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Since the end of the 90s, the ROMANIAN FASHION WEEK team has set out to build a strong platform for established and emerging designers, generating a creative context aimed at providing mentoring, support and promotion for the endeavours of designers who, over time, have written important chapters in the recent history of Romanian fashion, with reverberations in professional international fashion environments.
RFW, one of the pillars of the ROMANIAN CREATIVE WEEK festival, has set itself the goal for the 2025 anniversary edition, to develop what has been built in over 25 years, namely – the platform for launching and supporting new generations. For young designers, the new dedicated section is called RFW New Wave, and RFW Academia is the name of the section that focuses on projects by BA, MA & PhD students from the six invited institutions: University of Art and Design of Cluj-Napoca, National University of Arts in Bucharest, National University of Arts “George Enescu” in Iasi, West University of Timisoara, Technical University “Gheorghe Asachi” in Iasi and the Technical University of Moldova in Chisinau.
The RFW ACADEMIA Jury is composed of 6 professors representing the invited art institutions: Lecturer PhD Smaranda Bercea, University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca; Lecturer PhD Venera Arapu, National University of Arts in Bucharest; Professor PhD Cornelia Brustureanu, National University “George Enescu” in Iași; Professor PhD Antonela Curteza, Technical University “Gheorghe Asachi” of Iași; Lecturer PhD Alina Tocarciuc, Technical University of Moldova in Chisinau; Lecturer PhD Cristina Lazăr, West University of Timișoara, and the RFW jury members: Alexandru Abagiu, Lucian Broscățean, Ovidiu Buta, Ioana Ciolacu, Sorin Stratulat.
On Friday, May 23rd 2025, will be presented both the collections of the finalists of the Call-for-Projects of the RFW Academia, the collection of the winner of the competition held in 2024 – FREUDENBERG Innovation, as well as six group collections, one from each of the Fashion Departments of the invited universities.
The curators and coordinators of RFW Academia are: Lucian Broscățean & Ioana Ciolacu.
Universități
UNIVERSITATEA DE ARTĂ ȘI DESIGN DIN CLUJ-NAPOCA
CONTACT:
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Universitatea de Artă și Design din Cluj-Napoca
UAD Fashion
Instagram:
@uadcluj
@uadfashion
UNIVERSITATEA NAȚIONALĂ DE ARTE DIN BUCUREȘTI Departamentul MODĂ
CONTACT:
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Moda UNArte
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/unartemoda/
UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ „GHEORGHE ASACHI” DIN IAȘI
CONTACT:
https://dima.tuiasi.ro/ | https://www.tuiasi.ro/
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Universitatea Tehnică „Gheorghe Asachi” din Iaşi
Facultatea de Design Industrial și Managementul Afacerilor
Intagram:
@tuiasi.ro
@dima.tuiasi
UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST DIN TIMIȘOARA FACULTATEA DE ARTE ȘI DESIGN
CONTACT:
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Facultatea de Arte si Design – UVT
MODA-Design Vestimentar Facultatea de Arte și Design Timișoara / UVT
Instagram:
@arte_uvt
@mdvtm.uvt
UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ A MOLDOVEI DIN CHIȘINĂU
CONTACT:
https://utm.md/
https://fd.utm.md/
Facebook:
UTM Facultatea de Design
UTM – Universitatea Tehnica a Moldovei
Programul Design Vestimentar Industrial
DVI Fashion Community
Instagram:
@design.utm
@utmoldova
@utm_fashion_design
Freudenberg Innovation
MARA POPA
Mara Popa is a young designer, currently a PhD student at the Doctoral School of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca. She completed her undergraduate studies in Fashion Design at the Faculty of Arts and Design in Timișoara (2022), followed by a master’s degree in Fashion at the Faculty of Decorative Arts and Design within UAD Cluj-Napoca (2024).
Mara has participated in numerous fashion shows, exhibitions, and competitions, standing out by reaching the finals of the Arts of Fashion 2022 competition and winning the 1st Prize Freudenberg Innovation at RFW 2024.
The founder of her eponymous brand, Mara Popa creates wearable art with accents of sculptural couture. Her creations are fragments of emotion and storytelling, translated into a unique and authentic sartorial language. Each piece is an act of craftsmanship, a sculptural expression meticulously crafted with attention to detail, in a process aligned with sustainable values. Through an aesthetic of timeless elegance and refinement, Mara explores the relationship between fashion and contemporary jewellery, amplifying the conceptual significance of each ensemble.
The SCARS line, an integral part of the Mara Popa brand, is an artistic statement about the beauty found in imperfection. Inspired by her personal scar—left by open-heart surgery— Mara transforms vulnerability into a symbol of strength, with a metaphysical foundation that explores the connection between body, identity, and human essence. Interwoven with the philosophy of wabi-sabi and the kintsugi technique, the SCARS line ennobles universal scars, highlighting the profound link between fragility and resilience, between beauty and imperfection.
Each piece thus becomes an incursion into a universe of emotions transfigured into wearable art.
Instagram: @marapopa24
Curator
Lucian Broscățean
Fashion design, academic career, curatorial projects, artistic direction are creative extensions of the personal branding built by Lucian Broscățean.
In October 2001 he was awarded by Doina Levintza in the contest of the TV show “Levintza Presents”, a moment that marked his discovery and launch. He has been actively involved in fashion for over twenty years.
He has been teaching since 2008 at the Fashion Department at the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca. He is the director of the department (from October 2022), having as main missions: “transforming passion for fashion into professional jobs” and internationalizing UAD•FASHION.
His own collections (realized between 2008-2023) and lines created for the brand irina schrotter (where he signed the artistic direction between 2011-2017) have been presented in prestigious contexts, including Romanian Fashion Week — Romanian Creative Week, Romanian Design Week, Transilvania International Film Festival — TIFF, Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week, International Fashion Showcase — London Fashion Week, MQ Vienna Fashion Week, etc. Lucian has won several important awards, including the Beau Monde “Crystal Globes” for “Debut” and “Best Designer”, the YKK and Wendy & Jim awards at Arts of Fashion, MOMA San Francisco, was nominated five times at the ELLE Style Awards Romania, “Best Designer”category, and won the trophy in 2023, etc.
In 2019 he was on the jury of the Arts of Fashion competition at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh, Morocco and in 2023 he curated the “Fashion” section with Julian Roberts & Mari Bendeliani at Romanian Design Week in Bucharest.
Since 2021, from the first edition of Romanian Creative Week Iași, he is involved in the Romanian Fashion Week pillar. Together with Irina Schrotter, Ovidiu Buta, Ioana Ciolacu, Alexandru Abagiu, Sorin Stratulat and with the support of the festival teams, he develops platforms for emerging designers. Together with Ioana Ciolacu, he coordinates and curates two sections: RFW Academia & RFW New Wave.
At the beginning of 2024 he made the decision to stop doing fashion/commercial projects and to stop presenting collections on the catwalk, to focus solely on visual research, history of costume, fashion theory, teaching, Fashion-Art projects and curation.
The consistency of historical perspectives, exploring the relationship between tradition and innovation, “Thinking Processes” as methods of investigating clothing, de(re)construction of shapes and volumes, mentoring as a sign of empathy — these are aspects that shape Lucian Broscățean’s professional path.
Instagram: @lucianbroscatean
Ioana Ciolacu
Ioana Ciolacu is a visionary fashion designer known for her architectural approach to silhouettes, bold use of colors and patterns, and strong commitment to sustainability. As the founder of her eponymous brand, Ioana seamlessly blends innovative design with craftsmanship, creating collections that redefine modern femininity.
Her work has been recognized internationally, showcased on runways and exhibitions in London, Berlin, Tokyo, and featured in prestigious publications such as Vogue, Vogue Brazil, Vogue Russia, Vogue Ukraine, Elle Germany, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire Germany, Glamour Germany, WWD, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Runway, and many others.
She has also been awarded by and associated with Stella McCartney, a testament to her dedication to ethical fashion. With a strong global commercial presence, the Ioana Ciolacu brand is sold worldwide, reaching a discerning audience that values creativity, individuality, and sustainability.
Beyond her own brand, Ioana plays a key role in Romanian Creative Week (RCW) / Romanian Fashion Week (RFW), working alongside Lucian Broscățean to support and mentor the next generation of designers through Academia and New Wave. Together, they create an environment that nurtures emerging talent, bridging education with the fashion industry and shaping the future of Romanian design.
Instagram: @ioanaciolacu