Bickert:  Is there something in Belgrade or the larger region that you find inspiring or take ideas and motifs from?
Mihailović:  The biggest inspiration for my work comes from the Balkans – the tension in the passionate love-hate relationships at play always make me want to go (all out) for it. Even sources like my grandmother, whose lovely handwork in lace and other materials, play a part in how I see things, what I want to use, incorporate into the look and feel of my production.

Bickert:  Is there an era, or some personalities, styles, designers, or something else that you have in mind, that move you in the process of determining what you want to create and communicate?
Mihailović:  Mostly my thinking and research revolves around a mix between different things, periods, eras, music, art, it’s kind of both focussed and all over the place. My next collection is a mix of Florentine Renaissance, the music and atmosphere of the 80s, and the artist Gina Pane – and the link between all of them is roses.

Bickert:  Where – shop, city, country, region – are you showing, selling, represented?
Mihailović:  My collections are presented in Milan (at showroom Alserio22) and in Paris (showroom romeo) during fashion weeks. I also have designs with several stockists, the most important of which is Maria-Luisa in Paris, and Jeff Mills in Chicago, as well as several shops in Tokyo, New York, and Brussels.

Bickert:  Where do you see the most interest (conceptually, commercially) in your work coming from? And is Belgrade on your “business” map? Why/why not?
Mihailović:  My business map is pretty scattered, following routes from Antwerp to Paris,  from Florence to Milan, and back to Belgrade. Belgrade is very important on my business map, as I here I have my atelier for my prototypes and (all of my detailed) handwork.

Bickert:  When we went together to get all those shoes at that little boutique, there were three, sometimes four women all pulling out stuff enthusiastically, happy to lend them out and have them used; is this a typical attitude or energy in fashion & design circles in Belgrade?
Mihailović:  I’ve been working for many years with the people in that (great) little Belgrade boutique. I love to work over there with them, they’re so easy going, helpful, enthusiastic and professional. In my experience it’s not a problem to organise and get all the things you need to do something – a show, a shoot, whatever – here in Belgrade. People here want to make things happen.

Bickert:  It’s already (insider) urban legend that performer Rosin Murphy has been wearing – flaunting – your designs. Who else would you like to see wearing or using your clothes; and how?
Mihailović:  Rosin Murphy is the one of the most complete personalities I’ve ever met. I love the way she brings amazing energy to everything she puts on. It was a real pleasure to prepare some pieces from my collection for her. I tend to get lots of requests from Belgrade, even from Serbian folk stars, most of which I refuse because I’m not technically in the music business; and style for them is often about saying that I was working for someone (a name) like Roberto Cavalli. But my design-products are totally different, and aren’t made specifically for these types of women. Some personalities like the painter Maria Melesijević or fashion journalist Irena Misović know how to wear my things and I’m glad, gratified, to see them in them.

Author: Jeff Bickert
Photo: Špela Kasal