On Saturday Vilnius railway station the train on the route "Injection 2019 - Fashion Infection 2020" departed. 17 designers who participated in the competition took the podium exam and, according to the commission's decision, tickets to the country's biggest fashion event in the spring went to the top four. Tommaso (Cyprus), Yaroslav Glazunov (Russia), Lina Misėkaitė (Lithuania) and E.STAR (Saimonas Tartenis, Lithuania) will continue to ride the train.
The performances of the young designers were evaluated by designer Sandra Straukaitė, purchasing manager of Aprangas group Ilona Šimkūnienė, clothing designer and founder of #F6 brand Mantas Bartkus, lecturer of Polimoda University Maria Popadničenko and founder and creative director of brand "labàdienà" Rapolas Vosylius.
Maria Popadnichenko revealed that the jury almost did not argue this time. "The three winners were clear right away. Although the panel was familiar with the ideas and descriptions of the collections, the evaluation was determined by the first impression during the presentation itself and the reaction of the audience, who did not know the stories behind the collections. Each winner is very different in their vision and style, and the creators themselves and their personalities were reflected in the models."
Sandra Straukaitė, the designer of "Injekcija" confirmed that not only the clothes leave an impression, but also the designer himself. "It is always very interesting what is behind the collection, behind the clothes and their presentation - the creator himself and his philosophy. People believe you or not - they look at how you look yourself, what kind of message you spread. And even if you are very modest, the most important thing is to be genuine. How to win "Injection"? You have to be yourself, be a nugget and make an impression here and now."
Tommaso, who came from Cyprus to "Injection" and won a ticket to "Fashion Infection", spoke about diversity and multiculturalism in the boiling cauldron of nations in his "Reborn" collection. He says that blending into a bustling street, mingling with a multicultural environment is cathartic, and that design should work for everyone, regardless of their background or environment.
Yaroslav Glazunov (Russia), who presented the Intuism collection to the commission and the audience, uses his self-discovered intuitive method in his work. While creating, he completely distances himself from any information and tries to activate the artist's pure intuition in special sessions. As he says, then the artist turns into a source of coincidences, and intuitive movements freeze in random forms and structures of clothes.
Lina Misėkaitė, the winner of "Injekcijas", dedicated the collection "Magdalena" to her heroine, the bookseller and actress Magdalena Bankaita. According to the creator, the processes that took place during the press ban contributed to the formation of the modern Lithuanian nation, which is currently facing the processes of globalization. One of the expressions of this is the uniform clothing of people, from which we can no longer decide anything about ethnic or national affiliation or cultural identity.
Fourth winner E.STAR (Simon Tartenis) calls the Bad Reputation collection a collection of "men's" clothing inspired by women, and asks if gender still matters? His collection was inspired by two rock'n'roll girl groups from different eras who fought or are still fighting against gender inequality, homophobia, freedom of thought and speech - The Runaways, who came together in the 70s, and Pussy Riot, who are alive today.
The first participants of the upcoming "Fashion Infection" are already known, and the organizers continue to look for other collections worthy of this catwalk. Sandra Straukaitė revealed that the designers who participated here are already knocking on the door and really want to return to Lithuania. "Danish designer Tobias Birk Nielsen has written that he is very keen to return, even though Copenhagen Fashion Week is scheduled at the same time event, he would rather appear in Lithuania. And the Latvian designer Laima Jurča, who got on the podium of "Fashion Infection" last year during "Injekcija", was even determined to participate in the young designers competition again, just to be able to return to one of the biggest podiums in Lithuania."
Photo: Tautvydas Stukos 
Photo: Tautvydas Stukos
