ATELIER BANDEROL Wins Best Design Award at Qingdao Fashion Week 2026

* The participation of the Bulgarian fashion brand in the fashion week in China was made possible by an invitation from Silvia Kabakova, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Fashion Association

The Bulgarian fashion brand ATELIER BANDEROL represented Bulgaria on the international stage in China and was honored with the Best Design Award at Qingdao Fashion Week 2026. ATELIER BANDEROL's participation in the fashion week in the Chinese city of Qingdao was made possible by an invitation from the Bulgarian Fashion Association (BFA), which selected the brand to represent Bulgaria with its original collection. The international invitation was extended by Ms. Zhou Jin, Chairperson of the Shandong Fashion Designers Association, to Silvia Kabakova, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Fashion Association, within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the two organizations.

At Qingdao Fashion Week 2026, ATELIER BANDEROL designers Desislava Damyanova and Nikola Karadamyano presented a collection of 30 women's and men's designs, created as a meeting point between Bulgarian design identity, contemporary fashion, and Chinese culture. Some of the designs were inspired by the richness of Chinese culture and aesthetics, interpreted through the distinctive style and contemporary design perspective of ATELIER BANDEROL.

The collection featured distinctive details, decorative elements and embroidery, as well as specially selected materials and fabrics from Chinese manufacturers. These were transformed through the constructions, silhouettes and design solutions of the Bulgarian brand, so that the result would not be a literal interpretation of traditional Chinese clothing, but rather a contemporary dialogue between two cultures. In this way, Chinese inspiration meets the Bulgarian sensitivity to form, detail and craftsmanship, while the collection both pays tribute to the culture of the hosts and preserves the distinctive identity of ATELIER BANDEROL.

The presentation in Qingdao also received recognition from the professional jury. As part of the official Qingdao Fashion Week program, Desislava Damyanova and Nikola Karadamyano were presented with the “2026 Qingdao Fashion Week – Best Design Award.” The award was presented by Zhang Chongwei, Vice Chairperson of the Shandong Fashion Designers Association. In the official Chinese publication, the award was described as recognition of the creative strength of the Bulgarian designers and as a testament to the development of friendly fashion exchange between Bulgaria and China.

“For ATELIER BANDEROL, the award in Qingdao is recognition of more than two decades of work in fashion design and another opportunity for Bulgarian fashion to be presented to an international audience,” designers Desislava Damyanova and Nikola Karadamyano told Fashion.bg.

The Bulgarian Fashion Association also received the Central and Eastern European Fashion Friendship Award for its friendship and fruitful cooperation with the Shandong Fashion Designers Association, which includes the presentation and promotion of Bulgarian and Chinese culture and art in both countries.

The participation of the Bulgarian delegation included not only a fashion show, but also professional meetings, visits to factories, an international fashion forum, and exchanges with representatives of the Chinese fashion and textile industry. The visit focused on opportunities for future cooperation, the exchange of design ideas, and the development of new connections between the fashion communities of Bulgaria and China.

The Bulgarian delegation also visited the city of Jinan, where Silvia Kabakova signed a framework agreement for the protection of the intellectual property of Bulgarian and Chinese designers whose work will be presented in China and Bulgaria, respectively.

The ATELIER BANDEROL fashion show also featured a specially created multimedia audiovisual presentation with an arrangement of Bulgarian music.

Photos © Qingdao Fashion Week and Bulgarian Fashion Association