Luděk Hanák: The dress is just an accessory for the Miss

The czech designer Luděk Hanák collaborates with the contest Miss Princess of the World practically from its beginning. We catched up with him at the fitting for the final fashion show of the tenth edition of this international contest.

What do you say of this year’s finalists?
To be very honest, in this absolutely stressful and hectic moment, when I have to do fittigs of tenths of dresses in an almost minimal time, I concentrate more on the bodies, than the faces. Therefore I did not have time to think about that, yet. I will wait for the final gala evening on Saturday, in order to make some kind of evaluation.

Do you think that they will match your dresses? That they will look beautiful?
Well, of course. If I see that the prepared dresses for the fitting do not suit them, I have no problem in changing them. On the other hand if I see that the dresses fit and they look good in them I have no reason to do so. Besides there
are a lot of them. It is the same as for a regular fashion show, the girls actually do not have much choice, about what they are going to wear. Furthermore, I dress based on color combinations, I want the colours to match as they appear on stage.

Do you think that the girls can sell your dresses properly?
Again it is about the fact that I am dressing a Miss, not a model. The model can move the dress to another level, but the Miss is in first place presenting herself and the dress is just an accessory. At a fashion show, the model is a hanger for the dress and the most important thing is the dress itself. For the Miss the dress really is an sccessory and the most important thing is that they feel comfortable in it. It does not have to neccessarily sell the dress.

You have been working with this contest for quite some time…
Yes I have. I have also begun with the president the contests, which is approximately 14-15 years ago. We actually met there. Now it is the seventh year that we are doing „Miss Princess“.

What do you get out of it?

It is a great opportunity- for a designer, to be able to reach „other type of bodies“. The body shape of an afro-american is
totally different than the body of an Asian girl. It is about different body shapes and different bodies. It is fascinating to see the differences. It is quite a different job than to work with an only czech Miss.

How do you like the direction in which this contest is growing?

The know-how is huge, the idea great, the thought unbeatable, it also has a huge potential, it has it all…now it is about
catapulting the contest few stories up, which is for sure possible.

What are your next work plans?
I am doing a huge fashion show in two weeks. Top styl. It is the 34th time we do this show. It is going to take place in Mohlenice and seven other designers will be involved too. The event going to be moderated by Jan Čenský. A huge and
interesting show, the tickets  are already sold out. I will be introducing my new collection, which is going to
have its „premiere“ during the final, but its official introduction will be in two weeks in Mohelnice.