From Tokyo to Romanian Fashion Week: the story of Romanian designers present in Tranoï, the most exclusive fashion event in the world. A team of international buyers came to Iași to discover new emerging designers
The Romanian designers who have conquered the international audience at Tranoï Tokyo 2025, the most prestigious fashion fair in the world, presents their collections and at home, at Romanian Fashion Weekintegral part of Romanian Creative Weekthe largest event dedicated to creative industries in the European Union. Organized under the Tranoï umbrella, with editions established in Paris and Tokyo, the event, held in March 2025, brought in front of international buyers, specialized press and industry professionals a rigorous selection of designers from all over the world, which is noted for artistic vision, innovation and quality.
Some of the Romanian designers selected by the Tranoï Tokyo organizers for the prestigious event in Japan are also present in Iasi, within the Romanian Fashion Week. Sunday, May 25, from 8:30 pm, Palas gardens become the final scene of this year's edition, hosting the presentation of consecrated designers, within the section Romanian Designerscurated by Ovidiu Buta. On the podium will climb: Axente, Bol Fashion of Nature by Oana Lupaș, Ioana Ciolacu, Tudor Halațiu, Cristina Lazăr, Lenca, Lunar Laboratories, Raluc, Scapadona, Irina Schrotter and Andrea Tincu.
“With the 25th anniversary of Romanian Fashion Week, the third evening is dedicated to Romanian designers who have built solid brands and businesses. Some of the designers who present Sunday evening also participated in Tranoï Tokyo. Given the success of Romanian designers in Tokyo, Tranoï decided to send a team of ten international buyers to Romania, in Iași, to discover other talents“he said Ovidiu Buta, the curator of the Romanian Designers section.
“In our field, getting to present your collections in Tranoï is just as important that participating in any great Fashion Week in the world. The Romanian companies we take there are creative, mature and responsible, which facilitates their success in very demanding international markets, such as Paris, Tokyo, Milan, New York. The program for promoting exports, carried out by the Government of Romania, is the only public-private partnership that I know how to work almost uninterrupted from 2007, being one of the few facilities offered to Romanian entrepreneurs for their internationalization. This program was the one who diminished the negative balance of the Romanian economy, and even, in the field of services, returned in favor of Romania. We, in the creative industries, export products, but we mainly export services ”he said Mihai Luputhe fetus director.
Among the designers who participated in Tranoï Tokyo, organized by Future in Textiles, a founding member of the Federation of Creative Industries (FEPIC), together with the Government of Romania, through the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade, and which will be present on Sunday evening at the Romanian Fashion Week are Ioana Ciolacu, Bol of Nature by Lupa. by Andreea Ivan. “It was for the second time when I arrived with the Tokyo collection and, by comparison, I can say that Tranoï was clearly superior. The organization was impeccable, and we, the European designers, had a central place. We were perceived as exotic, coming from another culture, which aroused a genuine interest from local buyers“, He explained Designer Ioana Ciolacuone of the most sound presence of contemporary Romanian fashion, about the experience in Japan.
The designer also emphasizes that the Japanese market has a special logic: “It is a space that builds over time and durable. Relationships develop with timidity, but with a lot of decency and sincerity. The keyword for me was adaptability. As a brand, you have to understand that people come with another kind of aesthetic sensitivity and that everything is built differently from Western markets.“
In Iași, Ioana Ciolacu presents a contemporary collection, with accents pronounced on the details made manually: “The collection is the Made Tales, but it comes with a new load of significance at the level of detail. I had the opportunity to spend more time developing the manuality area. The common visual thread is built around the idea of string and stripe – a simple but powerful aesthetic”.
Oana Lupaș, the founder of Bol Fashion of Nature, described participation in Tranoï Tokyo “very interesting from the perspective of culture“: “It was a first experience we want to repeat. It is a very intriguing market, and we, as designers, need time to understand the aesthetic culture and the story of the clothes there“.
Andreea Ivan, the founder of Scapadona, also emphasized the importance of the two events for both his brand and for the fashion industry in Romania. About the Romanian Fashion Week, it says that “It is, every year, a mouthful of fresh air for us, designers“:”It is a challenge to go beyond our limits and bring more creativity. In my collection, I wanted to bring a little positive and optimism in the current geopolitical context, with fluid parts and freedom games”.
Last but not least, Irina Schrotter was among the brands invited to Tokyo. On Sunday night, the brand will present on the Romanian Podium Fashion Week the collection “La Dolce Resisteza”, an exploration of female resistance through elegance and refinement. “Through this collection we tried to give an answer- hugging the Italian philosophy at Dolce Vita- not as a nostalgia, but as a manifesto. The joy of a meal together, the spark of a dance under the lights of the city, the elegance of an old inherited jacket -are not frivolous details. They are the basis of humanity, culture and hope. It is the fashion as celebration. Fashion as a form of resistance. The fashion as a reminder that, even when the systems break down and the titles from the news are dark, we are still here – and we still dance. At Dolce Resisteza it is about romance, dream and rebellion – for those who believe that beauty is a right, not a luxury. It is a tribute to the artistic heritage of Italy and a mirror of our modern struggles, which reminds us that the act of living fully – with style, with grace, boldly – is the strongest form of protest“, He said Ella Lazar, brand designer Irina Schrotter.
In the first two days of Romanian Fashion Week, the fashion presentations took place in the Palas gardens and in the locations of symbol in Iași, such as the Lost Palace Hall and the Palace of Culture. The event, supported by Pepsi, Glo, Iulius, Banca Transilvania, Stella Artois, Zano, Mionetto, Printco and Promot, brings together over 100 designers and 150 models on the largest catwalk in the country, located in the Palas gardens, with a length of about 60 meters and 100 MP LED screens.
Romanian Fashion Week 2025 included, this year, two important directions for the training of young people, curated by Ioana Ciolacu and Lucian Broscățean: RFW New Wavededicated to emerging designers, and RFW Academiadesigned for students, masters and doctoral students invited from six higher education institutions. The makeup is made by the Lancôme team, coordinated by Alexandru Abagiu (NMA), and the hairstyling is provided by the Philips team, coordinated by ambassador Sorin Stratulat.
About Romanian Creative Week
Romanian Creative Week It is organized by the Federation of Patrons in the Creative Industries, the only representative employer at national level working in the creative industries sector. It was established in Iasi, in August 2011. It has organized, directly or through the members of the member, more than 100 actions of national and international promotion of creative industries.
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