7 (fashionable) things that I liked at RFW 2026

It was Fashion Week again, in Iași, at Romanian Creative Week. And it was awesome, as usual. Tiring as hell, packed to the max with a lot of events, art exhibitions, fashion catwalks, a lot of coffee and some good friends. But, because I am talking about fashion today (for my favorites from art section – go to Instagram, here), here they are: 7 (fashionable) things that I liked at RFW 2026. 

Romanian Creative Week 2026 – the whole event and more details about the programs, about exhibitions, conferences and next year’s program – here, on the link. https://romaniancreativeweek.ro

(1) New Wave competition was full of surprises. I loved the way Lorena Ion continued her collection (read HERE an interview with the designer) with new ways to transform a nautical theme. I liked the sporty details at Alexandra Mocanu and the ingenious way to play with leather at Ariana Stanciu, as well as the office with a twist look at Diana Arhire. Cristian Gabriel Mierlă continued the graduation theme with white/ivory theme of men’s clothes, while Maria Constantin had some nice reinterpreted corsets. Beautiful way of transported a wallpaper into an outfit at VLADIØLOGY and SciFi vibes at Sebastian Păunescu. 

(2) New Wave Selection surprised me with its well-crafted presentations and admirable stylistic coherence. My favorites were, definitely, Cristina Alexandru and her gigantic bags-bows, Jessica Durco and her jerseys (knitted by herself and her mother, I found out later) – stay tuned for cool interviews with these two designers! To tell the truth, I really appreciate that the designers kept their reicognoscible style; therefore, it was easy to see the buttons in Erin Gregor collection & the red lines of writing in Mario Birdean outfits (interview with Mario – here), the destructured pieces and green details at Andrada Negru (read here interview with the designer), the feathers and the beautiful fabrics at Beghim Genghiz (read here the interview with the designer), the coolness of the pieces signed Ionuț Răzvan (check here for a talk with him), the signature cuts of Haus of Creative Rebellion, Mihnea Covaci, Pif Stephano (here – see the first ever collection of Pif & an interview), Daniel Radu, Robert Roca.

(3) RFW New Wave and RFW Academia, coordinated by Ioana Ciolacu and Lucian Broscățean, continued their mission of supporting the new generation of designers and the academic environment. Victoria Rusu (UvtArte Timișoara) won the grand prize of the RFW Academia Competition (congratulations to everyone involved here – Ana-Maria Ichim și Andrada Haiduc (from UvtArte Timișoara), Reka-Kinga Bartha, Azime Onder, Eszter Domokos, Ruxandra-Elena Busuioc, Yevheniia Balan, Fruzsina Bartha, Luca-Alexia Ilco, the presentations UAD Fashion Cluj-Napoca x Irina Schrotter and UNArte Moda București x Irina Schrotter).

(4) RFW Academia – the universities. UAD chose to present a unitary super cool collection, named “Untouchable” that involved four PhD students, who combined an analysis of textile surfaces with organic structure, embroidery, crochet techniques and 3D printing. The students from UvtArte Timișoara put together a collection in shades of black, white and beiges, exploring different ways of modern styling. UNArte București Year II had a more experimental collection, while George Enescu National University of Arts in Iași put all the bets on summer colors. Technical University of Moldova in Chișinău catwalk was nice, with interesting details, while Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași, with students from Textile department really surprised me with a very nice collection and a good styling, not to mention the sound and the texture of fabrics. 

(5) Romanian Designers – I liked, liked, liked the architectural and yet very feminine collection of Ioana Ciolacu x Ploom, the gorgeous drawings with little houses and the mix of bright blue and earthy brown on Andreea Tincu’s outfits, Lenca Stories dresses & suits (here – interview with Lenca), Sannat minimalism and the explosion of sequins from Tudor Halațiu. 

(6) Romanian Designers – I wish I was there still for the last shows of the RFW 2026 (but, motivated, I had to leave) and I love to say that the shows looked incredible in the pictures and Instagram stories. Enter The Cabin had, again, a clean and sophisticated collection (read here the interview with the designers from RFW 2025), Tearless Street nailed the looks, Ramona Bizbac (read here an interview made at RCW 2025 – here) kept her wonderful vibe of luxury leisure, Wicked33 was a pretty nice suprise, Lena Criveanu did her magic, as always, Caravasili… well, I need at leat half of the pieces right now in my closet (a long talk with the designer here, at her graduation). One of the key moments of the edition was the presentation of the “ENGRAM” collection, signed by Irina Schrotter, a project inspired by the Cyberpunk 2077 universe and built around a question that goes beyond the boundaries of fashion: what happens when identity is preserved, copied or reconstructed, but not perfectly?

(7) Notes that made the whole thing more interesting than ever: 
* For almost two weeks, Iași functioned simultaneously as a fashion podium, a laboratory for digital arts, a stage for contemporary dance, a space for intellectual reflection and a meeting point for creative communities from Romania and abroad. 
* A podium of almost 40 meters, 91 square meters of screens, 200 designers and approximately 100 models from Iași, Chișinău, Bucharest, Cluj, Timișoara, Arad and other cities in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
* 8 pillars, Arts, Content Creation, Creative Entrepreneurship, Design, Education, Innovation & Digital, New Media and Sustainability & Creative Communities. ,
* Over 1,000 artists, 200 designers, approximately 100 models, 700 events and 400 volunteers, in a program that activated the entire city through exhibitions, shows, installations, conferences, concerts, performances, educational projects and interventions in public space.

Photography: Raluca Ciornea, Amanda Maier, Aron Sămpăleanu, Ștefania Feldara.