V erica Rakočević (70) has signed her name to the fashion brand of the same name for 35 years. From a self-taught creator with knitting needles and tailor’s accessories, via craft lessons learnt in workshops or from more expe- rienced designers along the way, she has built up a prominent name around the world for herself as a cre- ator. It wasn’t easy for her and required lots of work, perseverance, courage, ideas and self-con dence... How would you name your fashion lines, from the beginning of your work until today? - Uncertainty. Persistence. Principles. Power.
Did your success require brains and courage or luck and good timing? - A little of everything.
Good timing was crucial for me starting to work in fash- ion. Back in 1983, working in fashion design was a privi- lege of designers employed at state-owned rms. The emergence of private entre- preneurship in fashion was then a novelty that was a hit on a market that was keen for something that wasn’t indus- trial. If I add to this my courage and perseverance, the brains to acknowledge to myself what I don’t know and to learn that, with a little luck, success couldn’t be lacking. Considering your great expe- rience, how would you de ne fashion today? - After energy and pharma- ceuticals, the fashion industry is among the most pro table areas. Pro t is to the fore, and that reduc- es the possibility of the unfettered playfulness carried by art. The new era, with its accelerated ow of in- formation and way of life, also dic- tates trends that change very rapid- ly and stimulate consumer euphoria in the service of pro t. When was the toughest period for you professionally? - After returning from Italy, I want- ed to strengthen my brand by entering
odsustvo svake struč- ne i ozbiljne kritike. Čast izuzecima, grupi talentovanih dizajnera koja nema mogućnost medijske afirma- cije neophodne u ovom poslu. U svetskoj mi smeta svaka vrsta egzi- bicionizma koji je sam sebi svrha. Sa kojim inostranim kreato- rom biste rado sarađivali? – Sa Vivijen Vestvud uvek. Uspešno trajete u poslu. Kako ste se prilagodili 21. veku? Danas se kao kreator potpi- suje gotovo svako ko sašije haljinu, a to devalvira postulate ozbiljnog rada u modnom svetu. Žao mi je kad vidim da ima ljudi koji svoj obraz lako proda- ju za lake i kratkotrajne poene. Tako nije samo kod nas nego širom sveta, ali razlika je u tome što profesional- ci u svetu obezbede sebi sve što im uz ugled pripada. Oduvek sam pra- vila plan B i bila spremna da riziku- jem zbog poslovnih izazova. Prodala sam i veliki stan u centru Beograda da bih platila troškove jedne svoje mod- ne revije i to računam kao veliku hra-
I believe in my own energy and state of mind; I have many ideas and unrealised collections. I believe that the Cosmos will give me an opportunity to realise them
into serial production and so I took over part of the production of Jugoexport. Inexperienced and unwill- ing to accept the system of work under political par- ty aliation, I fell into nancial problems and bare- ly managed to maintain my brand and name on the fashion scene. What do you consider your greatest profes- sional success to date? - Appearing at ve“Haute Couture FashionWeek” events in Rome. How would you de ne glamour? - As a way of life. The most glamorous is to live in
102 |
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator