fashion illustration
Following last Dreft Fashion Week Zagreb I had a chance to interview Aba Drvar-Tomičić. Young designer who's super cute faux leather jackets for SS 2013. season totally won me over! Especially styled with maxi cotton dresses which I often wear! Another reason to do this interview was a boutique opening at Nova Ves 84 street in Zagreb which Sonja Lamut whom I interviewed earlier this year and Aba have opened together.
How hard it is to be creative in today’s volatile economic environment?
Where do you make most compromises? Where do you manage to save and what is the
most expensive part of making a collection?
It does get hard sometimes. In order to create a good quality piece one
usually needs to spend a good amount of money. When it comes to building a
brand it gets especially hard to make any progress without significant
financial investment. Lately it seems like all of us young designers are
becoming experts in creating something out of nothing.
I actually make compromises in every
step of the collection making process.
Each time I start quite ambitiously in
hopes that I will be able to manage pull out full collection and execute my essential
idea to its fullest but then slowly but surely reality kicks in and I start to
compromise on each thing a bit without hurting the quality of fabrication and
making as much as possible in order to finalize my collection. Usually the most
expensive things are little details which break the set budget at the end.
Jacket - 1000kn | Dress - 800kn
Jacket - 1000kn | Dress - 800kn
When you look back now what is that one thing you wish someone have told
you when you were a student about being a fashion designer?
I started to study fashion design at
the time when textile industry in Croatia was still going strong and fashion
design still underrated. When I completed my studies, textile production in
Croatia started weakening and design started strengthening a bit, now I feel
like it it overrated in some cases, especially in comparison to the textile
production and quality of making.
I would like there to be some
gold-middle where one can learn about design through practice and how demanding
this job really is. It would be great if there were experienced designers in
Croatia who could mentor me through the whole process of planning, creating and
presentation.
In what way do you see fashion designers and social media are changing
fashion industry?
Social media and fashion bloggers are
making fashion much more dynamic, personal and approachable, everything has
became much faster. Trends are changing faster than ever which puts personal
style in focus and fashion is getting a whole new meaning and dynamic.
How would you comments textile industry and fashion design in Croatia
today? Do you think it is possible to live solely of fashion design?
I think that fashion design in Croatia
has matured a lot in last several years with it, domestic fashion houses
realized importance of hiring good fashion designers as a key to good sales and
production of their production.
Unfortunately, due to current
financial situation I think there will still be some time before Croatian
textile industry recovers fully. In
order for this to happen a strong push is needed which will bring together
expert from various fields: business people, designers, pattern makers,
technological support and PR experts which currently doesn’t seem to be
feasible?
Currently, small manufacturing sites
are surviving and managing well designer part of work but also business and PR.
I still can’t live solely of my job, I
just started and investment needed is massive.
How did the fact that you became a mum changed your creative process and
influenced your work?
Actually, I decided to complete my fashion
education after I gave birth to my third child, so my kids are actually from
the start of my education.
I truly believe that the fact I have
kids has motivated me to continue and finalize my education, and to fight to do
we hat I love and become a complete person.
As with most of the families with little kids, we never have enough time
in one day to do all we want to do.
What is your average customer
like?
I really have various types of
clients, just like I work within a range of styles.
Roughly I would say that my clients
are in their early thirties and many seem to be quite artistic.
The price range of my pieces is quite
reasonable I think, from 250 kn for shirts which I paint manually up to 1500 kn
for the faux fur, double side coat from my last collection.
Recently you have opened a boutique in Zagreb with your colleague
designer Sonja Lamut, what are you plans for the future?
Sonja and I have studied together at
Profokus school of design and we have been friends ever since. We have
completely different creative goals but we appreciate and respect each other’s
work and are always here for each other. This is how we decided to open a
boutique together at Nova Ves 84 street in Zagreb which we are currently redecorating
and looking forward to its opening.
Through some of my work projects I had an opportunity to meet Dominika. What I particularly like about this young lady is that she is extremely hardworking no matter what job it is, she is aware and realistic about situation she is in, she plans ahead and has clear goals of where she would like to be. Although still a bit inexperienced she has a natural drive, talent, look and fighter mentality, she has proven to swim well in local media and fashion environment which will enable her to reach across Croatian boarders as well.
Dominika has applied for local upcoming fashion student competition called Modni Ormar and has participated in recently held Dreft Next Generation young fashion designer contest where she made gorgeous illustrations for her ocean inspired collection however the contest called for Fall-Winter one which prevented her for progressing further in the competition. I hope she will still manage to produce this collection as I would love to see it come to life!
1. When did you realize that you want to become
fashion designer and why?
Since I was
9 I wanted to be a fashion designer. It might see as cliché but once, my mum's
friend was babysitting me and we were watching Fashion TV, I was hypnotized
with what I saw and I loved it all instantly, 2 days later, I was still
fascinated, I simply asked for a pen and a paper and I started to draw, as the
years passed, my fascination with fashion only grew bigger and bigger.
2. On
which fashion design contest did you participate so far?
Recently I
participated in Dreft Next generation contest with collection inspired with sea
creatures shapes and forms, next I will participate in 7th edition of fashion
student contest Modni ormar,
finals are scheduled to be held in November 2012.
3. Who are your role models when it comes to
fashion design?
I have a
number of designer figures I see as role models, I differentiate them according
to generations. First, there is naturally Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, then
their successors Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano, then Eli Saab and finally
never forgotten McQueen.
When it
comes to Croatian designers I love the work of Adela Kliškić and Nikola Barbir
because I find their talent unreachable!
4. What were your inspirations for the
collection you applied with on Dreft Next Generation contest? How would you
describe this collection and are you planning to produce it?
I got
inspired for this collection while listening to Gorillaz album Plastic Beach
and thinking about set contest topic which was – Dreft Black. Simple blackness
is too simple for me. I am always searching for the background story; this is
how I created collection inspired by sea shapes damaged by oil spill. I am planning
to produce it as soon as I will be able to fund the production.
5. You
are currently attending TTF (Croatian fashion design college), do you feel that
this school is preparing you well enough to become independent profitable fashion
designer and why?
TTF
definitely has amazing professors who are experts in their fields and know how
to transfer that knowledge on us – students. Also, I think that our school is amazing
inspiration source and provides additional knowledge for those who are proactive enough
to seek for it. I don't think that anyone in school can prepare you for the
real life and showbiz environment.
6. What is your opinion of Croatian fashion
industry today?
The way I
see it, in comparison to the rest of the world, I see it as a big joke. We are
very small and irrelevant in global context, but everybody seems to consider themselves a big celebrities. It seems like famous designers, models, stylists and starlets
are made over night. I feel like most of the people in the spotlight in fashion
industry in Croatia have no background to support their status, this is why I
would love to move abroad as soon as possible.
7. Other then attending fashion school what
other jobs do you do?
I used to
work in Stilist magazine as a stylist, now I am writing Fashion ID column on
fashion portal – La Couture. I look for people who dress differently and I
interview them about their personal style. Soon I am planning to start working
on cooking & styling project with Mr. Rene Bakalović but this project is
still in development stages. Naturally, I am working on my upcoming collection
for Modni Ormar in November.
8. Do you
think that fashion designer can make a decent living in Croatia?
I would say
no, but since currently we have so many fashion designers, I seem to be wrong.
9. What are your plans after graduation?
After
finishing my undergraduate degree here at TTF in Zagreb, I would like to enroll
in graduate school in Amsterdam, then, if I will be lucky – masters in London.
I am planning to network and build connections in Western Europe and then
decide where to settle. For now, the one thing I know for sure – I don't want
to stay in Croatia.
10. What
kind of women do you see as the buyer of your clothes?
I would
like to enchant women of all ages, those who like to dress feminine, but
feminine with the twist to it, women who are not scared to be different, to walk in high heels all day and are not intimidated of the admiration looks they will
get walking down the street when wearing my pieces.
I want to
design for women who will not settle for classic skirt and dress shirt, those
who dress for themselves exclusively, not for those who use clothes to attract
men.
11. How
do you see the influence of the social networks and bloggers on fashion
industry today?
I am terrified
more than anything to talk about this topic, hehe. I do respect foreign bloggers who
are professionals and make money from their blog, those who really help young
designers with promoting their work. In Croatia, I respect street style blogs
and blogs constructed as fashion news.
I ignore
and dislike bloggers who dress something new every day and publish dozens of photos of having coffee with their friend, I consider those to be a self
promotion sites. In Croatia, most of the blogs are like that.
12. What
are your immediate plans for the future?
Next in
order is upcoming fashion student contest Modni ormar which will take place on
November the 15th, where I was selected as one of the 16 finalists to show
their collections. This is the first opportunity for me to show what I can do;
I am doing my best to create the collection as perfect as possible to most tiny
detail. I hope this collection will be a
success and create more opportunities for me.
With this post I am thrilled
to introduce a lovely young lady, creative fashion illustrator, fresh jewelry
designer and a fashion columnist Mrs. Lora Vran who is also La Passion pour la
Fashion's loyal reader. For some time now I am following this talented young
lady via social media channels and I have decided to interview her and share
her passion for fashion so she can be an example and an inspiration to other
young creative people who are currently enrolled or are planning to enroll to
fashion school.
Here is my interview with Lora
J
Currently you are writing a fashion column on Push It moda magazine fashion
portal, you are a fashion illustrator and jewelry designer,
which school do you go to and where do you see yourself in the future?
I am enrolled to Fashion
institute of Technology in Croatia. I like many segments of fashion industry
but I am hoping to make a living as a fashion designer and fashion illustrator.
How long do you design and make jewelry? Is it for sale?
I have started making jewelry
couple of months ago out of various fabrics and buttons. I am selling it, I
started off with rings but now I have many new ideas I am working on, so soon I
will be focusing on other jewelry pieces.
For how long are you working as a fashion columnist on Push It Moda fashion
portal/magazine?
I am a columnist for Push It
Moda for about a year now, I started last April. I accepted this offer because
I find Push it Moda to be different then other similar fashion
portals/magazines. They are quite casual in style, there is no yellow press and
celebrity front row reports, Push it Moda rather focuses on the designers work
and fashion itself. We support young creative designers and present to our
readers to estimate their talent.
When did you start to draw fashion illustrations? What inspires you? Do you
ever make the clothes from your illustrations?
Prior to fashion college I
went to school of art, graphic and fashion design where I fell in love with
fashion design and decided it to be my calling, on my second year I learned to
draw model figures.
First I obviously learned how
to draw anatomic figures and later with practice I have developed my own style. Many things inspire me, even a
blank piece of paper. I would love to bring some of my illustrations to life
and make some of the pieces I drew.
How do you see Croatian fashion designer scene and developing fashion
industry in Croatia?
I admire and value everyone’s
work and style. I would like to see Croatian designers to take more risk and design
more inspiring collections, but I am sure that is hard to design for Croatian
market, and to be an artist and realistic designer at the same time.
Does fashion designer necessarily needs to be a good illustrator and vice
versa?
International fashion
illustrators mostly draw pieces already created by fashion designers, not many
go into designing themselves. I don't think that fashion illustrator
necessarily needs to have potential to be a successful designer but I think
that fashion designers should have the ability and talent to at least sketch
their idea but this is not always the case. Many fashion designers inspired by
fabrics tailor their clothes directly on mannequin.
How do you see Croatian fashion institute to be? Do you think that it’s
gradate is equipped to open and successfully maintain his/her own fashion
business?
Like every other college, TTF
has many problems, mainly financial problems, so no, we – the students do not
get all that we need. I blame it on ministry, we need much more practice then
we get, more technology and to be more in touch with current trends in the
industry. Coming out of TTF we are all inexperienced and not knowing what we
are getting ourselves into.
What do you think about the influence that fashion bloggers today have on
fashion industry in Croatia and worldwide?
I regularly read only few
international and Croatian fashion blogs, which I find interesting and of a
good quality. To be honest I think media are a bit to saturated with the topic
of fashion bloggers but yes, they do influence fashion on certain way.
Do you think we have too many fashion events in Croatia in comparison to
the size of the population and amount of local fashion talent?
Each of these events have
their own approach to fashion designer selection and fashion overall, but I
think it would be of a better quality if they would all combine into one event
like it is in other countries.
Which fashion illustrator is your role model and who are your favorite
Croatian and international fashion designers?
I admire the work of Danny Roberts, Paper Fashion
and Laura Laine. I can't pick just one
fashion designer who I love and admire but some of my favorite are: John
Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Stella
McCartney, Marc Jacobs, Prada and Proenza Schouler. Croatian designers who are like are Andreja
Bistričić and Aleksandar Žarevac but most Croatian designers work vary from
season to season.
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