THE DESIGNERS
Erika Varga: Founder, designer, and artistic director. A goldsmith, educator, community builder, and mentor, Erika designs the collections and oversees the entire artistic and visual concept. She is also responsible for the messages and professional concepts associated with each Romani Design collection.
Helena Varga: Jewelry, bag, and pattern designer, and performing artist. Helena designs and creates Romani Design accessories, jewelry, and bags, as well as the handcrafted textile patterns that form the backbone of the collections. As a singer and songwriter, she regularly performs with her jazz-world music band, the Varga Helena Band, accompanying Romani Design's fashion shows.
THE BRAND
Romani Design is the world's first Roma fashion studio. The founding sisters, Erika and Helena Varga, established their community-based, artistic creative workshop with the goal of aiding the social and cultural prestige-building of Roma communities. Every piece of their work and creation is done in the spirit of social responsibility. Erika and Helena Varga present Roma folk art, clothing traditions, and Hungarian-Roma cultural heritage in a contemporary and modern context. Their collections feature premium-quality, unique, handcrafted art products tailored to the needs of 21st-century people. In a sustainable way, they communicate the values inherent in traditions, identity, freedom, body image, and self-identity, representing Roma culture at the highest levels of the fashion industry. They believe in social responsibility, fighting against cultural exploitation, and the importance of experiencing and nurturing the values found in shared heritage. For them, fashion is not an end but a means—a bridge between cultures, generations, minorities, and majorities
THE COLLECTION
Fashion and Activism – these two concepts define the Romani Design AW2627 collection. The foundation of the collection is a series of eight conceptual sculpture dresses made from bookbinding fabric, originally created for the brand’s solo exhibition celebrating fifteen years of its activity. Building on the silhouettes and the messages displayed on these sculptural pieces, the designers developed their latest collection — one that showcases not only their creations but also their ars poetica and commitment to social engagement on the runway.