The Second REVIVE’26 Sustainable Fashion Festival Took Place in Panevėžys: Elma Žemlickaitė’s Collection Named Best

For the second consecutive year, the sustainable fashion festival REVIVE’26, organised by Panevėžys Creativity Centre Prãgiedruliai, brought together fashion creators, designers, artists and a community passionate about sustainable creativity from across Lithuania.

Held in the foyer of the Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre, the festival saw the jury award first place to fashion and costume designer Elma Zemlickaitė for her collection “Delicacies”. Her prize was a two-week creative residency at Prãgiedruliai.

A graduate of both bachelor’s and master’s programmes at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, E. Žemlickaitė drew inspiration for “Delicacies” from childhood memories and her grandmother’s use of the word “delicacies”, which gave even ordinary objects a special value. The designer translated this idea into fashion, reimagining existing objects and inviting audiences to reconsider their emotional significance.

Second place went to Eglė Budrytė for her collection “Shift”. Her prize was the opportunity to participate in the Sustainable Fashion Week Vilnius programme next year. Third place was awarded to Aura Mongirdaitė for her collection “Švytinti tapatybė” (“Radiant Identity”).

Nine designer collections were presented during the fashion show. They were evaluated by five professionals from the fashion and creative industries: Sustainable Fashion Week Vilnius founders Serge Gandžumian and Indrė Jakaitytė-Gandžumian; Vilnius Academy of Arts professor and designer Jolanta Talaikytė; set and costume designer Neringa Keršulytė; and costume and fashion designer Marija Petraitytė.

Sustainable Fashion and More Responsible Choices

The festival programme included creative workshops, talks and meetings with artists and designers. The musical programme featured performances by Migluma, Elevatin’ and Groove Saviour.

“Sustainable fashion is not just about reusing clothes or consuming more responsibly. It is also about looking creatively at what we already have and discovering new forms, materials and meanings. We hope REVIVE will inspire people not only to take an interest in sustainable fashion, but also to rethink their own choices and realise that style does not require constantly buying something new,” says Inga Jurkevičiūtė, one of the festival’s organisers.

Now in its second year, REVIVE aims to provide a platform for creators exploring new forms of fashion, experimenting with materials and addressing responsible consumption and sustainability in their work. The festival also encourages visitors to reassess the value of clothing and discover creative ways to reuse what they already own.

This year’s festival theme, “Magic Spells”, invited audiences to view fashion as a creative process in which old objects are given new life and garments become stories.

The project is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Panevėžys City Municipality.