We are whisked back in time to the post-1565 era with the spring-summer 2022 collection of the first university fashion label, FASHIONxNBU, created by students and lecturers at the Experimental Design Studio at New Bulgarian University (NBU) in Sofia. It was inspired by the painting "Harvest", by the Flemish Renaissance painter  Pieter Bruegel de Oude.

The collection carries a message of a return to peaceful living and warm human relationships, conveyed through prints of motifs from the painter's paintings, leather details and embroidery. Except for the prints, everything else is handmade, and the quest for zero waste also leads to the geometrical cuts of the clothes and the incorporation of leftover materials in the making of the accessories.

Sustainable fashion is definitely in trend worldwide, and now in Bulgaria too, designers point out. "The trend started a few years ago and is gaining momentum. It is one of the most lucrative industries, but also one of the most polluting," pointed out to BNR assistant professor at NBU Stefania Temelkova.