The jury of the IDEAMODA international competition for young fashion designers comprises esteemed professionals from across Europe, including fashion designers, stylists, journalists, photographers, and fashion experts. Their collective expertise ensures a comprehensive evaluation of participants’ work, fostering a transparent and modern platform for emerging talents. The jury’s diverse backgrounds and deep knowledge contribute to the competition’s prestige and its role in supporting young designers in launching their careers.
The jury of the IDEAMODA international competition for young fashion designers comprises esteemed professionals from across Europe, including fashion designers, stylists, journalists, photographers, and fashion experts. Their collective expertise ensures a comprehensive evaluation of participants’ work, fostering a transparent and modern platform for emerging talents. The jury’s diverse backgrounds and deep knowledge contribute to the competition’s prestige and its role in supporting young designers in launching their careers.
Dilusha Rajapakse
Educator and Design Researcher
Dilusha Rajapakse, with a distinguished career spanning over a decade, has demonstrated a scholarly commitment to the pedagogy of Fashion and Textile Design at various education levels, including undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral tiers. Currently, he holds a research tutoring position at the Royal College of Arts in London. In addition to his role as an educator, Dilusha is also recognised as a member of the UKRI Talent Peer Review College, where he plays a pivotal role in supporting the future landscape of academic research and building professional communities.
Dilusha earned his PhD from Nottingham Trent University and is a recipient of the Harold Tillman Scholarship Award, which enabled him to obtain an MA in Digital Fashion from the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. Dilusha also holds a BA (Hons) in Fashion Design and Product Development from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
Milko Boyarov
Jewelry and product designer based in Lisbon.
He has worked for brands such as Swatch and Calvin Klein and currently is appointed as the Head Designer at Hey Harper. Milko has his own jewellery brand Milko Boyarov founded in 2019 in Zurich. The brand values a handcraft approach combining traditional, self-developed, and contemporary jewelry techniques. Milko’s Work has been featured in various magazines such as Dazed, Vogue, Purple, and worn by contemporary music artists like Doja Cat, Arca, Sevdaliza, and Jorja Smith. Milko Boyarov’s jewelry pieces are stock-listed in concept stores globally such as Allure, Edition Populaire, Fold22, and others.
Milko Boyarov
Jewelry and product designer based in Lisbon.
He has worked for brands such as Swatch and Calvin Klein and currently is appointed as the Head Designer at Hey Harper. Milko has his own jewellery brand Milko Boyarov founded in 2019 in Zurich. The brand values a handcraft approach combining traditional, self-developed, and contemporary jewelry techniques. Milko’s Work has been featured in various magazines such as Dazed, Vogue, Purple, and worn by contemporary music artists like Doja Cat, Arca, Sevdaliza, and Jorja Smith. Milko Boyarov’s jewelry pieces are stock-listed in concept stores globally such as Allure, Edition Populaire, Fold22, and others.
Nikolay Bozhilov
Fashion designer and creative director
Nikolay Bozhilov is an innovative fashion designer, who celebrates sculptural functionality and the conceptual balance between nature and technology. The award-winning designer studied at the National Academy Of Arts in Sofia and graduated with M.A. honors in 2013. Nikolay has received Triumph Inspiration Award 2010 in London, Bulgaria’s prestigious Golden Needle Fashion Prize as ‘Young designer of the Year’ twice, in 2010 and 2013 and OFFFASHION Prize in Poland 2011. His ethically-produced collections are featured at numerous magazines and editorials and also have been exhibited during Sofia Design Week and Berlin Fashion Week.
Nikolay Pachev
Fashion designer, stylist, teacher in the MP "Fashion, Business Strategies and Styling" at NBU
For the last twenty years, Nikolay has been cutting his teeth in various positions across the fashion industry spectrum. After finishing his fashion education at NBU Sofia, followed by Kunsthohcschule Berlin, he went on the international talent circuit and won three awards at Mittelmoda in Italy- first prize, award for innovation and best pret-a-porter collection, as well as Young Designer of Eastern Europe Award in Brno. He has showcased his design work internationally in Bulgaria, Germany, England, Italy, The Netherlands and Тhe Czech Republic. After returning to Bulgaria, Nikolay spent a couple of years working as a fashion director of Egoist magazine, while simultaneously doing freelance styling jobs for magazines, brands, smart celebrities and cool events. Nikolay’s longest stint was the decade spent at the high-end store ALL U RE as a visual merchandiser and buyer. Currently he is focused on his work as a fashion teacher in NBU, art director and product developer at digital printing textile company Noiee, and menswear designer at Y-chroma, Lisbon. His personal artwork and collections are being showcased at Identity Fashion, England.
Nikolay Pachev
Fashion designer, stylist, teacher in the MP "Fashion, Business Strategies and Styling" at NBU
For the last twenty years, Nikolay has been cutting his teeth in various positions across the fashion industry spectrum. After finishing his fashion education at NBU Sofia, followed by Kunsthohcschule Berlin, he went on the international talent circuit and won three awards at Mittelmoda in Italy- first prize, award for innovation and best pret-a-porter collection, as well as Young Designer of Eastern Europe Award in Brno. He has showcased his design work internationally in Bulgaria, Germany, England, Italy, The Netherlands and Тhe Czech Republic. After returning to Bulgaria, Nikolay spent a couple of years working as a fashion director of Egoist magazine, while simultaneously doing freelance styling jobs for magazines, brands, smart celebrities and cool events. Nikolay’s longest stint was the decade spent at the high-end store ALL U RE as a visual merchandiser and buyer. Currently he is focused on his work as a fashion teacher in NBU, art director and product developer at digital printing textile company Noiee, and menswear designer at Y-chroma, Lisbon. His personal artwork and collections are being showcased at Identity Fashion, England.
Meta Megušar Bizjan
Costume Designer and Curator
Meta Megušar Bizjan, an accomplished costume and fashion designer, has sculpted a prolific career spanning a diverse spectrum of artistic expression, contributing 854 creations. Among these, 104 costumes for stage, film, dance, and theatre performances showcase her distinct touch. Her influence extends to 95 stage and video art projects, where she has crafted innovative makeup designs, while leading 23 creative teams and curating six exhibitions underline her leadership.
Beyond artistic realms, Meta has made a significant impact on commercial landscapes, contributing to print and video advertisements, commercials, and events. Her enduring collaboration with the Laibach music group, spanning over two decades, highlights her pivotal role in stage costume designs and makeup concepts.
Her influence reaches beyond music into film, theatre, and photography, demonstrating her versatility. As a multifaceted artist, Meta’s designs have graced uniforms for leading Slovenian companies and adorned athletes, including Jolanda Čeplak’s 2004 Olympic bronze medal victory. Since 2018, she has served as the main curator for the Big SEE Fashion Design Award and Big SEE Fashion Collaboration Award projects, while also initiating and leading the BigSEE Visionary Award, recognizing exceptional life achievements through Zavod Big.
Neli Miteva
Fashion designer
Neli Miteva, designer and artistic director of the IVAN ASEN 22 Foundation After graduating in fashion design in Germany in 1999, Neli worked as a freelance designer, in the field of teaching (with experience as a professor of fashion design at AMD Akademie Mode & Design Munich), design concept consultancy, fashion journalism and costume design. She develops his own collections under the brand “nelmit”. In 2009 she founded the “IVAN ASEN 22” Foundation for the presentation and support of contemporary designers, with which she organizes thematic group and individual design exhibitions and creates large-scale conceptual projects with fashion films and publications with international resonance. She is the author of the book “IDEAS FOR WEARING – conceptual Bulgarian fashion design”. Her recent awards include the BIG SEE FASHION DESIGN AWARD 2022 for her collection “CULTURE CLASH” from the Centre for Creative Economies of Southeast European Countries in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and her participation in MQ Vienna Fashion Week 2021 as part of her artist-in-residence fellowship at Museumsquartier Vienna, Austria.
Neli Miteva
Fashion designer
Neli Miteva, designer and artistic director of the IVAN ASEN 22 Foundation After graduating in fashion design in Germany in 1999, Neli worked as a freelance designer, in the field of teaching (with experience as a professor of fashion design at AMD Akademie Mode & Design Munich), design concept consultancy, fashion journalism and costume design. She develops his own collections under the brand “nelmit”. In 2009 she founded the “IVAN ASEN 22” Foundation for the presentation and support of contemporary designers, with which she organizes thematic group and individual design exhibitions and creates large-scale conceptual projects with fashion films and publications with international resonance. She is the author of the book “IDEAS FOR WEARING – conceptual Bulgarian fashion design”. Her recent awards include the BIG SEE FASHION DESIGN AWARD 2022 for her collection “CULTURE CLASH” from the Centre for Creative Economies of Southeast European Countries in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and her participation in MQ Vienna Fashion Week 2021 as part of her artist-in-residence fellowship at Museumsquartier Vienna, Austria.
Nikolina Ratz Bikarska
Fashion Print Designer & Consultant
Studied at NBU Sofia ‚Fashion and Textiles’ and graduated with M.A. in Digital Fashion and Print Design at the University of the Arts in London. Her career starts by experimenting with virtual garment construction and design on OPTITEX, 3D simulation and product visualization.
In parallel, she was working as a young designer at the British womenswear clothing company Jonathan Saunders.
Currently fully focused on her work as a Fashion Print Designer for the brand Mary Katrantzou and also works as a Fashion Consultant on a freelance basis in London.
Sandra Klincheva
Fashion designer and cofounder of Moré Noir
Sandra Klincheva
Fashion designer and cofounder of Moré Noir
Zlatimir Arakliev
Fashion photographer
