Sustainable Couture, Mega Yachts Mingle in Montenegro – WWD

“I really need individuals to see that inexperienced style might be extraordinarily glamorous, attractive and engaging,” Ronald van der Kemp mentioned on Saturday night time, moments after the final of his fashions — in drifting chiffon robes — exited the palm-lined catwalk, with mega yachts and mountains because the backdrop.

The Dutch designer was the most recent high-profile participant within the Worldwide Style Competition, a two-day, open-air occasion in Porto Montenegro designed to shine a highlight on native and worldwide designers — and a spectacular resort vacation spot of fjords and crystal-clear water.

Van der Kemp was gobsmacked by the seaside vistas, the cypress timber, the picturesque medieval villages — and the trendy crowds strolling the marina of their Gucci clothes, Bottega Veneta mules and Woman Dior baggage. “The ladies actually care for themselves. That’s a vital factor that you just see right here,” he marveled.

The designer introduced his fall 2021 couture assortment, unveiled in Paris earlier this month: a smattering of previous designs, plus a surfeit of “very floaty summery clothes” exalting a cache of classic couture prints from the Seventies and Eighties. The present proceeded at a really leisurely tempo — in tune with the velocity of Montenegro — and spanned 70 appears to be like paraded one-by-one on an extended pier.

A glance from RVDK Ronald van der Kemp in entrance of Regent lodge in Porto Montenegro. 
Courtesy

Van der Kemp mentioned he had a number of gross sales appointments booked after the present, and was thrilled to have in-person consumer conferences after greater than a yr of coronavirus disruptions.

This yr’s Worldwide Style Competition occurred at a smaller scale than previous editions resulting from pandemic-related restrictions. The backstage space may accommodate solely 20 fashions, and the out of doors runway setting solely 200 friends.

But the organizer, the Belgrade-based occasions company Fabrika, welcomed a handful of tv crews from Balkan international locations, plus a raft of sponsors together with the posh lodge Regent, the European Union, watch model Hublot and carmaker Renault.

Vesna Mandić, founder and chief government officer of Fabrika, mentioned Porto Montenegro is eager to create a vigorous social calendar for the individuals who flock to its world-class marina and luxurious accommodations and residences — and the Worldwide Style Competition provides to a slate of dance, sport and music performances organized over the summer season season.

The 2-day program had a “inexperienced” theme and included runway exhibits by Lisca, a Slovenian lingerie and swimwear firm that does enterprise in 60 international locations, and two Montenegran designers: Maja Pavićević, whose three-year-old atelier does solely distinctive items, and Aleksandra Džaković, whose Akka model is constructed on biodegradable supplies and sewing-free manufacturing strategies. Her pert fashions delivered to thoughts the geometric, Area-Age types of Pierre Cardin, however had been in actual fact impressed by Montenegrin nationwide costume.

A glance from Akka by Aleksandra Džaković. 
Courtesy

Earlier than transferring to Porto Montenegro in 2018, Mandić had beforehand organized her style competition for 23 years in Kotor, a fortified city prized for its winding streets and Romanesque church buildings. Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Zuhair Murad, Diane von Furstenberg, Emanuel Ungaro and Max Mara are among the many well-known manufacturers to have participated.

Mandić famous Calvin Klein staged its first style present in Europe in Kotor, which additionally boasts its share of mega yachts and well-known guests.

The Montenegro area shelters a whole lot of budding designers, with a biannual style week within the capital of Podgorica.

Saturday night time’s style exhibits had been livestreamed, and the RVDK and Akka collections had been additionally paraded via the bustling waterfront cafés of Tivat, the city that’s subsequent to Porto Montenegro.

“I consider that sustainable style is for everyone,” Oana Cristina Popa, the EU’s ambassador in Montenegro, mentioned forward of the show.  “We should help younger creators and designers who’re selling sustainable, sluggish style as an alternative of quick style.”

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RVDK Ronald van der Kemp Couture Fall 2021