unpolished sapphire: Romanian Designers at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin 2011

Now I know I shouldn't really be posting an article about a fashion week I didn't attend but giving the fact that I am so proooud of our Romanian designers there is nothing stopping me. You might have read the blog post about Ingrid Vlasov (or maybe not), which is another reason that shows the Romanians have talent and can open doors in this industry; now the moment comes once again for the 6 designers that attended Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin this month. The names Alina Botea, Irina Schrotter, Lucian Broscatean, Lena Criveanu, Mihaela Glavan and last but not least Stephan Pelger - the already famously raging star- have starred on the catwalk with their latest collections.

Some of the above mentioned names have attended the previous Berlin Fashion Week and some of them are new to the stage. Now from what I've read in all of the online magazines and blogs these people haven't left their presence unnoticed.

So let's take a pick at what went on over there - Photo Credits :http://www.mercedes-benzfashionweek.com

ALINA BOTEA - my personal favourite - was a fresh breeze to the fashion week - not only because this was her first presence on the international stage but also because her clothes were so playful and full of colour. The dragonfly prints on her collection convinced me to go on a further research on why used it . In Japan dragonflies are a seasonal symbol of early and later summer , they are usually associated with courage, strength, and happiness - at least that's what Wikipedia says... now reading through I found another link to a cultural symbol that says that "A Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil". think it's a combination of both - it symbolises the courageous, strong and untamned woman which has a wild, colourful happiness about her.

STEPHAN PELGER started making his name resonant quite along time ago - he studied at the Fashion Institute in Vienna, Austria and then came back to Romania to open his showroom and workshop. He starred in the reality show Fashion and Fame which had as juries some of the most influential people in the industry and every week people like Peaches Geldof and Mischa Barton were invited to make a selection amongst the designers. He won the show and became the official designer of the Gold Label for otto.de, which was an amazing accomplishment. He is one of the most talented designers in the new generation and you can see that he is not willing to stop. He already is a shining star but I can really see him building an entire empire around his brand.

As he has germanic origins - his adoptive parents are saxons from Transylvania and he was raised in a traditional german family - and also because of his huge success on the international market his name was presented separate to the other Romanian designers.

His collection was inspired by the fencing sport , from there the title 'En Garde'. It is designed for the modern, always up to date woman, a woman that is constantly on guard with everything surrounding her. The colors used for the garments are predominantly burgundy and live green, but also nude and golden beige. The accessories and details used include extravagant and delicate embroideries which give a more romantic side to the collection. The mixture between burgundy and olive green make me think about the costumes in the 'Adventures of Robin Hood', only with a very modern touch. It is once again a victory on the German catwalk brought by no one other than Stephan Pelger! I LOOOOOVE IT!