Association of fashion professionals and costume designers Modiko
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The Association of fashion professionals and costume designers Modiko got an opportunity to participate at the global British Council project, of the International Fashion Showcase, which will be held within the prestigious London Fashion Week. Accomplished fashion designers from B&H as well as other B&H designers and future B&H fashion brands will have the opportunity to present themselves to the British audience in a fashion exhibition entitled ”Hang On”. This fashion exhibition will be held from the 16th till 23rd of February. This exhibition is envisioned as a fashion installation that will present creations especially made for this occasion and offer a unique aspect of the local fashion scene which is also in tune with the newest world’s fashion trends. This interactive exhibition will also consist of audio-visual elements, photographs, as well as Modiko showroom. For Sarajevo Times we talked with the participants of this ambitious project, fashion designer Lena Stefanović and stylist Gaša Miladinović. Find out what they expect from this exhibition, do they fear the criticism, what they expect of London as the world’s fashion metropolis and what they think about recognition and future of fashion designers in our country.
By: Maša Branković
By the end of February in collaboration with British Fashion Council and British Council you will represent yourself at the most popular fashion event in the UK during the UK London Fashion Week. How did you get the invitation for this kind of collaboration?
Lena : The invitation to participate at the International Fashion Showcase came from British Council and is a continuation of the collaboration with the Association Modiko, which started in 2011. Our first mutual project was a workshop and a lecture on the topic of fashion and film, when we welcomed colleagues from London to Sarajevo. After that we shot two fashion films and Modiko visited London, where we established certain connections for the future exhibition.
Gaša: After the successful realization of fashion films, we got the opportunity to participate in the global British Council project International Fashion Showcase, which is within the program of the London Fashion Week. In September last year, British Council enabled the representatives of Modiko, Amna Kunovac Zekić and me to visit British Council in London. After this visit they applied with this project and got an affirmative answer by the end of the last year.
You will present yourself to the public with the exhibition entitled ”Hang On”. What is the exhibition about and who participated in this project?
Lena : The exhibition ”Hang On” will present ten accomplished and new designers/brands as well as other fashion professionals. Velahavle and Billian will do the instrumental music for the exhibition.
Gaša: This exhibition is envisioned in the form of an interactive fashion installation, where visitors can become one part of the exhibited creations. The creations are presented on two-dimensional dolls, as those we used to cut out of magazines and dress when we were kids. That kind of format and artistic interpretation are chosen on purpose, in order to show the absence of the ”third dimension” of our reality through fashion expression. Members of Modiko participate in this project. Those are: Amna Kunovac-Zekić, Jasna Hadzimehmedović-Bekrić, Gasha Miladinović OSHYOSH by Vanja Ciraj & Irma Saje, Lejla Hodžić, Lena Stefanović, Vanja Lisac, She:You by Neira Sinanbašić, Adisa Vatreš & Naida Begović, Ensar Dervišbegović, Nermina Varešanović, Maja Talović, Ata Omerbašić, Ljiljana Šaković and Belma Lizde Kurt.
You are participating in a very ambitious project where all worlds’ designers will present their creations. With what can a small country like B&H satisfy the remorseless international fashion critics? Are you afraid of negative criticism?
Lena : Every kind of criticism is welcome. It is important that the visitors feel and understand our message and leave the exhibition with the impression that they experienced something new. I think that the only way to delight anyone as well as the fashion critics is if your work is close to you, and if it is deeply personal and intimate and if it clearly states the message you want it to convey.
Gaša: We are not afraid of the negative criticism, because we are not going to present the newest trend or the newest technological achievement in design. We are going to present ourselves, our work and the environment in which we work in, and also to exchange experiences with other fashion designer from the UK and designers from other participant countries. Every type of constructive criticism or appraisal to the designer’s work would be a great motivation.
This is not the first time that B&H fashion talents are being presented in London. What do you expect from this presentation?
Lena : This is the first time that a big group of fashion professionals is presenting their works in London. The fact that we are gathered into one association is a message, a statement for itself that speaks about a country where it is very hard to work in fashion as an individual. We primarily expect to interest as many people from the fashion world for our work. As far as everything else is concerned it will eventually come if we work hard.
Gaša: We expect to establish contacts, to exchange experience, to be inspired by London, to acknowledge something new in a professional sense, and the best thing would be if something happens we do not expect, something positive of course.
London is known as a city of new fashion trends, designers and fashion in general. What do you think our chances are in a city known as one of the most popular international fashion center?
Lena: A lot of our designers are acknowledged and awarded in the region and worldwide. For example, Gaša studied in London. I also studied and worked in the fashion industry in London and I may say that we do not differ from our colleagues in Great Britain or anywhere else. Talent, craft and love towards this job is universal, and can be found in every corner of the world. What does differentiate us from our colleagues who work in fashion capitals such as London, Paris, and New York and what brings us many obstacles and disadvantages is the lack of support of our country and poorly developed fashion industry.
Gaša: We do not have great expectations in a sense that we will make or present something that no one presented so far. But on the other hand, designers present themselves, their talent, and their work and in any case it is a great thing to get feedback from other audiences, and also to step out of the ordinary everyday occasions.
Do foreign citizens in our country buy creations by B&H designers, or to be precise from your Association and do they acknowledge the work of local designers?
Lena : Foreigners who live in Sarajevo like our creations very much and we already have our own customers that gladly come back to us. During Sarajevo Film Festival it is always fun because half of the clients of the showroom are foreigners. I cannot claim that they acknowledge us more than our local clients but they understand better our unique creations and they buy it gladly, especially because our designs are a lot cheaper than the designs by our colleagues abroad.
Gaša: Our designers always nurture a very individual approach to all clients, by devoting their attention to them, which is valued very much. Also, some Modiko designers successfully sell their creations outside B&H, for example in the US and Austria.
As well as in other segments, B&H stagnates when it come to the fashion scene. What do you think which obstacles need to be surpassed in order to bring B&H a bit closer to the European fashion metropolis?
Lena : Money. One word that everyone understands and the only thing that everyone lacks. Without money you cannot invest into the promotion of the design, its creation and production, as well as the foundation of a fashion and textile industry. I believe that better times will come, but we will have to wait.
Gaša: I think that the greater problem is because there is no fashion industry, which of course is connected with other problems present in our country, apart from the economic crisis.
Further plans of the Association Modiko are?
Lena : We have invested a lot of effort and time into the preparations for this exhibition and for the trip to London. After we return we will gather our impressions from the exhibition and then plan for the future. The presentation of this exhibition to B&H audience is one of the new plans we will cling to.
Gaša: Currently, the most important thing for us is that this exhibition does well in London.
