A conversation… Josip Grabovac

Josip Grabovac is an ambitious man. A familiar face, a dandy, a journalist, a young father, a mixologist. A post-war generation boy, Josip was born and raised in Croatia. At six years old, he began to live the tragedy and suffering that war brings to innocent people.  The fear, the daily worry in his mother’s face, the stories of the people who defended his country.

Getting back was difficult, going on after all that happened helped him visualize and perceive new goals. “I got married young, I was very much in love”. The reason for living was his daughter.Today his country has been rebuilt with work and dedication. Because of this experience, he learnt that no force can stop you if you don’t want to.

 “Success doesn’t come by itself, you need courage and determination” He started working as a bartender in the Croatian Islands, mainly during the peak season where people from all over the world will jet-set there to relax. “When I was a bartender, I met a lot of people, I watched my customers, their way of life, how the dressed. I wanted that”. The dream had begun. So, at the end of the tourist season he decided to go to Italy. “I told myself that if I was a bartender in Croatia, I could become a bartender in Italy”. This way he could approach a world that he wanted to conquer. “So, I left for Italy”.

Josip began to be interested in fashion. He started to write through Facebook and saw that people were interested in his stories. He built confidence and pushed himself to keep on going. “My family supported me, a lot” He faced this adventure for his daughter, to give her something special, “A very motivating goal for me”.

The meeting with a communication agency was crucial, and he started collaborating as a social media blogger, and slowly, he began to attract the curiosity of the media who started to publish his stories and fashion columns. Then he started to win awards, like the “My Fashion Global Award”, a recognition from Croatia. “My country honored me as a voice of national fashion, I am very proud of this”. Talking about fashion, especially for a man, in Croatia was a taboo. But the strength to move forward helped to open up a dialogue and break barriers.

Where does his style come from? “From the women of my family. I learned the taste, the elegance, the tradition and taking care of oneself. A dress is not just something to cover yourself. The dress expresses who you are, your choices, your world”.

His opinion on fashion is very critical. Franca Sozzani taught him discipline and curiosity and through conversations with Suzy Menkes he learnt the critical and ironic gaze and the attention to the new. “Style must show that you have good taste, an elegant soul, not to show off” He adores Neapolitan tailoring, but also urban style, conceptual clothes. “The must this year is color. I love it!”.

Today, the fashion industry has a very interesting mix of new and established brands. Talent emerges from fashion capital cities at the same rate as it does from small cities and keeping an eye open has helped him establish his style and voice. “This season I saw great talents like Ziad Nakad at Paris, Teodora Pasalic in Beograd and Tomislav Bahoric in Croatia. Obviously, Italy is a teacher of style and design. Today Italian creatives direct the major fashion houses. Think of Riccardo Tisci, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Alessandro Michele, Giambattista Valli”.

In his opinion, today biggest crisis in fashion is perhaps communication. The social era has changed everything: a model and a picture are no longer enough. Today you have to have a two-way conversation with the audience. “Fashion should be closer to people. You need to satisfy all their curiosity, make them feel a part of a brand”.

So, what’s next for Josip? Nowadays he is collaborating with some TV stations as a freelance journalist and a fashion reporter. He is attending the fashion shows in Milan and will be part of the jury for the upcoming edition of the My Fashion Global Award. “In my every day work I have to continuously create something, but I’m very focused. Day by day I’m building my projects with tenacity. There is no point of arrival, only steps to climb every time. If you have a dream, the only way to make it happen is to do it”.