Local designers look for ways to connect with customers and distributors

The Czech design industry got off to a strong start this year with a number of major events being held in March. The annual Czech Grand Design awards were presented earlier in the month and Prague hosted a special edition of the now popular Designblok and the newest Dyzajn Márket. So what is Czech design like and what are its biggest challenges?

Jiří Macek, photo: Bára Prášilová

Designblok is now a staple in the Czech capital, attracting local and foreign visitors and showing off high-end clothing and product design by the newest but also the established Czech designers. I asked the creative director, Jiří Macek, how this first Designblok of the year is different from those that have been held in the past:

“This year is the 15th year of Designblok and for this anniversary we decided to host a spring event for the first time, called Designblok Premier Fashion Week. Our regular fall Designblok is full of large events, fashion shows, presentations, installations, so we decided to make this spring event smaller and more intimate. We hosted small shows that gave the designers an opportunity to meet with clients, speak with them and sell their clothing.”

Designblok is not only one of the biggest fashion and design showcase in the country, but it is also a mover in the industry. By adding this spring fashion event, the organizers are hoping to shape the industry in various ways:

“We tried to make Czech fashion more season-oriented, which most fashion designers don’t do here, meaning creating separate collections for each season. And we also wanted to show this year’s fashion a bit ahead of time both for the media and so that customers had a chance to purchase the latest trends.”

Of course, the local high-end design and fashion in Prague is nowhere nearly as well-known as those in New York or Paris, but it’s also had much less time to develop. Jiří Macek has seen the industry grow in the past two decades, both in the number of exceptional young designers who are making a name for themselves here and internationally, and also in the amount of interest from distributors and customers who are looking for quality items and original design. He says that the biggest difference has happened in the past five years, when Czech manufactures have teamed up with local designers:

“In the past five years we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of companies that rely on designers. Ten years back, there were many designers here who came out with their own ideas, but they never made it to mass production and distribution. Now, many companies are using designers for their collections and in marketing. They bring them onto the market and, partly due to that are becoming competitive abroad.”

Some examples of this are the glass light fixtures company Lasvit that has offices on almost all continents, or the chair-maker TON, which has built on a 150-year tradition of bent-wood furniture. Some of their products and the company itself have won Czech Grand Design awards in the past few years.

Another positive trend is that Czech companies are starting to invite designers from abroad to work for them, and vice versa, international companies are taking their pick of the young and also experienced Czech designers.

Photo: Kristina Hrabětová

In the world of Czech fashion, distribution of local designers is still lagging behind. While in much of Western Europe local designers can sell their regular collections in a number of concept stores, in the Czech Republic, the communication between designers and distributors is not as well developed, says Jiří:

“There are maybe one or two concept stores that sell clothes by Czech designers. And even those are basically only starting out. Both the store owners and the designers are often just not ready to do business. That’s one of the reasons we decided to hold this spring Designblok, to show concept stores and distributors from abroad that our designers also have regular, quality collections that they can offer. Hopefully this will help them sell their products.”

Aside from high-end design and fashion, more and more young designers are focusing on creating original products that are functional and affordable. Producing fewer models and a relatively slow rate, it is much harder for them to secure contracts with shops and distributors. Instead, many use the internet and websites like Fler.cz – the equivalent of the American Etsy – to promote and sell their products.

There are also a number of festivals and markets happening in the bigger cities. One of them is the annual Dyzajn Márket, that took place in Prague this past weekend. Jana Heyduková, one of the organizers of Dyzajn Márket, says they see the number of designers and visitors grow with every year.

Dyzajn Márket, photo: Alan Homolka

This weekend, there were around 140 stands selling many different items from clothes and jewelry to handbags, books, accessories and even kitchenware. Jana estimates that around 5,000 people attended the crowded event at the National Theater’s piazza, saying that last year it was between three and four thousand. Still, she says, although many people come to look, vendors often have trouble actually selling their unique designs:

“There are still a lot of people that pass by your tent. And they look at your stuff and they go ‘Oh my gosh, it’s wonderful, I love this stuff, but where should I take it? Should I wear it on a regular basis?’ And the answer is – yes you can. But, still, Czechs are very shy overall. So, the interest is growing, but slowly. It’s always a battle.”

I spoke to some of the vendors at Dyzajn Márket about whether they have noticed a difference in how Czechs perceive design items, which often are saddled with the stereotype of being too expensive.

Kamila, who along with friends created a shop called Kuráž selling all sorts of items created by young Czech and Slovak designers, says that in the two years they’ve had the store, she’s registered a change in the mentality of customers.

"It’s definitely noticeable that many people have gotten used to the idea that in order to have something unique, they will have to pay a little more money, and they also now understand that the work of the person creating the product they’re buying has to be paid for as well.”

Dyzajn Márket, photo: Alan Homolka

Another vendor, who sells clothes of her own design mostly through the internet, agreed:

“I think that people are beginning to realize that instead of going to the big shopping centers it’s better to sometimes buy something exclusive, that no one else has.”

Veronika, a first-time visitor at Dyzajn Márket, said that she normally does not come across Czech designed clothes or accessories in stores, but she wouldn’t mind if there were more of them available:

“Definitely, if I found something that I liked and that fit me and my style I wouldn’t mind spending extra one or two hundred crowns on it.”

I also had a chat with Nathan Heilmann, an American based in Prague, who produces custom-designed pants. I asked him if he’s found selling fit-to-wear clothes in the Czech Republic difficult.

“Coming from New York, it’s actually easier here in some ways, because in upstate New York where I am from, for example, there is no such thing as having someone sew clothes for you. But here it is done, or at least your mom used to do that, so it happened here not that long ago, so it is within the realm of possibilities for people here, unlike where I come from.”

Although it isn’t altogether easy for either high-end or more low-brow designers to make a name for themselves, it seems that the industry here is growing. But products of Czech designers are still not getting to that many customers in this country. Jiří Macek believes that one of the problems is the lack of support from the government.

Nathan Heilmann, photo: Alan Homolka

“The Czech government barely ever supports the design industry. And when it does, it’s very marginal. It has no interest in the small and mid-size companies, manufactures, which are the building blocks of this industry – probably because of they have smaller revenue. Even though, often these are companies that are providing jobs for the whole of the surrounding area.”

Still, he said that although the crisis forced some smaller Czech manufacturers, like glassmakers, to close down, overall the fashion and design industry, and the interest in it is growing. The Designblok team is getting preparing for their largest event in the fall, and connoisseurs of hand-made creations can look forward to the next market for young designers, which is happening in April in Holešovice.