During the two-day workshop “ILICA INVESTIGATIONS”, we explored and examined where fashion takes place on one of Zagreb’s longest streets and in its immediately surrounding area.
The spaces we were interested in include those that connect to (1) second hand fashion, (2) local couture and bridalwear, (3) sewing supplies, fabrics, tailoring and repairs, (4) international premium brands as well as (5) fast fashion & sportswear.
In a change of perspective, we transformed from users and consumers to co-creators and commentators of our surroundings. We critically engaged with spatial staging, visual language and social structures of commercial fashion spaces, including the people who work here, who visit them and those who are passing by. How does the experience of a shopping street compare to a visit to the mall? Can we find historical traces and memories from times long gone? How do advertising images, window displays, background music, lighting and language relate to their immediate surroundings and the world at large? Which cultural mechanisms, norms and dreams are being played out?
During communal focus walks we conducted artistic field research, where we explored, documented and conducted interviews. As mobile research teams, we recorded our findings through drawing, photography, text and audio recordings. Back at our base, we shared, discussed and remixed them through a spectrum of approaches. They will be further developed into collective and individual artistic translations for a common publication, with space for investigative, poetic, humorous and intuitive contributions that extend the field of fashion.
With Ivana Korpar from Goethe-Institut Kroatien and Lea Vene from CIMO [Center for Research of Fashion and Clothing, Zagreb].
Photography by workshop participants and Luka Pešun for Goethe-Institut.
Supported by the Goethe-Institut Kroatien, part of the project and event series 'Threading Tomorrow', in partnership with Zelena Akcija [Friends of the Earth Croatia].
