Ironically, the fashion industry likes homogeneity. It thrives in conditions where all of the players are known and can be easily identified, manipulated and pigeonholed. And the Czech Republic’s world of haute couture – which, like the society itself, is overwhelmingly Caucasian – is no different. So how, then, did a young Roma couturier make it to one of the largest and most prestigious platforms for up-and-coming designers, Shooting Fashion Stars 2013, in a country known around the world for its anti-Roma prejudice?
One way, certainly, is with talent, which 27-year-old Pavel Berky possesses in abundance. The Slovak designer proved that by winning both the Top Style Designer 2012 and the Fashion Design Studio awards at the Styl-Kabo International Trade Fair in Brno early last year.
Nevertheless, it is notoriously difficult for an ambitious Roma to succeed in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, because the obstacles are immense. Both countries place large numbers of Roma children in de facto segregated "special" schools on the now disproved pretext that they are best suited for children from a socially challenged background.
According to Amnesty International, "Romani children in Slovakia are being denied the right to a proper education by a system that routinely discriminates against them. … Romani children often receive a second-rate education and have a very limited chance of progressing beyond compulsory schooling."
And a recent report by the United Nations Development Program found that nearly two of three Roma Slovak children attend ethnically segregated special schools.
Of course, of course, there are problems," says Berky, visibly controlling his emotions. "I know a lot or Romani people living in the Czech Republic, and the problems are huge. But, for me personally, I really don’t recognize these problems a lot because I don’t look like your [stereotypical] ethnic Roma."
Berky’s parents, descendants of the Sinti ethnic group of Roma people, raised their children to speak Slovak and, as he says, they provided a secure and loving home for him and his sister, Renata.
But it is clear Berky does not enjoy speaking about the subject and prefers to make his statements not with words but with silks, intricate weaves and eye-popping color. Berky’s schooling began at the design and…..
