The Modern Etnika Creative Group was founded in 1991 by fashion designer Éva Mészaros. The group transferred the traditions of the folk art of the Carpathian Basin to the designer fashion of the 1990s with high quality, both in terms of fabric selection, tailoring patterns and decoration. It was proven at Hungarian and international exhibitions for years that traditions had created a new aesthetic quality in clothing, thanks to the inventive creators of a certain taste.
The 'Rethink/re-button! Magyar is the Mode'
The competition "Rethink/re-button! Magyar is the Mode" was jointly organised by Design Terminal Non-Profit organisation and the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in 2011. The competition aimed to draw the attention of the contemporary Hungarian and international fashion industry, as well as the interested public, to the importance of sophisticated everyday clothing that uses traditional Hungarian fashion-historical elements, and to the modern-minded revisiting and reinterpretation of traditions. The competition had three categories – stagewear, everyday clothing and accessories.
Also in 2011, the Hungarian Heritage House, together with the Association of Folk Art Associations, announced an innovative initiative with the title from Head to Toe. The competition aimed to preserve and promote the traditional clothing culture of the Carpathian Basin and the values of folk crafts and to apply them to today's dress culture so that they become part of our festivities and everyday life.
Since 2020, the Hungarian Heritage House has regularly announced its competition on this topic under the title Little black, which aims to encourage the renewal of traditional objects, the encounter and joint activities of various representatives of different professions and crafts, the rethinking of motifs and techniques (e.g. embroidery, leather or the combination of beads and leather) and the creation of pieces that could be integrated into the contemporary clothing culture.
