PARIS, London, New York and Milan make up the four fashion capitals of the world.

People all over the world turn their eyes to these cities during Fashion Week, paying attention to the trends and styles that will hit runways and stores worldwide soon after the week is up.

Long after the revered designers in these shows move on to new projects and their models step off the runways to fly to new cities, fashion enthusiasts will be discussing their designs and coming up with their own, inspired by these industry bigwigs.

While countries like France, Britain, the United States and Italy lead the industry with their designs, many others are emerging as top notch destinations for fashion like Japan and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, countries like Malaysia, are moving up steadily.

Fashion week in any country is a big deal. Never mind that not all will carry the prestige and glamour of the big four, each one has something new and fresh to offer.

This week, I’ve checked out a few countries whose fashion designers are already garnering significant attention the world over.

Belarus (right)

Famous for its beautiful lakes, virgin forests and Janice Dickinson (she’s of Belarusian and Polish descent), the fashion scene is picking up in this European republic.

Check out this creation by Belarus designers Tamara Goridovets and Tatyana Efremova, presented during the Belarus Fashion Week in Minsk in early October.

It’s simple and sexy, and I can already envision a slightly more practical (meaning less sheer) version of this popping up in boutiques everywhere.

Hungary

Composer and pianist Franz Liszt is one of Hungary’s most famous personalities and I’m sure he’d appreciate how far art, including fashion, has progressed in his country. Socialite, actress and activist Zsa Zsa Gabor is also Hungarian.

Hungarian fashion house Nicole Design’s collection was presented during the Budapest Fashion Week held late last month. The show featured intricate prints on sexy designs, and overall, it highlighted the fact that Hungarians are in tune with what’s going on in the world of fashion.

Georgia

Ah, how we love our sharp edges, and evidently, so do the Georgians, as shown during a fashion week in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Georgian fashion designer Tamuna Ingorokva’s white pantsuit really stood out among the rest. The outfit gave an edgy feel to what could have been a very ordinary looking piece by doing away with buttons and other embellishments.

Venezuela (below)

They already have arguably the most beautiful women in the world, and now the Venezuelans are taking it up a notch with an outpouring of beautiful fashion designs.

This ensemble by Marco Giuseppe is crazy enough to get our attention but not so crazy that we’d chuck it into the reject pile immediately.

At second glance, you’ll realise how much potential it has as regular streetwear and how it can be a guideline for dressing with a quirky edge.

The cropped vest is just the right colour to complement the interesting balloon weave skirt which appears to have been made from rubber armbands.