Sometimes (well, almost every day, to be precise), I catch myself overthinking the purpose of my work. Who am I helping with what I do? Am I leaving anything worthwhile behind? Why am I even doing it? Writing about fashion can feel aimless when you have done it for years. Collections go round and round, repeating themselves throughout history. Designers rotate at an insane pace. And the growth feels almost apocalyptic. It feels like all the clothes might soon pour out of the stores, warehouses, and landfills and swallow the Earth.
That’s not what I fell in love with when I decided I wanted to work with fashion this way or the other at 15 years of age. Alas, I’m repeating myself, which you already know if you’ve read Finding Meaning in Work three months ago. What I wanted to write about is finding that spark again. I saw a glimpse of it a few weeks back when I got an e-mail from i am u are, Ukraninan creators fair held in Los Angeles from the 1st until the 3rd of December. They asked if they could be featured in the newsletter, which initially made me wonder why. I have a relatively small audience. But then I realized we care for the same thing. And that’s highlighting creativity when it’s least expected.
Ukraine is still at war, yet these people aren’t giving up on creativity. On the contrary, they keep spreading the word about its importance worldwide. And, of course, I agreed to include them here. During the next three days, they will showcase the best work of their jewelry, tech, fashion, art, and home designers and hold lectures, movie screenings, and discussions on human rights. If by any chance you’re in LA during the next few days, pay them a visit. Get your tickets here.
The other time the power of creativity without boundaries struck me in the past month was at a graduate fashion show from the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb, Croatia. It was refreshing to enter a fashion event with no celebrity photo wall, assigned seating, or even tickets, for that matter. The collections were stunning because of a simple fact that the global industry can’t identify with - they aren’t meant to be sold. The young designers worked on them slowly over six months or more, and they did most of the things themselves: knitting, puff paste screenprinting, 3-D printing, laser cutting. The list is endless.
What strikes me most is that they did it knowing there was no industry in the Balkans. There’s no luxury market. It’s unlikely they’ll find jobs here. They have to make them themselves. So, what they did was pure work without thinking of purpose besides the fact that it would help them graduate (which would have happened with much more average collections anyway).
I did a series of interviews with some of them for Telegram. They’re not all published yet, but I urge you to read them once they are, and - if you’re a costume designer, pattern maker, brand owner, festival founder, or any business owner who might benefit from their skills - call them, give them a chance, they will surprise you.
It’s been so long since the last proper newsletter that I forgot how I’m supposed to write it, but here’s the gist of what I want to say today - the purpose of work is the process. It’s what you discover throughout, how much you grow, and what you learn to leave behind. I haven’t learned this yet, but I try to remind myself of it whenever I can. Especially the ‘learn to leave behind’ part. It’s trickier than it seems.
The cover photo is from Alison Ivašić’s graduate collection Kovari. The tag says ‘Good luck’ in Croatian. Shot by Zvonimir Ferina.
In this part of the newsletter, I’ll call someone out for being the best or worst in sustainability. Also, just for fun, I’ll give you snippets of what I’m reading, wearing, watching, listening to, and so on. I retain the right to change this part of the newsletter with every new entry, but feel free to write to me if you like something in particular.
Green (de)merit
I’m giving green merit to Tena Lavrenčić and her project Thinking Threads, through which she educates people on sustainable fashion. She’s organizing her first slow fashion event in Zagreb on Saturday. Make sure to visit; it’s free. Also, a green merit goes to everyone who bought nothing on Black Friday.
What I’m reading
I loved Hotel Horizont by my dear friend Valerija Cerovec. It’s her first book; give her some love. I try to squeeze in a few classics that I still haven’t read now and then, and last month, it was The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But an audiobook was the best book I have devoured since the previous newsletter. I listened to Tom Lake, written by Ann Patchett and read by Meryl Streep, which must be consumed in audio form. It’s the most beautiful thing.
What I’m writing
Way too many things at once, ATM.
What I’m wearing
Honestly, jeans and jumpers, but I have the urge to dress up. I will write about that one soon.
Inspiration of the week
It is everything I wrote about above.
Confession of the week
I bought Hogwarts Legacy on Black Friday.
I reading a biography about Paula Modersohn Becker with letters and writing letters (with hand!!)again
Thank you for the green merit 🥰🕊 I was just wondering today, if it wasn't just stupid and too strict from my side. So it's pretty much welcome from my side! My daughter bought books on black Friday, and I could have saved so much money on buying her Christmas gifts, so I was just overthinking. I decided to ignore black fridays some years ago and so I do it, even it it means to buy less gifts & things 😌✌🌹 it's for our all future. I really believe it a deep change and that sometimes taking first steps towards another concept of work or lifestyle means a lot. Like these Croatian designers who also pay attention to the work process! This is exactly what I hear from my (other) daughter about her industrial design studies, but from the polarity side. That many people who are coming from a wealthy perspective tend to run for ideas and lose the grip to the working process ❤