe, and it is not accidental that the Days of Bulgarian Fashion were dedicated to the Eurointegration. Even children know that more than 100 years ago, the new fashion trends came to our country through this beautiful Danubian city, which is still named "the little Vienna". The first or one of the first fashion houses in Bulgaria was established only a few years after the Liberation from Turkish yoke and this was the atelier for ladies' and children's hats in Rousse, S&R Blaunstein. An important reason for carrying out the Rousse Days of Fashion was the initiative of the Professional Union itself, of its chair Magdalena Stoyanova and of such active members as Kamen Obreshkov, Krassimir Ivanchev, etc. One of the most important ambitions of the organizers of the Days of Bulgarian Fashion in Rousse was to outline the best collections not only of the designers from Rousse, but of some of the best Bulgarian designers from Sofia, Plovdiv, Karlovo, Lovech, Veliko Turnovo, etc. The international theoretical and application conference dedicated to the production and techniques of making ready-to-wear, contributed also to the consolidation of the Bulgarian designers and entrepreneurs in the fashion business. The conference topic was Production and Trade Practices in Fashion Business, and the lectors included Josef Straube from Germany, Robert Alexandriiski, Silvia Kabaivanova, Milka Dimitrova, Krassimir Iskurov, etc.

Fashion Mercury 2006 laureates honoured for successes in fashion industry and entrepreneurship are: Markam for fashion business and high quality in the production of Bulgarian clothing; Virginia Zdravkova - for unique contribution to the development of fashion business across the world; I.N.A. Trading - for high quality and development of business with equipment and materials for the fashion industry; MDL - for the most successful representation of foreign fashion labels in Bulgaria; and the Professional Union of Light Industry Manufacturers - Rousse - for collective contribution to the Bulgarian fashion industry. The awards ceremony was attended by Rousse Mayor, eng. Bozhidar Yotov, Rousse Region Governor Maria Dimova, last year Fashion Mercury laureate Miroslav Stamov (Miro’) and the chiefs of the Academy for Fashion, and all award-winners were addressed by Minister Ovcharov.

The newest collections of Antoan Vill, Arda, Aura Fashion, Blue Girl, Virginia Atelier, Gruncharov and Son, GST, Dounavska Koprina (Danubian Silk), Estel Collection, Irida, Kwiat, Lounen Kamuk (Moon Stone), Magik, Markam, Miro’, Panel (Turkey), Roshavata Garga (the Tousled Crow), Style W, Suglassie (Agreement), Tani and Triumph International were shown at the grand gala performance. The guests included members of Parliament, city councilors and managers of state institutions in the city of Rousse. Christina Elena Dinu, a Deputy Prefect of Giurgiu, Romania, arrived especially for the event.