Mango and Miniskirts in Sofia

Petar Petrov designs offbeat men's fashion, was born just 30 years ago in Sofia and has lived since 1999 in Vienna, where he studied fashion at the University of Applied Arts under Dutch designers Victor & Rolf and Belgian Raf Simons. He is now regarded as one of the great hopes for the future from Austria, with strong financial support from the Viennese Unit-F büro für mode and departure, the Viennese creative business subsidy organisation. With success: last year (2005) he was listed in the official fashion calendar of the Paris Fashion Week. A major recognition, a great step forward. Shops in Great Britain, France, Japan, the USA and even Australia stock his clothes that mix in traditional clothing genres from the training suit to the business suit an unrestrained way, always remaining one thing: wearable. Petrov is a pragmatist and perhaps for this very reason so successful: “For me making fashion is not art. One must make clothes that people want to wear.”

This Vienna-based designer does not want particularly want to emphasize that he comes from Sofia. “Even though this is what journalists always want to write. In my work I do not refer to my Eastern European roots. I am open to everything and don't want my work to be restricted to the East-West theme.” All the same he produces his designs in Sofia, in his mother's business. “Clothing has a great tradition in our family. I grew up with fashion from a very young age”, explains the young designer. In Bulgaria tailoring has a long tradition and is a highly respected craft. An unusual number of folk songs and sayings are devoted to this profession, the star sign Orion is even interpreted by the Bulgarians as a tailor. “That must be a long time ago”, Petrov laughs. “I don't have the impression that the great tradition of the art of tailoring has survived in Bulgaria in recent years. When I was building up my business there a few years ago I was confronted with serious problems at the beginning. It was very difficult to find a manufacturer that could meet my demand for quality. The Bulgarians can only dream of a great handcraft tradition such as exists in Italy.”

But Petrov is optimistic about the future: “I can see that things are improving for the textile and fashion branch. Not least of all thanks to the major international fashion brands that have their clothes made economically in Bulgaria and that insist on a certain level of quality.” This is most probably why the Bulgarians are oriented towards Western brands, as Petrov has noticed. “Mango, for example, is an extremely popular label in Bulgaria at the moment and the people who wear it are demonstrating a certain status. But hardly anyone dares to wear avant-garde things such as my fashions. In the streets of Sofia you can see a lot of colour and a lot of miniskirts, and Moda de la Italia is extremely popular.” According to Petrov there is no fashion scene in Bulgaria like in Vienna. "People do make some strange attempts, but every thing is full of clichés."

Can he imagine opening a shop in Sofia? “Precisely now”, Petrov says, “this could be a rather interesting proposition for me. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the EU membership. I am just waiting for the right time.”

 

In the framework of the 6 Festival for Fashion, Music & Photography in Vienna (from 16 to 25 June) Peter Petrov showed his new Autumn/Winter Collection at the Departure Fashion Night (22 June 2006) – see the gallery in this issue – and as the successor of Wendy&Jim he designed a collection for UO Ottakringer in 2005 (UO Fashion Night on 24 June 2006). Items from this collection will be available in Shop Zone.

 

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