{"id":2711,"date":"2026-02-26T18:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/?p=2711"},"modified":"2026-03-26T00:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:56:18","slug":"fashion-news-an-avant-garde-fashion-spectacle-ahead-of-its-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/fashion\/fashion-news-an-avant-garde-fashion-spectacle-ahead-of-its-time\/","title":{"rendered":"FASHION NEWS\u00a0 \u2013 An Avant-Garde Fashion Spectacle Ahead of Its Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Bold International Fashion Story That Marked Croatia (1990\u20131997)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During one of the most sensitive periods in Croatian history, amid war and profound social upheaval, one of the country\u2019s most daring cultural projects was born in Opatija \u2013 Fashion News, an international fashion festival that, from 1990 to 1997, connected the Croatian fashion scene with Europe at a time when such a connection seemed almost impossible. It fostered creativity, industry, education and international collaboration \u2013 and for that very reason, it became a legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fashion News project was launched in the late 1980s as a unique fashion festival that profoundly shaped the history of Croatian fashion. Behind it stood the vision, energy and persistence of Katja Restovi\u0107, then owner of the Studio Art Design fashion agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 At that time, fashion in Croatia practically did not exist \u2014 recalls Katja Restovi\u0107, adding that only a handful of fashion designers were active nationwide, while the only larger events were shows such as Zlatna igla. This is precisely why Fashion News was not merely a festival, but a process of creating an entire fashion scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the very beginning, the project was conceived as a platform for the development of young designers and fashion design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 We were literally creating fashion designers. We taught people who wanted to enter this special world how to draw, think in collections and build an authentic authorial expression \u2014 says Restovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival was held twice a year, in line with the global fashion calendar, featuring Spring\u2013Summer and Autumn\u2013Winter shows six months in advance. Each edition included an opening collection produced by the festival itself, while the shows attracted numerous domestic and international guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 During those days, Rijeka, Opatija and the surrounding area lived and breathed fashion. Everyone prepared intensely and wanted to present their very best \u2014 Restovi\u0107 recalls, noting that the atmosphere was comparable to major European fashion centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fashion News Grand Prix<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards held a special place in the history of Fashion News, featuring a clear and professional structure and a highly respected jury. The main award was the Fashion News Golden Line, granted to a single best collection, without second or third place. Other awards included the Crystal Label, organised in cooperation with the Faculty of Textile Technology and granting direct university enrolment, as well as the Studio Design Award for the best avant-garde collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Personally, my favourite award was Fashion News Collection, because it enabled the winner to have an entire collection produced by a textile company and released for sale \u2014 Restovi\u0107 emphasises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fashion News \u2013 Cosmetic News \u2013 Hairline News<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As early as 1990, parallel to the development of Fashion News, plans were made to expand the concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 The idea was to develop Cosmetic News as a cosmetics fair and Hairline News as a hairdressing fair, creating a comprehensive and powerful fashion-related system of events \u2014 explains Restovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although these projects were realised, each was extremely demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Unfortunately, at that time I did not have enough collaborators or financial resources. It was also wartime, with a severe economic crisis. And everyone knows that it takes at least two to three years of continuous work for a project or fair to truly take root \u2014 she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The production of Fashion News<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The production was highly complex. At the Grand Hotel Adriatic, a venue with limited capacity, up to 120 people could be present backstage at the same time. The wardrobe was managed by Robert Kozjak, while the official hairstylist was the Alexandra salon from Rijeka, owned by Aleksandra Oparov, which still operates successfully today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 It was an extremely demanding, expensive and complex production, but also highly innovative. Our ambition was to reach the highest standards, aligned with what Europe \u2014 especially England \u2014 was offering at the time. Our aesthetic priorities were always closer to London fashion than to French or Italian styles \u2014 says Restovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Passion, Dedication and Community<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous professionals contributed to Fashion News. Kozjak led a team of seven or eight makeup artists ( Morana \u017didanik, Ksenija Naki\u0107 Alfirevic and others), while Oparov headed an equally large team of hairstylists ( Zinka Tokali\u0107 and others). Branko \u017dak Valenta led part of the choreography, Sebastian Dori\u010di\u0107 led part of the organization, and in those seven years, a truly large number of people of different profiles were present: Denis Vidovi\u0107, Stjepan Felber, Livio Karavani\u0107, Boris Kosma\u010d, Roberto Palisca, Branko Mezger, Boris Le\u0161i\u0107 & “Conex” Rijeka, “Promoline” Jasmina and Eugen Novak, Galiano Pahor and many others. First of all, the fashion legends of Rijeka were always present: Rafaela, Roman Moris, Tarik, Dada Ku\u010di\u0107 as well as a large number of promising young talents at the time, such as Ella Du\u0161evi\u0107, Maya Mendrilla, Zoran Mrvo\u0161, Sa\u0161a Stubi\u010dar, Karlo Meloni, Nata\u0161a Mihalj\u010di\u0161in, Lidija Fi\u0161trek, CZSM Aquarius, Theo de Canziani, Moira Ku\u010di\u0107, Irena \u0160karica, Radovnikovi\u0107 Mladen, Vukov Anita, Marjan Padavi\u0107, Dario Rossetti and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 It felt as though everyone involved in fashion, makeup, hair and production was breathing the same rhythm. The energy was incredible \u2014 passion, dedication and a strong sense of community \u2014 recalls Restovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even today, many former models and designers remain in touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Fashion News was not just an event. It became a large fashion family, and that is something I am particularly proud of \u2014 she concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fashion News was also strongly positioned internationally, hosting guests and designers from London, Milan and other fashion capitals. Among those involved or present were Alexander McQueen, Anthony Mr. Gammon, Red or Dead and Misa Harada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Looking back, I am especially proud that we brought London\u2019s avant-garde to Croatia before these names became global fashion icons \u2014 emphasises Restovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite wartime conditions and financial difficulties, Fashion News was held at the Grand Hotel Adriatic in Opatija and later in Rijeka, at the Croatian Cultural Centre and the Governor\u2019s Palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Unfortunately, institutions often failed to recognise the magnitude of the project \u2014 says Restovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Profit was never the priority; quality always was \u2014 she concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite numerous offers to sell or continue the project, Restovi\u0107 chose to leave Fashion News as a complete and authentic phenomenon in memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 It is better remembered as a spectacular project than transformed into something it was never meant to be. Perhaps one day it will be revived \u2014 but only under the right conditions \u2014 she concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Bold International Fashion Story That Marked Croatia (1990\u20131997) During one of the most sensitive periods in Croatian history, amid war and profound social upheaval, one of the country\u2019s most daring cultural projects was born in Opatija \u2013 Fashion News, an international fashion festival that, from 1990 to 1997, connected the Croatian fashion scene with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,60],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fashion","8":"category-fashion-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2711"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4476,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2711\/revisions\/4476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katjarestovic.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}