DORA ABODI & REKA VAGO: ALL SET TO REACH NEXT LEVEL

Two Hungarian designers are ready to take the world either by storm or business as usual - meet two super-ladies to watch.

THE EVENT

After years of organic growth, brands with further potential must continuously be on the lookout for the next milestone, the right financial or industry investor to open the gates to eventual global visibility and retail. Dora Abodi and Reka Vago made just that announcement in late 2013 at a press talk held in the cozy but glam NextArt Gallery in Budapest.

Cutting edge luxury bags by Dora Abodi

Sweet & gorgeous shoes and clutch by RekaVago in the foreground

THE DESIGNERS

They've got the talent, the education, the local and international recognition, and they know their craft - enough to take their luxury pret-a-porter lines as far as they will go. The current investment is set to enable Dora and Reka to successfully respond to the ever-growing demand.

DORA ABODI

The luxury brand Dora Abodi has been in the market since 2008, achieving international breakthrough with the a/w 2012 2013 collection, with sales expanding to the Middle East and Asia. As far as I'm concerned, she came up with some of the most creative bags of all time, the outrageously striking Carpathian Warrior studded beauty of the Phoenix Egg series (below, from 2009), a design that the world's biggest fashion houses have since been crazy to put their own spin on. Her natural design style is strongly influenced by baroque and dramatic modern architecture and even engineering design, so her creations feel most at home on the red carpet (tried and tested) and in big-budget music videos. No wonder she's had Gaga ordering in a number of her pieces, including bags and earrings. 

But she has more than enough industry thumbs-ups: Designer of the Year 2010 at Fashion Awards, first prize at the Dusseldorf International Fashion Awards, a nomination and a win of Glamour Designer of the Year from 2011 and 2012 respectively, Top 2 international collection of the a/w 2013 2013 season at FashionCherry, presenting her fashion film at London Fashion Week in 2012, at the WearEurope event in Japan, a place in the Top5 Independent Handbag Designer Awards in New York in both 2012 and 2013. More recently, she won a master's scholarship in Milan with the Vogue Academy, finished in the Top10 of MUUSE x Vogue Talents Award. Finally, just these past weeks she was in Paris showing her a/w 2014 2015 collection after haute couture season at the Who's Next event in January, then at New York Fashion Week, and she'll also be there in Milan.

REKA VAGO

Reka Vago is a savvy footwear designer and Queen of Shoes, most famous for incredibly glam and unbelievably comfortable, ultra-feminine heels. The designer was in fact the first in the local market to launch premium made-to-order shoes with a fashion focus in 2003, while the rekavago brand has been present since 2005, now complete with new lines of accessories, bags, belts, wallets. She started making men's footwear just recently, in 2013. Reka opened her first showroom in Budapest with the next stop getting set up in Vienna, and has launched limited editions of pret-a-porter occasionwear and daywear, and an exclusive line in collaboration with actress Kata Dobo and premium European brand and designer stockist Salamander.

Reka was nominated by Glamour for Best Designer Award in 2009, won Best Designer Award at Cosmopolitan in 2010, she designed the Women of Excellence honorary prize for the American Chamber of Commerce in 2010, and since that year she has collaborated with global brands such as Canon, Puma, Maybelline, Le Meridien, Absolut Vodka, Positivo, and Hungarian couture brands.

WHAT I WORE

Zara blackwatch tartan suit, Within Temptation comic-inspired tour tee,
Dorothy Perkins low courts, I Am bag, Topshop shades

Join me in wishing both star-worthy ladies the best of luck and the success they deserve - and we'll be seeing them grow into their full potential over the coming years.

designers @ events: InStyle, Gaga: Saturday Night Live, Carpathian Warrior bag: doraabodi.com, venue: nextart.hu