Designer D.Otgonjargal participated at "Asia Festival 2015" which was hosted in Korea and won the prestigious prize of "Asian Top Designer". This year, Asian Top Designer nomination was added to "Asian festival-2015" which is considered as the biggest festival in Asia.
She represented Mongolia with her haute couture collection. We interviewed with her on "Asian festival-2015" and fashion world in Korea.
-Congratulations to you on successful participation in "Asian Festival 2015". More into details of the festival?
I haven't collected any information and I had no idea if I were to receive award. It was all of a sudden.
-Thank you. "Asian festival" is the largest fashion festival in Asia. The Top Models selected from "BBQ" contest which hosted in Mongolia in June are sent to compete at "Asia Model Awards" in Korea. Mongolian models have been participating in "Asia Model Awards" starting four to five years ago. This largest contest has nominations for the best design, beauty, make-up and new face.
Top designer nomination was held for the first time this year. I haven't collected any information and I had no idea if I were to receive award. It was all of a sudden.
-How many designers from other countries have competed along with you? Mongolian Models participated in "Asia Model Awards" too and how about them?
-This year top five models of "BBQ" contest have participated in "Asia Model Awards" in Korea. Five to six models from each of the participating 20 countries have competed at "Asia Model Awards" and the festival lasted for four days.
“New face model contest” was held on the first day, “K model contest” was held on the second day, "Asian beauty festival" was held on the third day and "Asian star model festival” was held on the final day, which was more significant and had broader range than others. “Asian star” is awarded to not only models, but also singers, actors/actresses, and artists who played a significant role in interchange and harmony of Asian models. Previously, designer Jimmy Choo and Anna Sui have won the prize.
Our models N.Anu and T.Enkhtuvshin were awarded with Model Star Prize, which is awarded to models who showed their performance most frequently in major fashion shows, clothes photo shots, magazines, TV advertisements and video advertisements in Asia. Every participating country at this festival is awarded for their top male and female models.
- Is there any Mongolian model who won Best Model Prize from Asia Model Awards?
- Many Mongolian models won this title, before. For instance, E.Enkhbold won Best Model Prize in 2011 and D.Bayartogtoh won New Model Prize. Our models who won the prize are very modest and they do not try to make people understand the value of their prizes.
Two designers from each country compete at the festival and over 70 designers from 20 countries have competed, this year. Me and designer from "Gobi" company represented Mongolia. Designer of "Gobi" created casual designs, while I created haute couture collection.
-More into details of your collections?
-I competed with my haute couture collection which was displayed at my fashion show on December 5th in Mongolia.
-Did you go to the festival with your husband?
-My husband E.Enkhbold is one of the organizers of BBQ contest and he selected me and designer of Gobi to compete for the festival. He said that it is better to choose the designers after making selection.
-How about the judges?
-There were many judges at the festival including the President of Korean Model Academy and model specialists from the Philippines and Thailand.
-What made Mongolian designs unique at the festival compared with other countries?
-I have participated in the biggest to smallest competitions and fashion shows. Generally, Mongolians are unique and I think Mongolians are open minded. Korean designs seemed simple, minimalist and futurist. Most of international designers brought their national costumes. National costumes do not attract people, unless it is extremely fancy. I think, people have been satisfied with my collection, because it was haute couture.
-How do you define your own designs?
-My designs are feminine. I aim to create images with romantic style and to point out the physical characteristics of women in order to make them to look more beautiful and X-shaped and attract any one.
Designer D.Otgonjargal participated at "Asia Festival 2015" which was hosted in Korea and won the prestigious prize of "Asian Top Designer". This year, Asian Top Designer nomination was added to "Asian festival-2015" which is considered as the biggest festival in Asia.
She represented Mongolia with her haute couture collection. We interviewed with her on "Asian festival-2015" and fashion world in Korea.
-Congratulations to you on successful participation in "Asian Festival 2015". More into details of the festival?
I haven't collected any information and I had no idea if I were to receive award. It was all of a sudden.
-Thank you. "Asian festival" is the largest fashion festival in Asia. The Top Models selected from "BBQ" contest which hosted in Mongolia in June are sent to compete at "Asia Model Awards" in Korea. Mongolian models have been participating in "Asia Model Awards" starting four to five years ago. This largest contest has nominations for the best design, beauty, make-up and new face.
Top designer nomination was held for the first time this year. I haven't collected any information and I had no idea if I were to receive award. It was all of a sudden.
-How many designers from other countries have competed along with you? Mongolian Models participated in "Asia Model Awards" too and how about them?
-This year top five models of "BBQ" contest have participated in "Asia Model Awards" in Korea. Five to six models from each of the participating 20 countries have competed at "Asia Model Awards" and the festival lasted for four days.
“New face model contest” was held on the first day, “K model contest” was held on the second day, "Asian beauty festival" was held on the third day and "Asian star model festival” was held on the final day, which was more significant and had broader range than others. “Asian star” is awarded to not only models, but also singers, actors/actresses, and artists who played a significant role in interchange and harmony of Asian models. Previously, designer Jimmy Choo and Anna Sui have won the prize.
Our models N.Anu and T.Enkhtuvshin were awarded with Model Star Prize, which is awarded to models who showed their performance most frequently in major fashion shows, clothes photo shots, magazines, TV advertisements and video advertisements in Asia. Every participating country at this festival is awarded for their top male and female models.
- Is there any Mongolian model who won Best Model Prize from Asia Model Awards?
- Many Mongolian models won this title, before. For instance, E.Enkhbold won Best Model Prize in 2011 and D.Bayartogtoh won New Model Prize. Our models who won the prize are very modest and they do not try to make people understand the value of their prizes.
Two designers from each country compete at the festival and over 70 designers from 20 countries have competed, this year. Me and designer from "Gobi" company represented Mongolia. Designer of "Gobi" created casual designs, while I created haute couture collection.
-More into details of your collections?
-I competed with my haute couture collection which was displayed at my fashion show on December 5th in Mongolia.
-Did you go to the festival with your husband?
-My husband E.Enkhbold is one of the organizers of BBQ contest and he selected me and designer of Gobi to compete for the festival. He said that it is better to choose the designers after making selection.
-How about the judges?
-There were many judges at the festival including the President of Korean Model Academy and model specialists from the Philippines and Thailand.
-What made Mongolian designs unique at the festival compared with other countries?
-I have participated in the biggest to smallest competitions and fashion shows. Generally, Mongolians are unique and I think Mongolians are open minded. Korean designs seemed simple, minimalist and futurist. Most of international designers brought their national costumes. National costumes do not attract people, unless it is extremely fancy. I think, people have been satisfied with my collection, because it was haute couture.
-How do you define your own designs?
-My designs are feminine. I aim to create images with romantic style and to point out the physical characteristics of women in order to make them to look more beautiful and X-shaped and attract any one.
-How do you assess other designers?
-I liked Korean designers. Koreans put all their efforts and time when they started to do anything new. Even, I felt it at the show. We stayed there from 08AM until 02PM. Koreans do everything with their heart and they have never fudged. They were lined up before my fashion show and even though I was busy, I had a chance to touch the material of every design. However, material structure and properties could be clearly noticable. For example, fashion designers of Indonesia and Thailand played with the texture. They created their designs with an expensive material or handmade silk worth of MNT 80-90 thousand for per meter that we can not often afford.
I was sighing seeing those materials. Indian designs were created with gold threads and silk, which seemed like a carving. I thought that "wish I had such materials", because I liked their materials more than their designs.
-How did the foreign designers evaluated yours?
-I was busy preparing for the show during the first two days. Meanwhile, I managed to see all materials of Indian designers. Indian designs are haute couture too.
Organizers scheduled my show at the very end and I was happy with that decision, because the opening and final of the show are always the best moments. However, schedule was changed and Indian show was scheduled for the final and my show was scheduled in the middle. Indian designs were nice, but their materials were the nicest of all.
Indian designer is familiar in India compared to me. Designers in Mongolia are poor, do not earn much money or either do any profit.
We do not know the contents of this festival very well, our judgment is not good and I had no information whether I was going to participate. Other countries have prepared well for the festival and I think the awards event is the prestigious one in the industry.
-You stayed in Korea for several days. Did you research on experience related to your profession?
-Festival lasted for five days. I could not go outside, because I was extremely busy. I worked from the morning till evening. After the festival, I stayed for five more days in Korea to do research on sewing factory and fabric stores.
-Was it more developed compared to Mongolian?
-Fashion in Mongolia is developing, but in the end, we have design industry not so well developed. Plus, there is no support from the Government. We go to all fabric shops in Mongolia in search for materials, but we can not find the desired ones. Finding material is the most difficult issue in Mongolia.
However, fabric store in Korea is five storey and very large, while decoration material store is like two large department stores and sell everything there.
-How about the price?
-Prices are affordable. There is no cotton worth MNT 1500 in Mongolia, while Korea sells cotton worth KRW 1500. When they export to Mongolia, prices for this cotton reach MNT 3000, but it is cheaper compared with their salary. They manufacture everything including yarn, fabric and stickers. If we create one design, we purchase everything including stickers, fabric, sewing machine and irons from abroad. Therefore, creating design is quite difficult for Mongols and the final design released as expensive and people do not understand and can not afford them.
Koreans have many advantages, but I wondered why they do not create nice designs. The disadvantage of the Koreans is they think inside the box as they are raised with well-mannered and dictatorial behavior. Compared with Koreans, Mongolians are open minded and have ability to think freely. Moreover, Mongolians think freely when they creating design. Koreans are really hard-working people who work from morning till evening.
-You said Koreans manufacture everything by themselves. What did you like the most?
-I was impressed by that very large decoration store and every salesperson is producing decorations by themselves. They are working very hard and everyone became a producer.
We are able to produce by ourselves rather than buying things from abroad. Many designers have graduated in Mongolia, while most of them are unemployed. Mongolia can develop rapidly, if people do what they really can and start to produce the littlest things.
Fashion in Korea has developed rapidly over the last two years. Development of Mongolia and Korea is consideres as young compared to Italy, France and Japan. Mongolians need to produce at least the mosaics. Why not glass industry produces mosaic? Price for glass mosaic is at least MNT 500. Sometimes, we buy 100 mosaic for one dress. People do not understand it and they say your dresses are expensive.
-Will you participate in fashion shows abroad?
-I will not participate so far. I might participate if I am proposed. I have not received any proposals for fashion show, so far.
-You have participated in New York Fashion Show?
-New York Fashion Show ranks lower compared with Mercedes Benz fashion show. I have won at "Modart" contest and was awarded with prize to compete at Haute Couture fashion show. My designs were dedicated to casual use. I was proud of myself when I saw the designs of other designers. My designs appealed to many there. While I was participating in Asia Festival in Korea, Korean people were bashful and they would never say "How wonderful". But in USA, people expressed their thoughts freely by saying "very nice designs".
-When are you planning to organize your fashion show?
-I have planned to organize my fashion show before the Naadam Festval. However, I do not like to speak in detail before doing it. I will give you more information on this after everything is ready. Anyway, I planned to create designs with Mongolian national taste.
-What are you working oncurrently?
-Currently, I started to receive orders from the customers. Generally, our capacity is not very large. Also, I am conducting research on my fashion show which is to be organized in summer.
Thank you. Good luck to you.
!
Photo Credit: D.Javkhlantugs
-How do you assess other designers?
-I liked Korean designers. Koreans put all their efforts and time when they started to do anything new. Even, I felt it at the show. We stayed there from 08AM until 02PM. Koreans do everything with their heart and they have never fudged. They were lined up before my fashion show and even though I was busy, I had a chance to touch the material of every design. However, material structure and properties could be clearly noticable. For example, fashion designers of Indonesia and Thailand played with the texture. They created their designs with an expensive material or handmade silk worth of MNT 80-90 thousand for per meter that we can not often afford.
I was sighing seeing those materials. Indian designs were created with gold threads and silk, which seemed like a carving. I thought that "wish I had such materials", because I liked their materials more than their designs.
-How did the foreign designers evaluated yours?
-I was busy preparing for the show during the first two days. Meanwhile, I managed to see all materials of Indian designers. Indian designs are haute couture too.
Organizers scheduled my show at the very end and I was happy with that decision, because the opening and final of the show are always the best moments. However, schedule was changed and Indian show was scheduled for the final and my show was scheduled in the middle. Indian designs were nice, but their materials were the nicest of all.
Indian designer is familiar in India compared to me. Designers in Mongolia are poor, do not earn much money or either do any profit.
We do not know the contents of this festival very well, our judgment is not good and I had no information whether I was going to participate. Other countries have prepared well for the festival and I think the awards event is the prestigious one in the industry.
-You stayed in Korea for several days. Did you research on experience related to your profession?
-Festival lasted for five days. I could not go outside, because I was extremely busy. I worked from the morning till evening. After the festival, I stayed for five more days in Korea to do research on sewing factory and fabric stores.
-Was it more developed compared to Mongolian?
-Fashion in Mongolia is developing, but in the end, we have design industry not so well developed. Plus, there is no support from the Government. We go to all fabric shops in Mongolia in search for materials, but we can not find the desired ones. Finding material is the most difficult issue in Mongolia.
However, fabric store in Korea is five storey and very large, while decoration material store is like two large department stores and sell everything there.
-How about the price?
-Prices are affordable. There is no cotton worth MNT 1500 in Mongolia, while Korea sells cotton worth KRW 1500. When they export to Mongolia, prices for this cotton reach MNT 3000, but it is cheaper compared with their salary. They manufacture everything including yarn, fabric and stickers. If we create one design, we purchase everything including stickers, fabric, sewing machine and irons from abroad. Therefore, creating design is quite difficult for Mongols and the final design released as expensive and people do not understand and can not afford them.
Koreans have many advantages, but I wondered why they do not create nice designs. The disadvantage of the Koreans is they think inside the box as they are raised with well-mannered and dictatorial behavior. Compared with Koreans, Mongolians are open minded and have ability to think freely. Moreover, Mongolians think freely when they creating design. Koreans are really hard-working people who work from morning till evening.
-You said Koreans manufacture everything by themselves. What did you like the most?
-I was impressed by that very large decoration store and every salesperson is producing decorations by themselves. They are working very hard and everyone became a producer.
We are able to produce by ourselves rather than buying things from abroad. Many designers have graduated in Mongolia, while most of them are unemployed. Mongolia can develop rapidly, if people do what they really can and start to produce the littlest things.
Fashion in Korea has developed rapidly over the last two years. Development of Mongolia and Korea is consideres as young compared to Italy, France and Japan. Mongolians need to produce at least the mosaics. Why not glass industry produces mosaic? Price for glass mosaic is at least MNT 500. Sometimes, we buy 100 mosaic for one dress. People do not understand it and they say your dresses are expensive.
-Will you participate in fashion shows abroad?
-I will not participate so far. I might participate if I am proposed. I have not received any proposals for fashion show, so far.
-You have participated in New York Fashion Show?
-New York Fashion Show ranks lower compared with Mercedes Benz fashion show. I have won at "Modart" contest and was awarded with prize to compete at Haute Couture fashion show. My designs were dedicated to casual use. I was proud of myself when I saw the designs of other designers. My designs appealed to many there. While I was participating in Asia Festival in Korea, Korean people were bashful and they would never say "How wonderful". But in USA, people expressed their thoughts freely by saying "very nice designs".
-When are you planning to organize your fashion show?
-I have planned to organize my fashion show before the Naadam Festval. However, I do not like to speak in detail before doing it. I will give you more information on this after everything is ready. Anyway, I planned to create designs with Mongolian national taste.
-What are you working oncurrently?
-Currently, I started to receive orders from the customers. Generally, our capacity is not very large. Also, I am conducting research on my fashion show which is to be organized in summer.
Thank you. Good luck to you.
!
Photo Credit: D.Javkhlantugs
