Away from the Big 4: 7 Alternative European fashion weeks to have on the radar

The fashion week season in Milan, Paris, London and New York has been ushered in, however, away from the ‘Big 4’, other cities across Europe have been championing their own events, hoping to get a slice of the international stage.

There have already been some European cities in which fashion weeks that had first been pitted as “up-and-coming” destinations for new talent have later become permanent fixtures on the international calendar. Copenhagen, for example, has risen among the ranks as a leader in platforming Scandinavian fashion, closely followed by Berlin and Barcelona, which have respectively cemented their presence on the international scene with local names.

At FashionUnited, we look towards other events across the continent that are on the path to reaching that same level of global acclaim.

Budapest Central European Fashion Week – Feb 10 to 16

Since its inception, BCEFW has emphasised its position as a platform for Central European brands. Efforts towards such a mission were accelerated last year when the event expanded on partnerships with the fashion councils of other countries bolstering their respective labels. Such relations are to continue growing into the coming season, during which a Fashion Hub is to also be made available to the public, offering free workshops and roundtable discussions throughout the week.

BCEFW is supported by an Advisory Board, introduced by the Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency in 2023 as part of a wider mission to improve the function and attractiveness of the fashion week. Those on the board include Peter Baldaszti, CEO of both Nanushka and Vanguards; founder and CEO of Not Just A Label, Stefan Siegel; and website editor-in-chief of Vogue Ukraine, Violetta Fedorova.

Ukrainian Fashion Week – Feb 14 to 17

Ukraine’s fashion industry has prevailed in the face of the country’s ongoing war with Russia, as organisers of its fashion week have continued to underline the importance of uplifting a young generation of designers, ensuring that their stories are heard on a global stage. After previously participating in London and Berlin fashion weeks, Iryna Danylevska, founder of Ukrainian Fashion Week, decided to bring the event back to the streets of Kyiv last year, for the first time since the war began in 2022.

A new addition to the event this season is that of the NewGen Lab, which, together with backing from fashion retailer Intertop and footwear brand Kachorovska, intends to support emerging designers through funding participation, grants and awards. Similarly, the ‘Clothing with a Function’ programme will also launch this season, concentrating on the creation of adaptive clothing for individuals with specific needs, such as bodily injuries and those using prosthetics.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid – Feb 19 to 23

While large in scale, MBFW Madrid continues to evolve its format each season to test the waters of how it can better cater to its local industry. Trade fair institution Ifema Madrid is once again deep in preparations for the coming AW25 edition, in which it is to continue solidifying its position as a benchmark within the global fashion landscape. The event typically draws in some of Spanish fashion’s biggest names, however, it also does well to highlight emerging designers, granting them an entire day on the calendar for their shows, held under the title ‘Ego’, which this year will serve as the finale.

In recent seasons, organiser Ifema has further attempted to capitalise on and democratise the MBFW Madrid experience by opening up the event to the public. This will continue into the coming fashion week, during which tickets will be on sale for select shows. Last year, the fashion week sold out in this respect, with over 1,000 tickets sold.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Bucharest – Mar 26 to 29

Bucharest Fashion Week has just one season under its belt, yet it has managed to already spike global industry interest. This is not only as Romania continues to establish itself as a hub for luxury production–notably both Italian brands Louis Vuitton and Moncler operate factories there–reflecting the talent and craftsmanship that come out of the Eastern European country, but also as its associated designers amass recognition for their typically artistic approach to design.

Ties to Italy are to only grow stronger for this coming edition, as the fashion week launches a strategic partnership with Milan Fashion Week organiser Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), garnering Bucharest a “significant endorsement”. Italy’s fashion institute Polimoda will also join as the fashion week’s partner in education, with the intention of facilitating exchange programmes between students.

The schedule is overseen by the fashion week’s founder and Elle Romania editor-in-chief Roxana Voloseniuc, who has leveraged her 24 years of experience in the industry to inform BFW. To add to this, last year, Mercedes-Benz became a main partner, underlining both of the organisations’ commitment to supporting innovation. Such a partnership puts the Romanian capital on par with the likes of Berlin and Madrid, which have also been under the supportive wing of the car manufacturer in both the past and present. This strategic partnership will continue, as will the organisation’s focus on sustainability, education, art and networking.

Riga Fashion Week – April 7 to 10

Latvia’s capital has become somewhat of a cornerstone for Baltic fashion, with Riga Fashion Week emerging as a bountiful platform for designers not only from the home turf, but also Lithuania, Estonia, Uzbekistan and Finland. In recent years, its global impact has started to take shape in the form of increasingly prominent names on the schedule. For its AW24 edition, for example, Adidas Latvia’s collaboration with local brand Baé by Katya Shehurina served as the finale to the fashion week, while Stockmann Department Store has continued to partner with the event through showrooms and communication initiatives.

Added efforts by the fashion week to build on international ties were prevalent in its 39th edition, when it hosted events dedicated to Italian fashion as part of cooperation with the Italian Embassy in Latvia and the Italian Trade Agency in Stockholm. This took shape in a public forum on fashion heritage and the screening of a film about Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo. Information on the coming edition of Riga Fashion Week is yet to be distributed.

Stockholm Fashion Week – June 2 to 5

In 2019, Sweden took a major step in its efforts to move towards a greener fashion industry and opted to cancel Stockholm Fashion Week, citing environmental concerns as the cause. It returned in 2020 via a pandemic-induced digital format, and didn’t take a physical form again until the spring 2022 season, when it undertook a renewed emphasis on sustainability. After this edition, however, the event disappeared off the international calendar again as a result of what the organiser, the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands (ASFB), said was a “tumultuous time within the Swedish and global fashion industry”.

Now, it is readying for its return following a period in which the association learned “what is needed for its members”, standing firm on its two missions; to promote the economic interests of members and to revitalise SFW to better serve needs and respond to industry dynamics. As such, ASFB said it is aiming to offer production and venue support to its members to ensure that the fashion week serves as both a showcase of creativity and a commercial platform. The timing of June is also intentional, placing the event in a period “when Sweden is at its most inviting”. Organisers have said there is a joint effort by premium and luxury brands as well as the government to make the fashion week happen this year.

Oslo Runway – August 25 to 30

This season of Oslo Runway will mark the event’s 10-year anniversary, and thus the occasion will be a “little extra special”, organisers said. Beyond runways, the fashion week also hosts various parties, pop-ups and initiatives throughout the city, with the schedule having expanded last year through a new partnership with car manufacturer Polestar, a former partner to Copenhagen Fashion Week. In contrast to the Danish event, Polestar held a Talent Showroom in Oslo, where a gallery exhibiting emerging talent and various talks took place.

“Oslo is growing into becoming one of the European cultural cities not to miss out on, and we are really happy to see some of the world’s largest press titles wanting to come here to experience the best of Norwegian fashion and design close up,” Oslo Runway CEO, Elin Carlsen, said. Such a perspective is reflective in the growing number of attendees descending on Oslo for the event, as well as its increased reach via online and media platforms.