Fabiola Puga | Founder and Organiser of Luxembourg Fashion Week

Bridging the gap between financial rigor and artistic expression, Fabiola Puga has redefined Luxembourg's creative scene. After spending years in banking, she channeled her lifelong passion for fashion and community into founding Luxembourg Fashion Week in 2019, creating a platform for local and international designers to share their craftsmanship.

Her story is a powerful reflection of resilience, adaptability, and purpose—balancing a full-time career, motherhood, and image consulting for cancer survivors while managing a major cultural initiative. Fabiola demonstrates how skills from diverse industries can fuel creative vision and open new doors for future generations.

What inspired you to take the leap into founding or building your own career/brand?

Fashion has been my passion for as long as I can remember. Even as a little girl, I loved transforming and customising my own clothes. I enjoyed imagining, creating, combining different pieces and giving new life to the things I wore. It came naturally to me, almost instinctively.

My dream was always to become a fashion designer.

Unfortunately, at the time, I did not have the opportunity to pursue the higher education in fashion design that I had dreamed of in Luxembourg. So I chose a different path, studying finance and spending many years working in the banking sector.

Yet my passion for creativity never left me.

Along the way, I also trained as an image consultant, with a particular focus on supporting women affected by cancer. It is a part of my journey that I rarely speak about, but one that is very close to my heart.

For me, fashion is not simply about appearance. It is also a form of self expression, a way of rebuilding confidence and, sometimes, even rediscovering oneself.

As a Luxembourger of Spanish origin, I have always felt particularly connected to the journey of young talents who have to leave our country to pursue their studies in fashion abroad.

I felt it was a shame that these young designers did not have more opportunities to return to Luxembourg, present their collections, share their craftsmanship and showcase their talent in their own country.

I wanted to open a door for them, offer them a runway and create a meeting place where Luxembourgish talent could connect with international designers.

It was from this desire that Luxembourg Fashion Week was born in 2019.

I did not come from an event management background, but my education and professional experience in finance had given me a strong foundation: discipline, organisation, a sense of responsibility, management skills and, above all, the ability to structure a project.

Alongside these skills, I had always carried a strong artistic and creative spirit within me.

In the end, these two worlds, which may seem very different, complemented each other perfectly. The discipline I developed in finance helped me build and organise the event, while my creativity allowed me to imagine it and give it its own identity.

Looking back, I realise that my journey has ultimately made perfect sense.

I may not have followed the path I dreamed of as a little girl, but I found another way to live my passion, share it with others and, most importantly, offer opportunities that I would have loved to have myself.

What has been your most defining milestone or breakthrough moment so far?

It is difficult for me to choose just one moment, because every edition of Luxembourg Fashion Week represents a special milestone in my journey.

However, I would say that my greatest source of pride is having managed to keep this project alive and help it grow since its creation in 2019.

Seeing designers present their collections, discovering new talent and bringing people from different cultures together through a shared passion continues to give me immense satisfaction.

The eighth edition, held on 17 October 2026 at Hotel Le Royal Luxembourg, was particularly meaningful to me.

For the first time, I had the opportunity to present my own artistic work, entitled Silence, as part of the cultural project Mémoire en Fil.

After spending so many years offering my runway to other designers, I was finally able to express a part of my own creativity on that very same stage.

It was a deeply emotional moment, because the desire to create has been with me since childhood.

I don't think I had fully realised just how much that moment meant to me.

But beyond this personal experience, my greatest achievement remains the human connections: the people I have met, the collaborations, the talents I have been able to support and everyone who has contributed, in one way or another, to making this journey grow.

What is one major challenge you faced along the way, and how did you navigate it?

My biggest challenge has certainly been building and developing Luxembourg Fashion Week while continuing to work full time and managing my personal and family responsibilities.

Organising an event of this scale requires an enormous amount of time, energy and personal commitment.

There are so many aspects to manage at once: designers, models, partners, logistics, communication, unexpected situations and all the little details that the audience may never see.

Although my background in finance had given me a structured way of working, I still had a great deal to discover and learn about the world of event management.

Of course, it has not always been easy.

There have been moments of doubt, exhaustion, disappointment and challenges that I was not always prepared for.

I would never claim to have always made the right decisions. I have made mistakes, I have learned from them, and I am still learning today.

I believe that what has kept me going is, above all, my passion, perseverance and determination not to give up on something I started with so much belief.

Over the years, I have also come to understand the importance of surrounding myself with the right people, listening to others and accepting that I cannot carry everything on my own.

Even today, I see every edition as a new opportunity to learn, grow and improve.

What’s the biggest misconception about starting a separate career pathway or rebuilding a business from scratch?

I believe the biggest misconception is thinking that everything is as simple as it appears from the outside.

In the fashion world, people see the lights, the beautiful creations, the models, the photographers and the atmosphere of a fashion show.

Everything can look very glamorous.

But behind those few hours of spectacle lie months of preparation, countless hours of work, major responsibilities and sometimes very real personal sacrifices.

I also think many people believe that you must follow a very specific career path to enter a particular industry.

My own journey has taught me otherwise.

I studied finance, worked in banking and eventually created an event in the fashion industry.

Yet it was precisely the skills I gained in my first career that helped me structure my project, while my creativity brought it to life.

I truly believe that nothing we learn is ever wasted.

Every experience, even when it seems far removed from our passions, may one day find its place in our journey.

Sometimes, we simply need the courage to step outside the path we originally imagined for ourselves.

Behind the public milestones, what quiet personal or operational sacrifice are you most proud of navigating?

I would say that my greatest sacrifice has been time.

Over the years, I have devoted a significant part of my evenings, weekends and free time to Luxembourg Fashion Week.

I have always continued working full time while being a mother and trying to maintain a balance between my professional, personal and family life.

At times, this has required a great deal of effort and sacrifice.

There have been periods when I felt completely exhausted, when the days seemed too short and when I felt I needed to be everywhere at once.

These are the moments the public does not see, but they are also part of the journey.

Today, what makes me proud is not so much the sacrifices themselves, but the fact that I found the strength to keep believing in this project despite the difficulties.

With time, I have also understood how important it is to take care of yourself, protect your well-being and not forget the people around you.

Because, for me, success only truly has meaning when you can share it with the people you love.

What piece of advice would you give to another woman who is hesitant to start building her own venture or career path?

First and foremost, I would tell her to believe in herself and never think that it is too late to pursue a dream.

Life does not always take us where we originally imagined we would go.

As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. Instead, I studied finance and built my career in the banking sector.

At the time, I could never have imagined that one day I would create Luxembourg Fashion Week.

And yet, all those experiences, even the ones that seemed far removed from my original passion, have helped bring me to where I am today.

I would also tell her not to wait for everything to be perfect before taking the first step.

Sometimes, we have to accept starting small, learning along the way, making mistakes and trying again.

I also believe it is essential to stay true to yourself, avoid comparing your journey to others and surround yourself with kind and supportive people.

I do not see my journey as a final achievement, but rather as an ongoing adventure that continues to teach me so much, both professionally and personally.

And if I could share just one thought, it would be this:

“Sometimes, when a door doesn’t open for us, we can choose to open one for others.”

Perhaps that is what best sums up why I created Luxembourg Fashion Week.

Why We Are Featuring Fabiola Puga

Fabiola Puga exemplifies what it means to build opportunities not just for oneself, but for an entire community. By combining financial discipline with artistic purpose, she created Luxembourg Fashion Week from scratch, providing a stage for local talent while navigating the demanding balance of a full time career, motherhood, and advocacy. Her story serves as an inspiring reminder that non linear career paths often lead to the most impactful ventures.

Connect with Fabiola and Luxembourg Fashion Week

Website: luxembourgfashionweek.lu

Direct Email: Info@luxembourgfashionweek.lu