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Goran Bugaric on the Power of Independent Designers
152 Plays5 months ago
In the debut episode of Collective Connection, host Corentin Christian sits down with Vienna-based fashion designer Goran Bugaric to explore his remarkable journey from a mining town in Serbia to building a flourishing design career in Vienna. Together, they discuss the transformative power of creativity, the role of women as mentors in their lives, and the importance of sustainability and collaboration in reshaping the fashion industry. Reflecting on resilience, love, and the artist's responsibility to educate, this episode offers an intimate look at how independent designers are crafting a more mindful and connected world.
Key Topics
- Introduction to Collective Connection
- Goran’s Early Life in Serbia
- Finding Inspiration Through Family
- Pursuing Fashion Against the Odds
- Dreams of Paris and Milan
- The Role of Women in Creativity
- Fashion as an Expression of Love
- Challenges in the Modern Fashion Industry
- Sustainability and Ethical Craftsmanship
- The Power of Independent Designers
- Collaboration Over Competition
- Rooted Locally, Dreaming Globally
- Resilience and the Will to Persevere
- A Closing Message of Love and Authenticity
Guest Bio
The founder and managing director is Goran Bugaric from Bor, Serbia. The bespoke designer has been running his own label BUGARIC in the ‘Schnittbogen’ in one of Vienna's underground railway arches near the Gumpendorfergürtel since October 2012. BUGARIC stands for high-quality materials and first-class workmanship, for which the bespoke designer is not least responsible with his many years of training and experience (master craftsman's certificate for women's dressmakers). However, the label is not only characterised by outstanding craftsmanship. Customer satisfaction is also a top priority, which is why it is very important to Goran Bugaric that every customer feels comfortable in their garment.
Guest Links
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Get In Touch
We would love to hear from you to get your views, opinions or guest suggestions!
Reach out on my Instagram, LinkedIN or email
hello@corentinchristian.com
Copyright 2024 Corentin Christian
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Collective Connection'
00:00:04
Speaker
Hi, this is Corinthians Christian, your host for Collective Connection. Collective Connection, a meeting of minds where fashion meets art at large and multidisciplinary artists connect to create what has never been done before, a collective synergy fusing creativity.
Meeting Goran Bogaric at NYFW 2023
00:00:24
Speaker
Today, I have the pleasure to start the series of podcast interviews with Goran Bogaric,
00:00:32
Speaker
from Vienna, fashion designer extraordinaire, that I had the chance to meet at New York Fashion Week in 2023. Hi Goran, how are you doing? Hi Christian, I'm doing well and thank you for having me. I'm so i' so glad and and to have the privilege to start this series of podcasts with you, because I really find your story absolutely inspiring and I'd love for you to to tell our audience a bit of your story where you come from and and I think will be absolutely amazing to to start with that.
00:01:12
Speaker
Well, yes, first, thank you for having me. I feel really honored to be the first guest. It's It's ah big footsteps. So I hope the audience will enjoy our conversation.
Goran's Fashion Roots in Serbia
00:01:25
Speaker
So I was born and raised in Serbia, in Eastern Serbia, in a small town in Bor, which is a mining town. so nothing to do with creativity whatsoever. We only have one museum which is also connected to the mine because we have copper and gold. So back then I don't know why but since I was really a small child I felt very and ah ah connected to the fashion world and I always wanted to be a designer. My mom tells me that I at the age of five or six or seven already
00:02:06
Speaker
was telling people that I want to be a designer. And I was fortunate enough to have a grandmother, Nada, who was the best grandmother ever. And she was a seamstress, but not full time because she divorced really early when my mom was just a small kid. And she started sewing for her neighbors and colleagues. And she introduced me.
00:02:35
Speaker
to the world of patterns and cutting and scissors and fabrics and lace. And I was just amazed about it. And it was, in a way, also I was a very shy child and very introvert. And for me, this world with my grandma, this safe space was just the place where I could be who I am.
00:03:03
Speaker
the place where I can create and back then as a child you don't even have words for that you don't know what you're doing but it was intuitive and I loved also that I was given trust that she trusted that I'm not gonna hurt myself and she was really patient and I had a huge luck, actually, to have such an amazing person as my grandma too to guide me into this world.
Passion and Education in Fashion
00:03:35
Speaker
And after this childish Barbie dressing, playing kind of, I decided, well, I want to do this professionally. And with these at the age of 14, I went to a high school, fashion high school. So I had to move from home.
00:03:56
Speaker
and went to South Serbia, to Leskowitz. And that was hard because, you know, I was so cuddled by my grandma and my mom and my grand-grandma, all these women who just loved me immensely, thank God. And then I had to start it and into the new ah ah environment and to be alone for the first time. And that's at the age of 14. So it was kind of scary, but because I wanted it so much,
00:04:26
Speaker
It was like, okay, I was crying. Like I ah would go get homesick and I would sit in my room and I would cry. But then at the same time, I would be like, yeah, but you know, I want to do fashion. I want to learn about it. I want to know how to draw patterns. I want to know how to cut professionally. So.
00:04:45
Speaker
It was always like, you decided this, you have to stay. And for four years, I was in this high school and became one of the best students. I don't want to be bragging, but you know. And yes, and that was actually the high school was actually the a professional beginning of my career. Yes.
00:05:11
Speaker
Right, so that's really interesting what you say about your grandmother, your mother having a safe space. I can really relate because and but that's like that's actually something I need to know about you because we have that in common. I was born also like in the in north of France, in Fumi.
00:05:27
Speaker
North of France is also well known for the mine industries and my great-grandparents used to work in the mines and my like grandmother's dad dad died um in the mines and for me was me was the North of France was very much where the last factory started in Europe So the fact that also also um my grandmothers were seamstresses and that woman, especially creative, a safe space for us, because I'm sure a lot of artists like us also relate where we are, when we were children, we felt quite different. We had different aspirations compared to different maybe boys of our age, if we are being very honest.
00:06:16
Speaker
and to have that safe space, especially for you, for your grandmother, to to believe in your craft and to pass on to you her love for um for fashion, for for pattern making, for cutting, for fashion. I can only imagine, and especially also in the geopolitical background back then,
00:06:35
Speaker
in Serbia, that must have been also shaping also the person you are. But my question would be then after what you said, what was your what was your dream? So your dream was to become like a fashion designer, but did you have something specific in mind? Did you want to be famous? Did you have any name a name any persona in mind? Did you did you want to be Did you want to be known for your craft or did you want to be like someone? Did you have like a designer in mind? Did you know that you wanted to do your craft just for women? Did you have that very clear in your mind back then?
Aspirations Amidst War Challenges
00:07:21
Speaker
Well, I guess, yeah, I mean, I had dreams definitely. And especially when I became a teenager and went to the fashion high school, they became more
00:07:33
Speaker
more they took more shape so one of the dreams was of course to go to study after the high school to paris or milan and that was like i already had everything planned i had also very good friend my best friend Ivana who she's like the most talented person she taught me how to draw sketches and As you said, now I'm going to drift a little bit from the team, but it's so interesting that to it's always women who feel the sensibility of the artist. It's always most of the time women who just take care of you and acknowledge that side that is different to you. And I was really lucky to have that. And it's nice to hear that you also had the grammar and that we have
00:08:26
Speaker
a lot of parallels, although it's a different part of the world. So yeah, and back in Serbia in the 90s, it was not a fun time. We were in the middle of the war, not Serbia, but it was ex-Yugoslavia. So the war zone was actually in Boston and Croatia. We never had, I never experienced war like the weapons and anything. and But it was ah ah difficult time because we had the humongous inflation, the stores were empty and we were aggressors in a war so it was also dealing with this bad image like we were the bad guys so for somebody who's into art and fashion it was for me the fashion was this world where I can just be God and I can be who I am this creative queer child who doesn't want to identify with
00:09:21
Speaker
the crimes and the chaos that was going on. And I definitely wanted also to escape that atmosphere, especially after the NATO bombing that happened in 99. It was clear for me, if I want to be designer or artist, I want to do it somewhere where I can be safe and where I can truly live the way I want to. But unfortunately, it was also the very a financially very difficult time. Also for my parents, I come from a working class family. We are not any kind of aristocrats or academics. So my mom and dad told me that even if we sell the apartment, it would be only for maybe one year in Paris. So this wouldn't add up. So
00:10:15
Speaker
At the age of 18, I felt like, oh my God, I have so many dreams and so much to say. And so I'm willing to learn, but there's like no infrastructure there for me. be and And then I end up in Vienna. So it was coincidence because a friend of mine was studying here. Also, girl, you see women are kind of my soulmates. And I ended in Vienna with her, yes.
00:10:45
Speaker
Right, but you see, picking up on what you said about women, especially in the fashion industry, it really seems that women are the mentors and they're never quite recognised as fundamental and and and fueling and fueling our lives. like For instance, there was a book that was written about Colette Maciej, Colette. She started working at Chanel 14 years old, and she was part of the petite mind. She was instrumental in the making of Givenchy. She literally helped Carla Gafeld, Galliano, and she has been behind
00:11:33
Speaker
all of those big designers that people have so much passion and recognition for nowadays and the the and that's where we come back to the collective connection. Women are so instrumental in the fashion industry, in the art industry to with the threads of connection and to, and to be here to to help for instance, my mentors have always been into this date woman, and I want to say thank you to Anita, whilst I can on the podcast because the women are absolutely extraordinary in the fashion industry and the fact that we call them petit man that the woman.
00:12:11
Speaker
within the threads of magic. For instance, when I went to Chanel to see the Atelier, we see the designers behind the brand, but we don't see the real designers are actually the ones making garments. yes And and my then my question behind that is that for people who don't know you, do you make your own garments from the pattern making to the sewing? How high is your work? How do you work?
Goran's Hands-On Fashion Approach
00:12:37
Speaker
is your process? Talk me through that and and um I'm sure the audience would love to to hear from you about more about your work. What is it you actually do? What's your process? Your inspirations? let Yeah. and Okay. Well, i I definitely do everything by myself. And when I started, I don't know if that was a conscious decision, but it was an organic one. I was at the high school, so we
00:13:06
Speaker
I learned how to draft patterns, how to cut, how to measure, how to um do diverse size sizes. So for me, there was never a question, am I going to do it all? But it was so organic that I have to know every step of the way. I have to know how to sketch, then I have to know how to take measures and make a pattern.
00:13:35
Speaker
and then make the prototype, adjust the pattern and then finally cut the original and produce the garment. So I was ah ah learning that and for me it was and the only way because I didn't know to they there could be a in other ways so I don't think it was a conscious decision but I'm really happy that it went that way because I'm really happy to say that everything that you see in Instagram or on my website is actually made by myself and
00:14:12
Speaker
that is yes Yeah, which is, sorry, but yeah, which is quite rare, you know, in the in the fashion industry, you know, there's a lot of people calling themselves fashion designers, and there's no judgment behind that. But the fact that you do everything from A to Z, it's quite honourable. And the fact that you have harnessed all those skills,
00:14:38
Speaker
easily yeah Yeah, I always admired like Azed in Aliyah, who was, indeed I don't know, he was such a sweet man. And I don't know, I never met him. But whenever I would see his dresses, his designs, or his interviews, he, his humbleness and the greatness at the same time, it was a paradox, because he was such a genius and mastermind. But at the same time, he was this kind the team man who everybody loved. And I think that was something that inspired me, this love that he had. He he would give so much, but he would get so much. Also the the supermodels who would work for him. You could see that their connection with was genuine. There was a lot of respect and love. And this drew me also because I was like, okay, if I want to be a fashion designer, I want to be that kind of a fashion designer.
00:15:35
Speaker
Right, so here here's a super, super interesting fact that you are pointing out because then like my question is, do you do it for love or do you do it from love?
00:15:49
Speaker
i do it I do it from the place of love and I do it because for me there was never another
00:16:01
Speaker
There was no plan B. There was no another scenario for my life. It was like, I am born to do this. And at the same time, I'm i'm really bad manager and businessman, but I guess a lot of creative people are. And it was always for me, it was never a question. Am I going, do I have to do it for profit? Yes, I have to, but it was never driven that way. It was always, I have something.
00:16:30
Speaker
inside of me that I have to express and my way to express it was making clothes and making collections and being a designer. So it is it comes from love because it was also the place that gave me so much love out throughout my grandmother. So for me, this was always so connected so closely. It was woven like a fabric, like For me, it's like I cannot do fashion if there's not love to it. And if I don't put love into it, then it's not fashion for me.
00:17:07
Speaker
I love hearing that because what you just described is is literally the process of a catharsis where you literally reconnect in a child with your grandmother and and you yeah have only that that beautiful expression of yours and and give that to others and only then can it come back to you with so much more love and and I think I think you know nowadays in the fashion industry, when you look a bit at the brands and what's the landscape, you know like I think we moved away. the I mean, the market is stalling. It's very it's very hard for for new brands, for independent designers, even though independent designers
00:17:57
Speaker
do focus more on quality and ethical craftsmanship and on custom made, on low volumes, rather than the mass produced brands that are very much like fueled by celebrity hype and marketing. the K-pop trends, you know, we see, for instance, Louis Vuitton having to, for them to grow, they have to literally uh by the competitors and that's where I want also to to go and ask you what do you think
00:18:28
Speaker
What is your stance at the moment on the fashion industry? I would say i maybe like, you know, also like there was there was an interview that I heard that was from Imrad Ahmed from Business of Fashion saying that the age of the famous fashion designer is dead. We see, for instance, the speculation for who is going to take the the big role in the fashion industry at Chanel.
00:18:54
Speaker
On the personal level, I do think that we we are coming back and to weave it from what you just said about your grandmother's, my grandmother, about the collective connections, the local communities do matter so much and does it really matter to be such a famous designer and to have so much pressure from high brands and I find it more interesting and that's why I wanted you to be the first designer, the first artist in the podcast because you do embody
00:19:28
Speaker
that independent artist crafting with love out of passion doing it from a place of of love and not forgetting from where you're from and following your own path trailblazing what, you know, a path that most don't take because you might fear it, but because you just know it's your only way to express yourself.
Independent Designers and Industry Change
00:19:51
Speaker
So what do you think about the fashion industry we inherently involve, like, you know, involved and and go through and are part of? What do you think of that fashion industry in the first place and what do you think
00:20:08
Speaker
And how do you think the independent designers can help reshape that fashion industry for the better? Well, I think first of all, I think it's important to also understand where do we come from. And every one single one of us has their own story. And as I said, when I grew up, it was a place, it was a socialist place. And then I grew up and we We were never poor, but we were not rich. So it was like when you grew up in that kind of circumstances, and in that circumstances, I was able to create. Looking from that perspective to the fashion world now, it's obvious that it's really now only capital driven. And that saddens me in a way because
00:21:01
Speaker
The fashion houses are not here anymore to inspire. That's my impression. But they're only to generate to generate wealth. And it's like there's only a huge market in strategic like boards and people and tons of thousands of people who are trying to market the product. And for me, like what's the product? Are we going to acknowledge actually the art behind the product. Are we going to acknowledge the people who are involved to make this product? And as you said, the designers, like I think that's 20th century and we have to leave it behind. I don't think that anybody will ever be next Christian or Givenchy Balenciaga because the times changed. And now we have to focus on
00:21:56
Speaker
I think sustainability and collective awareness should be in focus. And how can we make the world a better place and not just produce, produce, produce, throw out, make? Because even we when we throw, nothing disappears. you know And that's I think lot of people don't understand if I buy things and throw them away, where's away?
00:22:22
Speaker
it stays somewhere. It's going to go into our water, into our air, into our bodies because there's a lot of microplastics. So I think fashion became this marketing monster. And also my dream changed because when I was a very small garden back in the Serbia or back then in Yugoslavia, I wanted to be the first Serbian creative director of Dior. That was like my goal. And as they grew I grew old, I especially now after also after pandemic, i the priority switched and I'm like, I'm not going to be defining my success and who I am throughout capital. I'm not going to put a price a price label on who I am.
00:23:09
Speaker
or what I want to do. There's a lot of value which is not being measured by money. And I think we also have to acknowledge that and to think about it, how much worth we have without turning it into Bitcoin's dollars, euros or whatsoever. And I would love to see the fashion world going back to how can we make a world a better place and not how can we only make everybody perfectly styled for Instagram picture and then throw that away.
00:23:44
Speaker
again you know touching on what you said I i absolutely concur and and I can only think about people who disagree which is absolutely fine but here's the thing that we've been saying really clearly is that we're we're a bit at um at a crossroads not only in the fashion industry but I do you think the fashion industry really reflects the zeitgeist of our era. And as you said, it's not driven anymore by art, by inspiring people, you know, the time of Yves Saint Laurent, who is to me really like that the epitome of literally what you said, there was no other way for him to exist in the world, but to create.
00:24:32
Speaker
And that that was like his words. And and nowadays, you have all those all of those fashion designers like Jacques Mu, you know, um everything is just marketing based and the products are not quality focused, not ethically made, not thought through from the ground up, not incorporated in the business model.
00:24:54
Speaker
And we see then those brands becoming huge and having issues with the quality. you know i've been I've been working with the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network and you have all the sds and the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals.
00:25:09
Speaker
And my question for you then would be, how how would you define because sustain sustainability has become tenability has become such also a grain washing word. yeah Everyone is using it, big brands, from small brands. From my point of view, I think the most sustainable thing is to create locally, to create with people around you in your city, in your country, sourcing the materials that are available at hand, whether they're recycled. And sustainability is not mannequin, it's not black or white. There's not one thing that works for everyone. you know Recycling in in Spain is not that sustainable because most of recycling materials come from the east. So one can argue that the carbon
00:25:58
Speaker
Emissions are not alleviating, I would say, the the cost of re recycling. So how do you incorporate that sustainability in your in your art? And what is your definition of a sustainable brand? One thing I must say before is that you you made me really think about it. And I do think the sustainability has to involve art again.
00:26:25
Speaker
I think only by creating, really focusing on art, can we create a sustainable in all its definition, and beautiful garments. So what what, yeah. Well, so I think, yes, I think my opinion is that there, here we come back to the local and independent designers, because I think it's a paradox that the companies who have so much wealth and generate so much money and the ones who can be the change and the ones who have the threads in their hands are the ones who are not doing enough and sometimes not doing anything. But then you have worldwide a wide net of creative designers like you, like me, like tons of colleagues that I know, ah small even independent designers, local inde designers, especially in Vienna. There's a lot of amazing
00:27:24
Speaker
designers that I'm so happy to call my colleagues, who are thinking so much about environment, about about sustainability, but not in the greenwashing way. We're going to marketing it, and then we're, no, but really, what is our, how do we produce? What do we use? Which materials we use? Are we going to produce extra materials or are we going to use what's there? Are we going to go to the and chains who are selling stock fabrics, are we gonna reuse something? And I think there's a lot, for me, that's the solution sustainability to take the resources that are already there to produce only what you think you can sell and to produce when people are saying, okay, I wanna have this. And then you you know you take measurements and then you produce. So you're not making waste.
Importance of Local Designers
00:28:23
Speaker
Also to work with your colleagues around you, if I have to do the printing, I'm not gonna send it to Holland or to, I don't know, ah ah China, I'm gonna print in Vienna or in Slovakia, which is like only 70 kilometers from Vienna. So I think that's sustainability tool. And I think that's why it's maybe easier on the independence or for the independent designers because we see everyday life. you know we are right We are not alienated from display. We are not in this golden bubble where you just don't even see how normal people live. you know You go on the street and you see, okay, what is being thrown away? What is causing threat? And I think that's the power of independent designers all around the world
00:29:17
Speaker
to ah ah connect with customers and to make this to to talk about it and I think that makes the change in the public.
00:29:28
Speaker
view because people are then starting to think about it and I think we are like small messengers who are trying to educate people in a way. app Absolutely, you just you just took the word for me. It's education, you know, the the the great chance we have as independent designers, as hard as it can be to be in the market that is so alienated by by these big brands and you know people would rather come and buy huge handbags that has the logo of Christian Dior because they just have that status than an independent designer and our work and and and I'd love to to to know whether that you have seen that as well.
00:30:13
Speaker
having the store um having people coming and and and doing custom made, which is also like known as bespoke tailoring for people who don't know, taking the measurements. Then we can take the time, we can educate about how do we produce the garments? Where do we source um um our fabrics? And there is a web of independent designers around the world, which to me is where the fashion industries force and future lies. And this is why I really wanted to create a collective connection, the podcast and also CC content Christian, my brand, which I don't like to call it a brand, funny enough, more than again a collective of artists and to connect all these emerging independent designers that know the real life of people. What do they need in each city or countries in the world? And this is why I don't believe in in in the in the new, as you just said actually, the new Christian Dior. We all can be our Christian Dior in our respective countries and obviously we can
00:31:20
Speaker
we can We can merge and we can co-create together. we can We have so much more power than what we think, but we have to now step up and to connect even more than before as real artists. And this is where the force comes from. And as you say, we have, I think, a liability to educate, not in the world like to tell the ghost spell, to just say, this is what you should be buying.
00:31:49
Speaker
But our liability as independent designers not being in huge cooperation is also that. and And I think one aspect I want to ask you about is the competition because I've seen personally and with the brand that I always wanted to collaborate with hat makers, with other designers and everyone seems to be very imbued again in that capitalism, capitalistic thing that you can as a designer, you can't collaborate with another designer because you're going to have your market share being, know, being shrank. And I've never believed in that. You know, I think we all have our own space, our own individuality, our own signature. And and I do think that comes from a fear of
00:32:35
Speaker
you know, an internal fear of of not succeeding. But what you just said, and that what I love about you is that you don't fear competition. I just think there's no competition. There's only space for collaboration. So what is your view on on collaboration um other independent designers, whether they are like shoemakers, dressmakers, and how do you interact with your peers? You said like, you know, sometimes maybe like you swap fabrics or your health. Talk to me about that. Well, for me, I think, because I was in Indiana working for, in a tailor shop and then at Atelier, also always owned by women.
00:33:20
Speaker
I got a chance to see how it is to work for somebody and to be a part of a team even if it's a small one but then I'm a team player and for me it was always I don't want to be alone doing my thing and of course I love what I do of course I am it comes from a place of love but place of love is also a place which is filled with people. So for me, the loneliness was never something that I would want to experience in a working life. Of course, there are moments I'm being alone and thinking and reflecting, but as a designer, as a creative person, for me, I was always a part of a tribe. And I thought that the only thing that
00:34:09
Speaker
The only way you can get better is if you're surrounded with other creative people. And I never stop in, you know, a concurrence in and other people. It was always like this, my fellowship, my colleagues, the ones that you connect on this level because you shared the creativity, you have the sensibility about it. And I love collaborating also with other designers who make clothes because I think you can learn from each other. And because my atelier is a part of the open space, Schmidbogen, so we are basically five designers there. And then there's Michaela, who's owner of the atelier. She has her team, she has two seamstress, three, sorry. And from the day one, when I started my brand, I was a part of this collective atelier and it was
00:35:08
Speaker
always this exchange and it made me realize how much potential there is when we work together. that We don't have to make a product together but we can work in one space and we can talk about process, about making, about like how do you make this seem even better and that's so much practicality to it that makes this magic and for me collaboration is the most inspiring thing that you can do as a designer because it is it creates this energy and of course it can be challenging, of course you have personalities, of course you have ego, everybody has it, but I think when you give yourself and another fellow designer or
00:35:57
Speaker
other creative person, artist, dancer, it doesn't matter what, it can be intersectional. I think that's when magic happens. And we see that also in big houses, like you said, I mean, there's a designer, but there are like hundreds of women and people who are working to make this garment. So it was always about the synergy, but I think it was not communicated enough. And I think... And i and not and and li and sorry to cut you, but not celebrated enough, yes right? yes yes Yes, because it was always this ego driven, you have to be designer, you have to be this person, you have to play this role. you know And I didn't want to play any role. I was like,
00:36:41
Speaker
I want to be who I am. I want to play with other people. I want to make, have fun with other people. I want to create with other people because this connects you on some, for me, some deeper level. And when you make that connection, there's nothing more beautiful than that. And I love collaboration. I also have a friend who has a screen printing at Telier Stavka who's an amazing artist and working with her is it's for funny but because it's not working it's we just have fun and create something great and i'm like how blessed can you be and happy i think i feel new in every heartbeat because what you just described literally is
00:37:28
Speaker
really reconnecting with the quint great quintessential power of who we are as artists reconneing to our passion that really comes from our childhood with the grandmother, the collaboration that is the fuel for creativity and the magic and the educational part, not only with our clientele, but from our peers that also can inspire us to be better at what we do. Sorry to interrupt you Christian, but don't you think its it's not only, and for me that's like,
00:38:07
Speaker
mind-blowing because it's not only fashion. Look at the sports. Look at anything, any kind of other branch or aspect or of yeah in this profession. yes yeah It's like when people connect, then something happens. you can Of course, you can make it alone, but you can't actually. you are You have to have people around you. So when we watch Olympic games, most of the time,
00:38:37
Speaker
this team that come, you know, this fabulousness, this greatness that comes when people come together to do something and to create something and to be better. And you can only be better if you have somebody who's going to show you how to be better or inspire you how to be better. And I think that's not only fashion, it's human. I think it's pure human experience that we, when we are in a collective, when we are together, we make magic.
00:39:06
Speaker
I love what you say. You know what? That parallel with sports and music, you know, the the most watched performances or I would say televised events are the Olympics, obviously concerts or football games or all of that.
00:39:23
Speaker
but Eurovision, yes, let's not forget about Eurovision, but that is true. And the the diversity, the multidisciplinary, the the gathering of humanness, I want to call it humanness. I think this is what the fashion industry has forgotten. You know, Carla Gafel was very much friend with Yves Saint Laurent.
00:39:44
Speaker
And most people don't know, they were like a group of designers, they they obviously they have rivalry and all of that, but they they were friends and they were learning from each other, they were working together. And this this part of history has not really been told, but for people like us, you know, working in fashion and and knowing a bit more about it. It's always been collaboration.
00:40:09
Speaker
and And I think that's that's where, you know, I love that sentence that my grandfather and my mother always told me, alone we go faster, together we go further. And that is my mantra.
Commitment to Local Community
00:40:23
Speaker
but that That is my mantra. And I and i and i think that really also embodies what you just said and all along um that episode.
00:40:33
Speaker
And maybe i want to and I want to ask you a little series of questions about, first of all, where where do you want people to to find you um um on the web, you know yeah on on Instagram, on the website, where where would they can buy your beautiful creations? you have Do you do collections, a limited series? Tell us a bit more about that.
00:41:00
Speaker
Yes, well, I have both website and Instagram, but I must say I prioritize Instagram because it's, for me, easier to handle. it I can be more spontaneous. I can show a little behind the scenes. I can also show what inspires me. I share experiences with other artists or when I see something beautiful, when I read some an amazing book. So Instagram is where people definitely can find me and also contact me. I i got a lot of contacts throughout Instagram. My atelier is in Vienna and I'm
00:41:38
Speaker
In that case, I'm kind of inspired by, I must say, Manolo Blahnik. I always said, I want to be local. I want to be here. So if you want to buy my clothes, you have to come to Vienna. And I'm like, we're all always talking about you know Paris, New York. And I'm like, well, let's let's support the local market. I don't want to go to Paris and be there. it's not i I don't leave there. I don't have my connections there. I don't have friends and family. So for me, it my brand is where my home is. And I'm in Deanna Bay, so I'm selling locally. And why I said Manolo Blahnik? Because with all success he had, with all the money he made, he was always having only three shops. You could buy Manolo Blahnik in Paris, London, and New York. And that was such an inspiration for me because I was like, okay, this man could open shops
00:42:36
Speaker
everywhere because you know the 90s and the early 2000s everybody was wearing Manolo Blahnig as the status symbol but he was like no I only have three places and this is it and you can of course come and I think that that kind of Attitude is for me essential because I'm like, why do we always have to expand? Why do we always have to this idea? We have to go somewhere. Why don't we have this idea? We are I'm here I'm in Vienna if people want something they can come and if you know I get so successful then we can talk about strategies or maybe have some retail somewhere, but I'm not ambitious in that
00:43:19
Speaker
way because I think we have to support our local communities because not everybody, everybody wants to go to Milan or Paris or New York so and then like what's going to happen to the rest of the world and we see there's so much creativity everywhere and for me it's also in very important to inspire people there where you live ohath absolutely you absolutely um then um then They can come to you, they can see you start, they can talk to you and I think that's how we spread the word and spread the love. and
00:43:53
Speaker
So yeah, I'm in Vienna, in Schmittbogen, in my atelier, and in Instagram, of course I do shipping. And of course I have clients who come from Berlin and or Paris, or I have a beautiful client, my only auperdiva, Jeanine de Pic, she's amazing. So, of course... Hi Jeanine! Yeah, so of course she comes, but she also comes to Vienna, to my atelier, and then we do fittings.
00:44:23
Speaker
So I love that idea and I really change also that because or change the way ah ah I think about it because before it was also this you know when you're young you have these dreams and kind of you want to expand and you want to be everywhere and I'm like no I'm in Vienna it's okay I'm fine with that I love Vienna and I think people should come to Vienna is a beautiful city to visit so you know I encourage, obviously encourage people to to go and visit Vienna. my My best friend is actually from Vienna. Jasmine, she's a stylist and and and also an instrument, ah ah again a woman, and an instrumental part of my life from a
00:45:05
Speaker
very personal and professional perspective. So I encourage people to output obviously all your social links, websites. I encourage everyone to to have garments handmade by your beautiful heart and mind by you. But I also wanted to to close the this episode with what you said.
00:45:28
Speaker
Because I didn't know you also thought that, and I'm very glad. And that's the meeting of minds, right? my My goal with, I was, you know, I have them at the moment, which might change, who knows, my Atelier boutique in Barcelona next to our house. And people say, like, why are you in Barcelona, not in New York, not in Paris, not in Milan? And I say, like, I don't want to be in those places, because that's what, for me, is sustainability. You know, if we all desert,
00:45:56
Speaker
those places. There's not yes going to be creativity left there. and and And then it's going to be taken over by mass produced huge brands or things like that. So, you know, my my dream is to have as Manalo Blending really, you know, maybe like three to five key locations in the world or maybe less and and to even produce wherever like I would have a store or a physical brick and mortar to produce locally with the people locally and with the craftsmanship that is local.
Future of Sustainable Fashion
00:46:28
Speaker
So every store or every garment depending on the city would look very different. So that would reflect that would reflect the city I would be entering rather than just colonizing the city I'm entering because also there's also that thing of
00:46:44
Speaker
Let's just colonize the world with our with our brand, with our ego. And people might just think you know it's it's it's a bit of ah of a a a harsh definition. But I think we just left that world and we're entering that world where what you just described.
00:47:00
Speaker
producing locally, selling locally, having maybe different ways of doing it, you know, pop up or co-creative spaces, co-working spaces also with peers. is the way forward. And and I think, thank you for pointing out Manel Blending, because this is a brilliant, brilliant example of of how we can move forward in the fashion industry. So maybe to to close the podcast, I'd love to ask you
00:47:30
Speaker
Would your, let's say, seven-year-old self be proud of yourself today?
Resilience and Inspiration from History
00:47:42
Speaker
I'm sure he would, because the I think that also has to do with <unk>ency because when you are from a very young age forced to be on your own, not forced, or decides to be on your own and to chase a dream, then you have this autonomy over your body and mind. And being independent as a designer, or but generally being independent, means that you are taking responsibility.
00:48:23
Speaker
that you're reflecting and that you are really thinking about what you do and how you do it. And it gives you the luxury to stand firm and to be
00:48:39
Speaker
who you are and not to play a role. And I think because I never accepted this concept of playing a role, because I think life is too short. And especially when you experience illness or death in your family, it makes you think about why are we here and how how actually fragile the whole construct is. And I think the 70-year-old would be proud because i whatever I do now or generally, whatever I do, it is always something that I want to do it and the way I want i want to do it. And I have this autonomy over my work and my mind. And your life. Yes. And and i think I think he would.
00:49:36
Speaker
And if I can speak for for him, I think he would be very proud and you can really be proud of yourself. And I said i was goingnna but that was going to be my last question, but I'm going to have a last question again. Just to also be very in the line of what you said, to be you really authentic about what we've just been talking about. Obviously, our journey is imbued with also challenges and and distress and and
00:50:04
Speaker
and corners or redirections. And sometimes we can lose hope and faith. And sometimes we can be on the brink of quitting. How do you deal how do you deal with the likelihood that it might just stop? How do you deal with harsh moments? How do you find your resilience? How do you find hope?
00:50:29
Speaker
well
00:50:33
Speaker
whenever i feel you know there's it Whenever I experience difficult times and you know I have these moments where I'm asking myself, why do I do it? Of course, you know you reconsider. Are you doing everything right? Could you do more? Could you the question that we all have, if we are being honest. We do. I always remember that what my mom and basically told me in the times when we had so less, when I couldn't buy anything
00:51:19
Speaker
which was not essential, whether I couldn't be the kid or a teenager who can have the best, you know, the trendy shoes. I remember my mom always telling me, the stuff, the things don't make you happy. If you're not happy in the core of your being, then nothing will make you happy. And I remember these moments and I'm like, you know, even if I don't succeed, even if I don't sell, even if it's difficult and I don't have much money at the moment. I remember, but I can still be happy. you know I can still be who I am. And and in if you think that way, then you were able also to inspire yourself and to pick up yourself from the floor, dust off and say, okay, you know now it's bad times, but you know I have
00:52:15
Speaker
to move on, we have to go on, we have to try again. And I think this is always this again, you know, not stopping not because I think A lot of people give up and the point is not to give up because of course you can give up any moment or anytime it gets tough. But the thing is not to give up. And I must say, I think three years ago ah ah after pandemic, I was thinking about giving up and then in the middle of pandemic, we went, I'm sorry, maybe it's too long now, but I just want to tell this story for for the end.
00:52:58
Speaker
I flew to Rome with my boyfriend and then it was pandemic. Rome was kind of empty, which was it really funny, scary, interesting experience. But then i as we were walking through Rome, we came to Forum Romano and Colosseum and all these ancient buildings. And I was like, you know, if these people back then gave up,
00:53:27
Speaker
we wouldn't have these monuments now. And they stand for 2000 of years. And I'm like, this is the resilience that I want to have in me, you know, this is something I want to make something that will transcend time. And it was so, you know, metaphorically, of course, but it was also in front of my eyes, this colosseum. And I was like, this is standing here because people didn't give up. And in It's also my message for everybody who's listening. It doesn't matter where you come from, how hard it is, because it will get hard. It's not just glamorous. It's not just fancy. It's not just fun. It's going to get hard. Just don't give up and believe because you can do it and you will do it because, you know, as I said, we have to do it. It's in o ourselves.
00:54:25
Speaker
I'm so touched and moved by what you said, i'm especially today. I want to be absolutely honest with people listening, you know it's it's it's a it's a it's a hard moment for the business at the at the right now. And thank you so much for sharing that story and to do that, to share that metaphor. If people gave up on rebuilding Notre Dame in Paris, it would not be there anymore. So so many so many times it got destroyed, same some around the world, but these people never gave up.
00:55:03
Speaker
for the sake of art and to inspire generations after generations and what you just said if there can be one message out of this episode is whoever you are wherever you are whatever dreams you hold for yourself do not quit do not quit and you phenomenally if and beautifully, whatever, beautifully embody this God and you don't quit. And that's what that's why I really admire you. You don't quit no matter how ah tough the times, no matter how tough life can be in the bumps in the roads. And I think a lot of people will be inspired by you. And I want to maybe end with that quote, which is is very much in line
00:55:57
Speaker
with what you said. It's by Lucille Ball. She says, one of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. Well, basically, it's the possibility of having a dream coming true that makes life interesting. I think, you know,
00:56:26
Speaker
There's nothing else to say, right? right There's nothing else to say but to get back to our creativity and artistry and to inspire and and to keep on what you just said, to keep on to
Conclusion: Call to Action
00:56:40
Speaker
keep on going. And again, I invite everyone listening to go check out the work of you, Goran, of the beautiful creation garments you make, book an appointment, have a custom-made garment made by Goran, go visit Vienna. and You will find everything about this very special soul. only met once
00:57:07
Speaker
Yes, but it was intense. But it was intense. Yeah, there was the New York Fashion Week and I'm very grateful for your time and grateful that you
00:57:22
Speaker
for you to be the first guest and because I really i really feel feel connected to you and to your story and to have that metaphor, you know, woven through each other's threads. I'm so grateful. And maybe to close, do you do you want to say something else? Do you have a message to deliver? Do you have, I want to give you free, yeah.
00:57:47
Speaker
say whatever you want. If you want to ask a question for the next guest or whatever it might be, just free reign. Just say what you want. First of all, I want to thank you for this opportunity. It was really a pleasure talking to you like it always is because we talked pretty often.
00:58:11
Speaker
And I'm glad that I can open this, your podcast and these conversations. And I hope that you will have interesting guests. i I will be listening and I will be listening to, to get inspired, of course. And I don't know, my message is all about love. Whatever you do, wherever you are,
00:58:38
Speaker
whoever you are, if it comes from place of love, then do it and do it with all of your heart because I think that's always paying off in some karmic way. It does. And I strongly believe in that. And yeah, I think that would be That would be it. Well, I think it's a beautiful closing. It's a beautiful closing to do it from love, not for love. I think we can come with that. And thank you so much, Goran. Thank you for being the first guest of Collective Connection, the meeting of minds, where we try and do our best, you know, to
00:59:27
Speaker
for fashion and for designers to meet and and and and to talk about art at large and our society across multidisciplinary industries and to have the synergy fusing all the creative aspect, the collective connection to create collectively and to co-create creating a world where there is no competition but collaboration and doing it from love not for the love and to inspire others to never give up. Thank you so much Goran and I wish you the very best and I can't wait to see you in Vienna whenever I have the chance to come. I would love to see you in Vienna. Bye bye. Bye bye. Thank you Goran. Thank you.
01:00:25
Speaker
This was collective connection, podcast interviews, the meeting of minds. Thank you for listening. If you liked it, if you want to find out more about our guest, Corinne, all the links will be in the