Vienna Fashion Week was held from the 7 th through the 13 th of September in the Austrian capital. The 7 th installment of the MuseumsQuartier Vienna Fashion Week, as it is officially called, gathered designers from Austria and from many other countries, who displayed their collections, which were mostly designed for the spring-summer 2016 season.
Vienna, or Wien in German, is the Austrian capital and one of Europe's most attractive cities. The "City of Dreams" as it has been called due to its ties with the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, or the "City of Music", as it is known due to its relation with W.A. Mozart and other world-famous composers such as Johann Strauss, Vienna is one of the four European capitals situated on the Danube river. The others are Budapest in Hungary, Bratislava in Slovakia and Belgrade in Serbia.
The Austrian capital was ranked 1 st globally for its culture of innovation in both 2007 and 2008 and 6 th in 2014. In 2012, the UN-Habitat has picked Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world. With a population of around 1.8 million, making it the 7 th largest city of the European Union, Vienna is a city that concentrates very much on quality of living, economics and culture.
The MQVFW is an annual event that is held in a tent in the Viennese MuseumsQuartier. The MQ, as it is locally known, translates as "MuseumNeighborhood" and is an area in the Austrian capital where there are so many museums, that it seems that it is a neighborhood inhabited only by creativity. And, indeed, the MuseumsQuartier is the melting pot of Austrian creativity and arts, but also of knowledge about the world, as science and technology are not being left out of the permanent or temporary exhibitions that are being held in the museums located in the MQ.
The shows were quite varied and contained everything from the very casual to special eveningwear to some very experimental designs. In a way, this diversity was what made the whole event so special.
While some of the collections seemed to have been forgotten at home and what went down the runway was the result of what they've put together backstage (in which case they've done a great job), other collections were really outstanding. In this sense, we wish to send our regards to Rozbora Couture, Musette, Toni Tissoni, Verdandy, Lothan Daniel Bechtold, Juan Carlos Gordillo and Veni Creatrix - these brands have presented shows that we really loved!
One of the highlights of the event was the Thai night, during which, several Thai designers showcased their creations to the public and to the special Thai officials who live in Vienna. The evening ended with a VIP buffet consisting of great Thai food.
Another surprising element was the strong presence of men in women's shows, wearing dresses, while not always necessarily being styled overall as women. After drag queen's Conchita's win at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, it seems that Austrians have become much taken with the idea of gender-bending and cross-dressing. In fact, Conchita was present for the JCHOERL show, which was in a way inspired by the performer. For those who don't know, Conchita has actually walked multiple runways since her win, basically making way for similar walks down the runways of Vienna and other places.
Another highlight of this year's MQVFW was the "Blogger's Choice" show, which featured outfits curated by Austrian bloggers. That show was perhaps the most diverse show, cohesion is not the word to describe it, but that was the whole purpose of it: to show the different tastes of various Austrian fashion bloggers.
Now that you've read so much about MQVFW, you should see some pictures too. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, we have put together a collection of photos from some of the shows, which you can see in the gallery below! Even though there are many womenswear looks featured, you can still find inspiration in them or see how they mixed colors, patterns and played with proportions and cuts!
Fraquoh and Franchomme
P.S. What do you think of Vienna Fashion Week? Which design from our collection caught your eye? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, don't forget to subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!
