MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK is the proof that Vienna is indeed a fashionable city. For more than a decade, the three women behind the agency creative Headz; Elvyra Geyer, Zigi Mueller-Matyas and Maria Oberfrank, have been organising Austria’s renowned fashion event in front of the MuseumsQuartier. The MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK, which attracts more than 10.000 visitors year after year, is the annual event for designers, fashionistas, bloggers and everyone who loves fashion. Before this year’s Fashion Week opens the catwalk, we had a chat with the organisers to get some exclusive insights and prepare you perfectly for this fashion highlight.
VIENNA FASHION WEEK enters its 11th round this year. What is new, and what did you leave behind?
Creative Headz: New season, new collections, especially the spring/summer collections, will dominate the catwalk, and the fall/winter ones, the shopping areas.
Vienna and fashion – friend or foe?
CH: Ambivalent, we would say.
If you could choose a Fashion-Icon, who would you invite to MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK?
CH: Iris Apfel!
Fashion Dos and Don’ts for the Viennese – do you have advice?
CH: Please dress a little bit more colourful, the world is not always black and white.
How much do digitisation and online shopping influence the fashion landscape?
CH: Due to digitisation, the competition has become way bigger because designers have the possibility to show their stuff to a broader audience more easily. Online shopping influences fashion because customers can explore and buy creations from designers all over the world, which was not possible without trading partners before. It is very exciting how all this developed – it also has a lot of advantages for the fashion industry; you just have to apply them in the right way.
How does MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK influence the local fashion scene?
CH: As a consumer-oriented fashion week, we manage to address not only an expert audience but also Vienna‘s fashion enthusiasts. In the end, it is these enthusiasts who are the final consumers and strengthen the value of the designers with their purchases.
And internationally?
CH: The competition is getting bigger and bigger, and you can feel the influence of social media everywhere. The consumers have a greater selection, the press as well, and you are not forced to consume only the big names anymore. Also, smaller designers and brands have the chance to be seen.
What was your weirdest Fashion Week experience so far?
CH: When a squall hit the tent of the backstage area during a fashion show; everyone was petrified for a few seconds and then acted as if nothing had happened.
In your opinion, what are the designers to have an eye on at the moment?
CH: Marcel Ostertag – the designer of this year’s opening show.
What do you wish for this year’s MQ VIENNA FASHION WEEK?
CH: Amazing shows and an excited audience.
Your fashion Must-Have 2019?
CH: Boots and an outfit with a lot of pockets.
See you at MuseumsQuartier!
C.J.