Is Budapest becoming the newest fashion capital? -- New Universe is taking over.

Budapest is becoming a youth culture capital.

The event where you can meet Hiroshi Fujiwara, Fragment founder, hear Len and Weiland live on stage and listen to a keynote of architect legend Kengo Kuma, while shopping rare archive and streetwear pieces.

On 28-29 November, NEW UNIVERSE takes over 8,000 square metres of BOK Hall for what is genuinely one of the most ambitious fashion and youth culture festivals in Europe this year. Founded by Tamás Trunk, the event has spent the last few editions quietly building a proper international guest list - and 2026’s lineup makes the argument for Budapest as a fifth capital of global streetwear alongside the usual suspects.

Hiroshi Fujiwara, founder of Fragment and one of the seminal figures behind modern Japanese street culture, returns to Budapest after his 2023 appearance. Tokyo-based architect Kengo Kuma - TIME100 honouree, the architect of the Japan National Stadium, currently also working on a new wing of the British National Gallery, who has released sneaker collaborations with Fendi and ASICS - joins for the first time. American designer Greg Betty, formerly at Vans and now at Jordan Brand, is on the guest list too. On the music side: Weiland, UK underground artist Len, Austrian new-gen rap acts Kroka Koka and Conzt!, and Sissy Misfit - the London based DJ and artist from Istanbul who produced the soundtrack of Rick Owens’ latest runway.

The proposition is simple. 8,000 square metres, 20 countries of exhibitors, hundreds of archive pieces, thousands of pairs of sneakers spanning rare Jordans and archive collectors’ pieces, vintage clothing, young emerging streetwear brands, Instagram brands, an art section, culture talks, HOKA and Sprayground on the sponsor list. The globally significant conversations around youth culture don’t have to stay concentrated in London, Paris, Tokyo or New York. They can happen in Budapest too.