Luxembourg Art & Fashion Week to Showcase Emerging Talent in October

The Luxembourg Art & Fashion Foundation (LAFF) asbl has announced that it is organising the Luxembourg Art and Fashion Week (LAFW) from 18 to 25 October 2024.

As part of LAFW, the new LAFF pop-up store (15 Avenue de la Gare, L-1611) will host seven days of events. The first floor will be open daily from 14:00 to 20:00 (free entry for all) and features a designers’ showroom, sponsors corners, a lecture theatre and a food court. The second floor will be open daily from 18:00 to 20:00 (tickets only) and sets the scene for an art and fashion show (catwalk and cocktail).

Chronicle.lu had the opportunity to learn more about this event from LAFF President Marianna Pogosova.

Chronicle.lu: We understand that you founded LAFF asbl back in autumn 2022. How has the non-profit grown since then (team, activities, mission)?

Marianna Pogosova: Yes, correct.  LAFF was founded a year and a half ago, by a group of people with different backgrounds, education and nationalities with the scope to promote fashion and art in Luxembourg. We have committee members: Kateryna Zaitseva (Luxembourgish), co-founder and treasurer, Michel Karpf (as well Luxembourgish), co-founder and secretary, Salome Lutsenko and Marianna Pogosova, co-founder and president (both from Ukraine). We have as well a select number of people as ambassadors that support and consult the committee on the different projects. The ambassadors for 2024-2025 are: Emilie Boland, Miss Luxembourg, founder Bogere brand; Nadine Robert, model [and fashion radio] host; Raffaele Riva, expert and collector of modern and contemporary art and financial partner of an art gallery in Milan of emerging artists; Anna Livia Smith, brand mentor; Jerome Rouquie, founder of Come to Lux. […] We are open for everyone who would like to support and help our association and our project.

During 1.5 years of work, we have organised art and fashion events such as: Mychael Levchenko's sculpture exhibition, together with Simoncini Galleries; fashion show of Ukrainian designers in June 2023 and in June 2024 as part of Ukrainian Days organised by LUkraine; LAFF charity evening in February 2024, where we presented collections of two designers and raised more than €2,500 for the development of art and fashion projects.

Courses [included] “Fashion forward” organised by designer Tamriko Keburia for emerging designers in Luxembourg. This course was a great success and we would like to organise more such courses to give designers the opportunity to grow professionally. 

We would like to underline as well that one of our missions is to create a unique international platform in Luxembourg for people who want to immerse themselves in the creative industry, in particular fashion and art.

Chronicle.lu: What inspired LAFF to create Luxembourg Art and Fashion Week?

Marianna Pogosova: Luxembourg Art and Fashion Week for emerging talents has been our goal from the very beginning. We have received an overwhelming amount of requests from designers and artists for help and support, so we created the project. […] Together with LAWF we have now created Art & Fashion LAFF House, a pop-up space for all our activities. On 19 September, we have the inauguration […] and we will be able to organise all our activities in one place: LAFF Academy, show room, production for designers, LAFF HUB and other activities related to art and fashion. […] LAFW will take place in our LAFF House, from 18 to 25 October 2024.

Chronicle.lu: We understand the event takes place twice per year. Why did you decide on this frequency?

Marianna Pogosova: Correct. [I]n order to give continuity of the project and help our young talents to reach the professional level.

Chronicle.lu: What more can you tell us at this stage about the event format and programme? Is the focus mainly on local (or international) talent? Any local collaborations planned (e.g. LUkraine asbl)?

Marianna Pogosova: Our programme will be available three weeks in advance […]. The format of LAFW will be open for visitors: showroom, partners corner, lecture zone. All our visitors have the opportunity to buy clothes and art to support emerging talent, join all our events to see why it is important to support emerging talent and support slow fashion. We are planning to organise a fashion show and art installations for emerging talent. Entry to the main hall for the events will be free and to get tickets for the show we will ask people to make a donation. All proceeds will go towards supporting women and emerging talent in art and fashion.

Our main panel discussion subjects [are]: women in art and fashion; fashion and art is a business (how to elevate yourself and achieve the goal); recycling and sustainability; Slow Fashion - Fast Fashion or why is it so important to support small brands.

Our goal is to create an international platform for emerging talents so the event will be with international guests and participants. We are negotiating with other [non-profits] and individual activists who would like to join us, and we are open [to] the offers and volunteers.

Chronicle.lu: What does LAFF ultimately hope to achieve through this event?

Marianna Pogosova: With these events and with the fashion house we would like to share our knowledge and expertise in the art and fashion field here in Luxembourg, and integrate emerging talent into the international business and help achieve their goals in the creative industry. LAFW is the first step to achieve our bigger goals: promoting Luxembourg as an international centre for new sustainability talent; promotion of slow fashion (garment manufacturing is currently the second most polluting industry after petrol) - buy less, buy and use sustainably, buy from local talent, recycle and reuse; inclusive, forward-looking, safe environment and support for self-expression (especially important in the multiple crises of the current decade) - a long-term social impact, including strengthening social cohesion to reduce conflict; employment of vulnerable or disadvantaged groups: women, LGBTQ+, refugees.