“For me, Fashion News was a truly beautiful professional experience of support and recognition that played an important role in my decision to pursue fashion – and it continues to this day.”
In contemporary Croatian fashion, the name Natasha Mihalčišin holds a distinctive place. Her authorial work, shaped at the intersection of fashion, art, and conceptual research, has for decades continuously built a recognizable visual and intellectual space in which clothing becomes a medium for reflecting on identity, the body, and social context.
Born in 1966 in Prnjavor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mihaljčišin developed her professional path in Zagreb, where she still lives and works today. She began working in fashion design in the early 1990s, during a period of intense change on the Croatian cultural and artistic scene. As early as 1993, she participated in the international fashion competition Fashion News in Opatija, where she received several awards. This recognition, along with the award from the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb—which enabled her to enroll in fashion design studies without an entrance exam—marked the beginning of her professional journey.
At the time, Fashion News was one of the key meeting points for emerging fashion talents and a space where authors with a strong creative voice were recognized.
“I am very proud of the path Natasha has taken. I had the privilege of following her development from the very beginning, and I am especially pleased that part of that journey started at Fashion News,” emphasizes Katja Restović. “It always makes me happy to see talented authors continue to develop their creative expression and build serious careers. Fashion is a field where talent is quickly recognized, and many have already proven this at Fashion News through their awards and work.”
Speaking about the importance of the Fashion News platform for the development of the local fashion scene, Mihaljčišin highlights how crucial that experience was for her professional path.
“Fashion News was an excellent platform where fashion designers had a valuable opportunity to present their work. What was particularly important—and what remains its lasting value—was its clear focus on fashion and the authorship of the participating designers,” said Natasha Mihalčišin for Fashion News.
She adds that it was a period marked by great enthusiasm and creative freedom: “It was a time of playfulness that celebrated exploration, nurtured authenticity and creativity, and consistently placed design above the commercialization of fashion.”
During the 1990s, Mihaljčišin participated in numerous international fashion platforms and exhibitions, including Mitteleuropa in Gorizia, the Biennale of Europe and the Mediterranean in Turin, and the International Fashion Days in Vienna. Her work was also presented at the European design exhibition in Helsinki, positioning her authorial expression within a broader European context.
In 1997, together with designer Martina Vrdoljak Ranilović, she co-founded the studio I-GLE, one of the most significant authorial fashion collectives in Croatia. Within this studio, more than twenty fashion projects, shows, and exhibitions were created, often transcending the boundaries of classical fashion presentation and approaching the realm of conceptual art and performance.
After many years of working within the I-GLE studio, Mihaljčišin has been working independently since 2019. Her artistic focus has increasingly shifted toward conceptual reflections on fashion, where clothing becomes a tool for exploring the relationship between the body, identity, and space.
She completed her master’s thesis titled “Conceptual Fashion as a Mediator Between Identity and the Body” in 2020 at the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb, further confirming the theoretical dimension of her work.
In addition to fashion collections, Mihaljčišin participates in numerous interdisciplinary projects—from theatre costume design to multimedia installations and exhibitions. Her works have been regularly presented at the Croatian Design Exhibition, the Zagreb Salon, and international events such as the Textile Art Biennial.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including those from the Croatian Designers Association and the Elle Style Awards for Best Fashion Designer.
“Seeing how an authorial practice develops over time, and how artists remain consistent in their expression, always brings me great joy,” concludes Restović, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and supporting talent in its early stages, as well as the value of patience and continuity in building an artistic career.
“Natasha possesses all three of these key elements—talent, authenticity, and perseverance—and that is precisely why her work continues to resonate strongly and remain relevant today.”
