Jewelry designer Tanel Veenre, who participated in the expert panel of all three fashion shows, praised the winning designer Rytis for his artistry: “He is an intellectual high pilot with an idealistic plan and has the ability to paint with a wide brush. Bold, effective, with a strong presence.” According to Veenre there were many fashion designers this year whose work attracted attention. For example, Vilve Unt, the designer of the Viljandi Culture Academy's fashion show OmaMood, created a party of patterns and colors. Additionally, Annika Vaalma's collection fascinated with its youthfulness: "Naive embroidery in the best sense - a manifesto of sincerity, humor and joy of life. Value in itself in a serious and diligent fashion field," said Veenre.


Although both OmaMood and Antonius fashion show's designers are focusing on sustainability and slow fashion practices, making a completely environmentally friendly collection is not always that easy. Magdalena Schaffrin, the Creative Director of the trade fair NEONYT in Frankfurt, pointed out how each designer can take a step forward in the development of their fashion collections. This is also a very contemporary approach, because today, implementing sustainability in the collection or in the concept of a collection is no longer a question of whether doing it or not, but to find a particular personal approach and tackle the question of how to take more sustainable decisions along the way.

Latvian designer Gunta Edele impressed Magdalena with her style and the architectural shapes, the colours and the contemporary look and especially with her own personal story. But also Hannes Rüütel was convincing with his collection and the consequent visual language. Katre Arula has a contemporary approach in designing with an upcycling concept - the shapes, volumes and material combinations really came well together.

