Creativity meets innovation - Freudenberg Apparel organizes competition for students and workshops at Romanian Creative Week

Freudenberg Apparel attended the Romanian Creative Week (RCW) in Iaşi for the fifth time this year from 15-26 May 2024. The RCW is the largest event of its kind and offers the creative industry a wide variety of event formats such as exhibitions, film, theatre, and dance festivals and is known for its fashion shows over three days and themed workshops for knowledge exchange.

With ‘Freudenberg Innovation’, the sales team from Freudenberg Apparel Romania has been an integral part of this event since 2010. As part of the parallel Romania Fashion Week (RFW), a competition was organized for students from invited universities. In the run-up to the competition, the fashion and design departments were provided with the sample material / interlinings in addition to a schedule. The theme of this year's competition, inspired by the 50s / 60s, was ‘Couture-à-Porter’ with a focus on upcycling materials and/or recycled interlinings. The 25 best outfits (five from each participating university) then took part in one of the fashion shows on site and were exhibited in the foyer of the Palas Atrium. The jury, consisting of teachers, well-known designers, and representatives of major fashion labels, worked with the Freudenberg team to select the winner. This year's prize of €1,500, donated by Freudenberg Apparel, went to Mara Elena Popa from the Art and Design University in Cluj.

Another event on the RFW platform are the popular workshops, where representatives of the textile and fashion industry meet with students from the country's universities to discuss current topics. This year, Freudenberg Apparel’s focus was sustainability and circular economy. Over 60 participants discussed technical solutions, ethical issues, and practical applications. ‘The Romanian Creative Week is an indispensable platform for innovation and creativity, through which we come into personal contact with young talents and future fashion creators,’ says Mihaela Rosu, Managing Director, who organized and ran the competition and workshops with her team Ramona Vasile (Manager Assistant), Valentin Rosu (Area Sales Representative) and Elza Ciulei (Customer Service).