With a grand opening at the Synchro space in Porto Montenegro, the 7th International Fashion Festival IFF PORTO MONTENEGRO 2025 officially began last night. Organized by the agency FABRIKA and Porto Montenegro, the event welcomed numerous distinguished guests and media representatives from both Montenegro and abroad, who walked the impressive red carpet inspired by the world’s most prestigious fashion events.
At the official opening ceremony, the audience was addressed by Vesna Mandić, Director of Fabrika, David Margason, Managing Director of Porto Montenegro, and Sara Sozzani Maino, the newly appointed President of the Festival, who officially declared the event open.
A major innovation of this year’s IFF is the appointment of the renowned Sara Sozzani Maino – Creative Director of the “Fondazione Sozzani” – as Festival President, with Giorgia Virzi, President of GV-Studio Milan, serving as official advisor. On Sozzani Maino’s initiative, a new concept has been established for the IFF, which includes innovative fashion shows and sustainable fashion collections by “new generation” designers who have achieved global recognition, as well as world-renowned fashion brands.
The first night of the festival was marked by two striking fashion shows that symbolically blended cutting-edge technology with a famous global fashion brand.
The evening opened with a virtual fashion show, realized in collaboration with the digital global platform Faith Tribe (faithtribe.io), a leader in digital and sustainable solutions for the fashion industry, and the Resonance brand. Using artificial intelligence, Faith Tribe developed digital models based on the sketches of six students: Maša Ivanović and Sofija Tijović from the Faculty of Design and Multimedia in Montenegro, Martina La Gatta from the Marangoni Institute in Florence, Daniele Pio Rosati from the Academy of Costume and Fashion in Rome, and Sara Lopez and Emanuela Conte from the Fashion Institute in Miami. On behalf of all students, Sofija Stijović and Martina La Gatta took a bow after the show.
This pioneering project marks the first application of Web3 technology in Montenegro’s creative industries. Special attention was given to Montenegrin students Maša Ivanović and Sofija Tijović, once again reinforcing the festival’s mission to promote local talent on the global stage. By participating in this show, all students earned free access to the Faith Tribe platform for the next year.
Following this, the legendary fashion house Emanuel Ungaro presented its RESORT 2026 collection, which premiered at IFF under the creative direction of American designer Kobi Halperin, who has led the brand’s design team since 2021. The show introduced a fresh, modern vision for the brand – feminine, luxurious, and effortlessly chic – designed for the contemporary woman.
In true international fashion show style, several well-known women whose style has been recognized by the house of Ungaro attended the event wearing pieces from the new collection, including Vesna Mandić, Dijana Đoković, Aleksandra Bojović, and Maja Abramović.
Thanks to the presence of key figures from the global fashion industry and numerous international media outlets, IFF Porto Montenegro has, over the past seven years, established Tivat and the Montenegrin coast as a prestigious global fashion destination. IFF Porto Montenegro brings together world-renowned fashion houses, designers, influencers, media, and fashion lovers from all over the world, creating a unique cultural and creative platform in the region.
During the festival, a selection of the designers’ collections will be displayed and available for purchase at the Fashion Gallery store in Porto Montenegro.
IFF Porto Montenegro 2025 continues to build bridges between tradition and innovation, local and global, modern technology and timeless elegance – solidifying its status as one of the most significant fashion festivals in this part of Europe.