Neli Mitewa (Nelmit)

Neli Mitewa graduated in Fashion Design from the University of Applied Sciences and Design in Trier, Germany. She develops her own collections under the “nelmit” brand. She also works as a freelance designer, in the field of teaching (with experience as a professor of fashion design at AMD Akademie Mode & Design Munich), consulting on design concepts, fashion journalism and costume design.

The awards she won at international competitions include the Design-Innovation Award of the Ministry of Economy of North Rhine-Westphalia, the qualifications for the finals of the Smirnoff Fashion Awards, of the GRAND PRIX INTERNATIONAL FASHION DESIGN BERLIN 2003, etc. In 2007 and 2009, GRAZIA magazine nominated her for „Woman of the Year“ in the Design category.

In 2007, Neli created IVAN ASEN 22 as a conceptual platform for presenting young progressive fashion designers in Sofia, and in 2009 she founded the IVAN ASEN 22 Foundation for presenting and supporting contemporary designers and is its artistic director and curator.
In her collections, she is interested in the transformability of form (“GAME-à-porter”), the telling of personal stories through clothing (“Watch your Back”), as well as multicultural intertwining (“Culture Clash” ). Characteristic of her work as a designer is her own modeling technique and her experimental construction systems.

Since 2015 she has been focusing her interests on conceptual fashion and its role in the context of contemporary arts.

In 2018, Neli Mitewa was awarded the “BIG SEE INSPIRATIONAL-VISIONARY AWARD”, provided by Zavod BIG, Center for Creative Economics of Southeast Europe in Ljubljana, Slovenia, for her achievements in the development of the Southeast European design scene.