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.
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