Atamansha. Photo by Jovan Jovanovich.
As a Fashion Week destination, Belgrade embodies a perplexing mix of old-school values in a city hungry for new thinking. It’s not London, New York, Milan or Paris, but nor does it want to be — the fashion graduates, tailors, models, even the established designers all know that. The truth is they’re proud of Belgrade Fashion Week, which ends this Friday, as it is, maintaining a loyalty to their Serbian roots. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Belgrade Fashion Week is more about Serbia than it is about fashion, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. They’re still plenty of emerging talents to discover — the capital is filled with new creatives, afterall. Here’s just a small sampling of what Belgrade Fashion Week has to offer: five names you should remember because it might be Belgrade now, but don’t be surprised if you see their names cropping up on fashion week schedules in London, New York, Milan, Paris in the very near future.
Atamansha
Stepping out to Alice In Chains’ Blood Tears Little Girl, Atamansha’s “warriors” — as the emerging designer termed her models — ranged in ages and looks as well as feminine and masculine energies. Atamansha’s progressive showcase strived to show the multiplicity of womanhood. Serbian fashion icon Maja Atanasijević Zipa Yoma dashed down the runway in open uniform-blue shirt, audaciously freeing the nipple, alongside her another model in a black catsuit complete with a sheer flowing cape. Meanwhile, there were tracksuit bottoms with cut-out pockets, belted coat dresses, ‘00s Astro Boy inspired sunglasses combined with traditional materials and embroidery. Separately these looks might seem disjointed, but somehow amid Atamansha’s narrative of showcasing the variety of women they just worked.
When asked about the collection’s energy, Atamansha attributed this to her Ukranian heritage, and a desire to be positive in the face adversity. As the designer explained, “The situation is very hard. Progress is tough in order to see a better future. Depression is in the air but people need to be motivated by the clothes they wear. And being free is the ultimate act of love”. Atamansha’s feminism was open and inclusive, embodying the sort of bright new spirit that Belgrade needs.
Nemanja Devetak
Graduate designer Nemanja Devetak’s collection Harmony of Contrast harked back to the late ‘90s and the kind of high fashion that wasn’t scared to be intimidating and ultra-feminine, but with a dash of luxurious athleisure for good measure. Think tracksuit dresses, mesh, rigid corsets, and gloves with everything. With his mother being a well-known handball player and Serena Williams as an inspiration, Devetak’s collection hinged on merging sportswear elements with feminine glamour. Overall, the collection was thoughtful and simple, designed to appeal to one and all across the gender spectrum.
Mina Mad Studio
Mina Maksimović takes the notion of breaking away from gender binaries even further by presenting a show that was billed as menswear and non-binary. Maksimović ’s collection rippled with fluidity: pale shirts punctuated with abstract shapes, dramatic elbow length gloves and ‘70s-style flares sashayed down the runway. The designer played with proportions to capture — as she explained — the transformations in teenagehood: “The good, the bad, the ugly and beauty of fitting into places and not fitting in anywhere”.
Though Maksimović train of thought didn’t initiate with a genderlessness, when she started to illustrate the collection, she realised how differently men and women get dressed. As she says, “I want options for both or neither. Both have benefits”. Maksimović is aware, however, that her liberal stance on gender and design isn’t so digestible within some aspects of Eastern European culture, and understands that she may need to reach a more global base. For the time being, she’s starting in Serbia because “it’s where it is needed”.
Lily Tailor
The majority of Serbian designers are ready-to-wear, but when I say ready to wear, I mean to go. ‘See now, buy now’ may have been a phrase coined for shopping via Instagram, but at Belgrade Fashion Week, the ability to buy off the runway has always existed. It’s no wonder Lily Tailor’s neon yellow coat was nabbed, pronto.
As a designer trying to push the Serbian woman forward through spills and splashes of colour inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s expressive paintings, Tailor cares about being “wearable but not commercial”. Her choice of employing oversized layering and roomy shapes that engulf the female form offers another way to showcase femininity. What’s more, multi-functionalism is paramount for Tailor: her popular hairpins were worn as ornamental brooches as well as garment clasps.
Jovana Markovic
Jovana Markovic’s womenswear collection was among one of the most memorable at Belgrade Fashion Week on account of its fresh minimalistic approach. Many of the items — in contemporary shades of dull white, ludicrous lime green and denim blue — were dramatically cut and sliced with slits. A collection made entirely of natural fabrics, hence the transparency in most of her pieces, Markovic’s woman, whoever that may be, felt new. She was strong yet soft, revealing skin through cool, elegant material, feminine but with a hint of masculinity too.