Headquarters of IPA CIS host III International Forum Commonwealth of Fashion

On 19 November, the III International Forum “Commonwealth of Fashion” started its work at the headquarters of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. The organizers are the IPA CIS and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Russian Export Centre, “Soyuzlegprom” and Russian Tanning and Shoe Union (RSTU).

The central event of the first day was the plenary session “Systemic Cooperation in the Light and Textile Industry and Creative Industries in the CIS: Role in Solving State Problems”.

The moderators were Deputy Chair of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Inna Svyatenko and Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy. In the welcoming speech, the Deputy Chair noted that this year a record number of participants -1658 were registered.

Inna Svyatenko believes that thanks to the Forum, representatives of the fashion industry of the Commonwealth will be able to establish useful business contacts, find promising markets for products, taking into account the current trends in the development of logistics routes and the popularity of marketplaces. At the end of her speech she proposed to create a new interstate program - “Fashion Capital of the Commonwealth”.

Secretary General of the CIS Sergey Lebedev sent greetings to the Forum participants.

First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Elena Fastova spoke about key materials for textiles and added that their production in Russia has significantly decreased over the past decades. Today the Ministry supports linen and wool producers through subsidies and soft loans.

The issue of preserving the cultural code in the conditions of globalization and development of creative industries was raised by Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia Sergey Pershin.

The first day of the event featured 13 round tables and a discussion session. The experts discussed the role of government and investment support programs and marketing strategies in the development of light industry in the CIS, the prospects of attracting public funding through development institutions for public-private partnership projects in the light industry. The second day of the event featured eight round tables, a plenary session and a demonstration of collections by CIS designers.

Fashion shows are traditionally held within the framework of the Forum. On 19 November, novice and well-known Russian designers presented their works.

A number of agreements, memoranda and other documents were signed on the margins of the Forum. The cooperation agreement was signed by “St. Petersburg Fashion College” and “Minsk State College of Fashion Industry”, “Higher School of Folk Arts (Academy)” and the Ministry of Tourism and Crafts of Nizhny Novgorod region, “Military Medical Museum” of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the International Fund for Development of Biomedical Technologies named after V.P. Filatov.

Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko and Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova visited the exhibition within the framework of the III International Forum “Commonwealth of Fashion”.

Valentina Matvienko, Sahiba Gafarova, as well as Inna Svyatenko and Dmitriy Kobitskiy held a meeting with the industry representatives participating in the “Commonwealth of Fashion” and discussed trends in the development of light industry and fashion industry in the CIS countries. The importance of work on expanding contacts between Russian regions and CIS countries in this sphere was emphasized.

The final event was dedicated to the prospects for the development of light industry and creative industries in the countries of the region.