The population in Croatia is getting smaller and growing older while young people (among them educated designers) move to other European countries in search of a better life. The average salary is around 990$ per month which is why most people shop at high street stores not even aware of the fact that domestic brands offer better quality clothing for the same price. From 2018 Croatia has only one fashion event where designers can show their new collections and only one competition for young designers. Most of the domestic designers don’t get a chance to show their work there and be heard.
As a fashion journalist telling people the truth about their clothes and educating them about how they can change their habits is what I care deeply about. This is especially challenging in Croatia where people are so enchanted with the American, French and Italian culture that they simply want to copy it without realizing that their ideas matter too and that we also can and do have amazing Western fashion in Croatia.
Informing the audience about old Croatian brands that have survived the war in the 90’s as well as about the new wave of young brave designers who decided to stay here instead of moving to Paris or London is the first step to changing our habits and moving towards a more sustainable future. Creating a media outlet that shines a different light on our shopping habits and capitalism in general sounds like the most natural way for me as a journalist to start this change.
Behind Stitch is a vision of a more engaged society. A community of people who get their coats made by measure, buy their shoes from local companies that employ people from their own country and buy their everyday clothes from local designers for the same price for which they get them at Zara. I may be an idealist but I grew up in a family where all the vegetables came from my mom’s garden, we got meat, milk, and cheese from friends who raise livestock and I still cherish and practice this way of procuring food even though I live in a big city. I can’t see why such a way of living and thinking couldn’t be translated into fashion, too.
I am committed to informing the public in Croatia and worldwide about the consequences of their shopping habits as well as informing designers about the costs of their choices in the whole process of making their collections from choosing fabrics to distribution and sales. I am also committed to providing information on alternative ways of shopping and the importance of loving your clothes and making them last.