Our big dream came true when we visited the fare in Csatka in the autumn of 2019, which is the most important festival of Roma people in the Carpathian Basin. Thousands of pilgrims and Roma from all over the world come to the small settlement in Komárom County on Assumption Day.

Romani Design, the first Roma fashion brand of the world celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. We prepared for the occasion with a large series of events, but unfortunately, due to the coronavirus restrictions, we were not able to celebrate the jubilee in person with our friends, customers and supporters. Romani, like Roma communities that have survived centuries of adversity with creative adaptation strategies, redesigned its plans.

It is now a tradition to prepare a visual campaig on the occasion of International Women's Day, as it is an integral part of our mission to change the often generalising and steretypical narrative of Roma women.

To what extent does the presence of our modern, globalized world and social media that infiltrates all areas of our lives provide an opportunity for the young Roma generation to express their personal narratives related to their culture and identity as Hungarian Roma?

In 2019, Romani Design started a partnership project with Slovo 21 from the Czech Republic and the Association for Better Life in Slovakia. The aim of the project was to acquaint those interested in fashion with the traditions of Roma wear, which have already been forgotten in many cases, based on the traditions of the Roma communities living in the three countries, thus building the prestige of Roma culture.

When the young Roma girls in and around Kecerovce received the clothes and accessories made for them by Romani, they expected something completely different: heavy, long pleated skirts, headscarves, and embroidered blouses. These are the pieces they have identified with Roma women’s clothing.

In December 2020, the photos made during the year and the clothes reflecting the Visegrád traditions were presented within the framework of an exhibition that can be viewed from the street in a COVID-compatible way until 15 January 2021 in Budapest.

In 2019, Romani Design started a regional project with Slovo 21 from the Czech Republic and  Association for Better Life from Slovakia. The program aims at popularising the often forgotten clothing traditions of Roma in the three countries, thus building the prestige of Roma communities in the Visegrad region.