Elevate April 2022 | Air Serbia

an email to the company seven days previously which we hadn’t seen, in which it was stated that the next day they would be preparing for some Madonna shoot in Lon- don... Panic, stress, checking, hysteria, craziness, chaos of global proportions... There was no chance that I could send anything by the next day, there was no time to make something to fit her measurements. Everything is hand- made, and the garments take anywhere from a few days to several months to make. I turned the world upside down. Luckily, I have a team. It's night time, the shift is working until morning, I borrow money for the trip. The hotel in central London is too expensive, I borrow and head out, feeling ill. I take the things to Madonna;

these kinds of women, I also find inspiration in various cultures, materials, but also trends. I find it very chal- lenging to create a trendy piece in the Demode style.” Who are your world fashion scene “idols” and why? “Idols on the world fashion scene change from sea- son to season. One year it’s Balmain, one season it’s Mc- Queen, but I always love to see Dolce & Gabbana. Actu- ally, those three brands have had the greatest influence on my work. I love what people call kitsch, and I call it luxury and wealth. I like to connect everything, and use that to make a piece that even Madonna wants to wear. It’s easy to sew a little black dress, with a straight cut

they call to tell me that everything is too big for her, telling me to come to collect the things, nothing from Madonna. Fortunately, I’d brought everything that I had in stock, even things that they didn't request. I get a call after seven days: ‘Madonna saw some dress in the box you brought us... Send it urgently!’ That's how it started...” How are world stars when it comes to cooperation? “Cooperation with world stars is done via their stylists, in con- trast to cooperation with local and regional stars. Stylists differ, some are wonderful, some are divas. There are most commonly two forms of cooperation: one is to select some- thing from your existing designs and then adapt it to their measurements, which often differ from those that we imagine. The second form is for them to send us a theme and for us to respond with sketches for them to approve. That’s how we, a few years ago, found ourselves among ten of 150 world designers who received an opportunity to create a costume for Beyonce.”

and simple lines. Combining silver, gold, copper and jeans... That chal- lenges me.” What fashion advice would you offer our ladies? “Fashion should be fun for you, for you to thus express yourself, for you to be creative, to combine the incompatible... To spend 15 euros to look like you spent 1,500. For those who see you in that styling to think about you, for you to intrigue them, for you to tell them a story on the basis of your look, or do that to bluff them. Whatever your inten- tion, apart from ending up naked, it is important that it’s fun, and not burdening. Fashion is fun, it should make you feel happy…” You stated in agreeing to do this interview that appear- ing in our airline’s magazine is a wish you’ve had since child- hood. Why? “I travel often and the first thing I always do is to open the magazine of the airline with which I’m flying, until my favourite part of the flight, which is the food. With Air Serbia, I’ve always read very interesting in- terviews with some literate, honest, intelligent and talented people, and imagined how I would one day open this magazine during a flight to New

Do you have someone in mind when working on your new creations? Is there some world or domes- tic diva you’d like to see in one of your dress- es? “As my designs emerge, I imagine a strong woman, intelligent, certain in her own existence, independent. A woman who knows who she is and what she wants. A woman who defies everyone and who you can't dis- turb. A woman who wants you to look at her because she has something to say and something to show. The pigeonhole to which she belongs is completely irrelevant, while what’s important is that she’s authentic and can carry all these invasive things that we create. Apart from

York, reading my own interview while Lady Gaga wait- ed for me at the airport. And that the flight attendant would recognise me and “use connections” to give me an extra sandwich. I hoped that my interview would al- so be read by someone who hadn't previously had an op- portunity to hear about Demode. That you would read this interview of mine. Yes, you, the person reading this right now, and that you would think: ‘Fashion isn’t such a superficial thing and success is possible! For all! For all who labour and have belief’. Just as I’m now reading an interview about myself in Elevate.”

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