From April 10 to 12, 2026, Tirana will host the first official edition of Albania Fashion Week, an event celebrating the country’s creative talent and promoting Albanian cultural identity through contemporary fashion. The event will take place in a stunning open space on the upper floors of Downtown One, offering breathtaking views of the capital and a unique setting for runway shows and presentations. The initiative is led by Gentiana Dervishi, President of the Albanian International Fashion Federation (AIFF) and founder of Albania Fashion Week, following the inaugural edition on October 25, 2025, at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana. “After years of training, experience, and success with GX Fashion Week in Milan and Paris, I was determined to bring AFW and TWF to my country of origin, Albania, for which I registered the trademarks and which I hold dear above all professional endeavors. Here, I am in my homeland, a place of sartorial excellence. Over the years, I have introduced numerous fellow Albanian designers to Italy and France, where their collections have been showcased and appreciated during Milan and Paris fashion weeks. My goal is to bring Albanian excellence to the world while bringing the world to Albania. I intend to make Tirana the fashion capital of the Balkans,” said Gentiana Dervishi. Supporting this dynamic fashion showcase, Gentiana Dervishi co-founded AIFF alongside Alessio Marrari, Alessia Xhafa, Arjentina Kola, and Eris Dervishi. This experienced and cohesive team, which has contributed to Italian and French successes over the past six years, now forms the backbone of Albania Fashion Week, providing expertise, an international network, and strategic vision. The three-day Fashion Week will feature women’s and men’s collections, offering an exclusive platform for emerging and established designers and highlighting Albania’s cultural heritage through a contemporary lens. Albanian fashion is renowned for its artisanal legacy, from hand-embroidered symbolic motifs to the Xhubleta, one of Europe’s oldest traditional garments and a UNESCO World Heritage item, to wool and linen fabrics and intricate filigree jewelry, creating a creative dialogue between tradition and innovation that gives Albanian design a recognizable international identity. With programming inspired by the standards of leading global fashion weeks, Albania Fashion Week positions itself as a key platform for designers, industry professionals, buyers, and media, aiming to strengthen Tirana as an emerging creative and cultural hub in the Balkans, boost tourism and economic development linked to fashion and craftsmanship, foster international collaborations and professional exchanges, and promote local entrepreneurship and global visibility for Albanian talent. The program will include runway shows and presentations of women’s and men’s collections, art and craft exhibitions focusing on embroidery, fabrics, and traditional techniques, roundtable discussions and in-depth sessions on contemporary fashion and Albanian culture, B2B meetings to foster partnerships among designers, brands, institutions, and investors, and the participation of prominent international figures from the fashion and media industries. Albania Fashion Week is more than a fashion event, it is a cultural and professional platform that builds bridges between tradition and innovation, promotes Albanian fashion on the international stage, and consolidates Tirana as a creative reference point and the fashion capital of the Balkans.

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