Fashion designer Nataša Šarić won the prestigious BIG SEE Fashion Award for 2023
Fashion designer Nataša Šarić, who has been creating in Belgrade for more than three decades and was the only one from Serbia to participate in the “Berlin Fashion Week” event a few years ago, once again delighted the public in Serbia by winning the “BIG SEE Grand Prix”, a prestigious European award in the fashion industry and design for its latest collection of shirts called “NA.ŠA. SHIRT”. This prize is awarded for the territories of 21 European countries and covers about 340 million people who can participate and show their creativity and ideas.
The collection of shirts called “NA.ŠA. SHIRT” is connected with the entire fashion oeuvre of the Serbian fashion designer, showing her love for art and craft research. It represents a combination of imagination and skills that result in a different understanding of a very universal form of clothing. In the process of creation, the limits of the conventional rules that apply to this piece of clothing are tested, where the author plays with it, combines it with other elements, combines classic, natural with hi-tech fabrics, adding a third dimension, which opens up the possibility of transforming the shirt from a classic fashion objects into an art object.
– First, I want to thank BIG SEE for inviting and nominating me to this wonderful and significant festival in the region and thank all my friends and colleagues for their love and support in receiving this prestigious award. The “NA.ŠA. SHIRT” project was created from typical elements that I like to use in my design, which create my authentic expression as an author and gave me the opportunity to transform a classic fashion item into a work of art. It also introduced a new and different quality of shirts that are like small works of art, but completely wearable and functional in everyday life, the fashion designer stated and continued:
– My shirt as a garment is treated as a sculpture, with lots of sculptural shapes and details that are well connected to the shirt as a whole, and the whole itself is well connected to the details. The “NA.ŠA.” shirt line is made in small batches and each one is unique. The materials are chosen very studiously and carefully, and they are mostly natural fabrics combined with some high-tech materials that give my designs another dimension. On this project, I also pushed the boundaries of design rules for such a traditional item as a shirt. Depending on the structure of each shirt, different elements are playfully connected, so that my shirts are more contemporary, unconventional, skilled and confident pieces of clothing. As such, the shirt sublimates my previous fashion oeuvre, artistic pursuits and craft research and represents my entire skill, gift and imagination in that garment. I also want to thank Belgrade Fashion Week (BFW) and director Nenad Radujević for supporting and promoting Serbian designers for 32 years, said Nataša Šarić on receiving the “BIG SEE Grand Prix” award.
The BIG SEE from Ljubljana, Slovenia, brings together 21 countries and 340 million people in what they say they feel, claim and shout is the most compelling, creative region in the world. BIG SEE has a unique view of Europe and the wider world beyond it and is able to step out of the usual Eurocentric view and offer something a little different – different in terms of interpretation and production. BIG SEE brings together fashion experts and audiences from the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Malta, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Turkey.
Photo from Belgrade Design Week 2023
NA.ŠA. shirt from Nataša Šarić
Photography by: Đorđe Tomić
ABOUT FOSTER + SVENSSON
Foster + Svensson is an award-winning European branding, communications, and advertising agency with heritage back in 1860 and founded in 2013 in Serbia, who put forward well-considered design, digital and innovation. Operating worldwide as part of Fosterova grupa, Foster + Svensson is positioned as professional services company, providing broad range of services and solutions in area of marketing. Having bold experience and specialized skills in more than 14 industries, agency provides services to all company sizes. People at Foster + Svensson design brands, use digital technology, data, and strategy to create contemporary visual identities, services, and experiences to help corporate clients improve their performance and manage sustainable business value for stakeholders. Foster + Svensson design and drive innovation to improve the way world works and lives. Agency approach is to be precise, punctual, and reliable to its clients, where it ran more than 2000 projects while working for major companies to be found in Fortune Global 500, such as HVB Group, UniCredit Group, Telenor Group, Ericsson, Apple, A1 Telekom Austria Group, RTS, Samsung, Cheil, Huawei, Hisense. Work culture and ethics includes business excellence and delivery of outperforming results.
Foster + Svensson is one of the founders of MAI Marina Abramović Institute.
