The prestigious "Golden Pin" 2017 awards of the Academy of Fashion, chaired by Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov, were presented during a gala performance on February 28 at the Ramada Sofia Hotel. The names of the winners were kept secret until the end: Mariela Gemisheva – Designer of the Year, MEGZ – Fashion House of the Year (designer Miglena Kakanasheva), Merlin Arno – Fashion Innovation, Alina Manova – Fashion Makeup Artist, Georgi Andinov – Fashion photographer, Miglena Petkova – Best young designer.
According to tradition, a jury of the 30 best lifestyle and fashion journalists from print and electronic media votes for the big prizes.
The Golden Pins presented the previous award winners in the respective categories; Svetoslav Kolchagov – Designer of the Year for 2016, Vyara Georgieva designer of FEDE fashion studio, winner of the "Golden Needle" prize 2016 in the Fashion House of the Year category; Kostadin Krastev-Koko – Fashion Photographer for 2016 and Teodora Spasova – Best Young Designer for 2016.
After the ceremony, each of the Golden Pin 2017 awardees had their individual performance, prepared especially for the Academy of Fashion Gala. The designer of the year - Mariela Gemisheva - presented the "Make yourself special" collection - a deconstructive reference in silk to the luxurious minimalism of the 90s. Mariela Gemisheva is a fashion designer and artist in the field of performance, installation and object, teacher in the discipline "Fashion Project" - Fashion speci alty at the National Academy of Arts. She is known for numerous non-standard and memorable experimental solutions in the field of fashion and art performance. Her previous two gold pins are for achievement in experimental and avant-garde fashion.
The fashion house of the year - MEGZ with designer Miglena Kakanasheva - is one of the fastest growing fashion brands in Bulgaria, which offers clothes with a successful combination of price, design and advertising. Miglena Kakanasheva presented her collection with an interesting illusion that united magic and fashion on stage.
Merlin Arnaud - 2017 Golden Needle Award winner in the Fashion Innovation category, is the founder and chairman of the association: "New World for Animals", which helps to increase the population of endangered wild bird species. Her innovative creative approach in the field of fashion is related to the creation of unique garments from the feathers of exotic birds.
Merlin Arnaud presented a collection of outfits with feathers of rare species of fighting roosters - "Satsumador" and "Kubalaya", as well as feathers of black and gray ostrich, black American turkey and blue peacock. The designer herself emphasized in her statement that feathers are a waste product that is collected during the molting period of birds.
Alina Manova - Fashion makeup artist for 2017, showed on the stage of "Golden Needle" looks prepared by her in the spirit of the world beauty trend at the moment, saturated with brocade and glitter. The ballerinas from the Sofia Opera and Ballet Katerina Petrova and Anastasia Nedelcheva took part in the performance, as well as people from Yvette Fashion.
Georgi Andinov – Fashion photographer for 2017, has photographed photoshoots and covers for almost all fashion magazines in Bulgaria, as well as for several foreign publications. According to him, “Photography is the only way to express yourself in the changing times in which we live. And fashion photography gives the greatest freedom for that." Georgi Andinov had prepared flyers with 15 of his selected photographs for all the guests at the event.
Megi Petkova – Best young designer for 2017, graduated from "Fashion Design" at New Bulgarian University and master's degree in "Styling". She presented selected and unshown models from her collections "Feeling for a Woman" and ALLure - fashion with a pronounced character and irresistible femininity. Exquisite expressiveness, modern ideas and purely feminine messages of the silhouette shows the young designer, whose models are a symbol of provocativeness, self-confidence and dramatic elegance.
Among the VIP guests who honored the ceremony for the presentation of the Annual Awards of the Academy of Fashion were winners of the "Golden Pin" over the years - Yordanka Chernaeva, Zhana Zhekova, Sofia Borisova, Svetla Dimitrova, Alexander Nishkov, Vyara Georgieva, Hristina Angelova, Teodora Spasova, Kiril Chalakov, Kostadin Krastev – Koko and others. Among the VIP guests were also: Stavri Kalinov, Iskra Radeva, Maya Antova, Nikolay Mladzhov, Donka Ganeva, Valeria Veleva, Mira Dobreva, Prof. Vladimir Atanasov, Valentin Mihov, Demir Dogan, Maria Boneva, Boryana Batashova, Rumyana Marinova, Veselka Krachunova, Kapka Amzina and Yavor Tsakov, Paolina Petrakieva, Milena Sharkova, Rositsa Stoycheva, Tsveti Razlozhka, Stella Yordanova, actress Raya Beleva, Rumenetsa, Santra, Maggie Dzhanavarova, Nora Karaivanova, etc.
The host of the gala evening was the dazzling Geri Doncheva, dressed in an outfit by Hristo Chuchev. Singer and actress Marina Kiskinova participated in the "Golden Needle" 2017 revue performance with a cover of one of the most famous hits at the moment, specially prepared for the event.
