The catwalk to the West

Serbs earn an average income of between 300 and 400 euros per month. The designs presented at the Belgrade Fashion Week are thus beyond the means of most Serbs, Germany's tageszeitung writes: "Belgrade rocks, no doubt about it ... . Even though you don't often meet young Serbs in Paris, Berlin or Kraków. They can't just catch a plane because they need a visa first ... . Things were very different in Tito's times, when the Yugoslavians were the only ones in the Eastern Bloc to have passports. ... There's plenty of young talent here, but basically they don't stand a chance. ... The 'farmers' don't go for that kind of thing. They have no understanding of the latest designs of the young fashion avant-garde. ... Most young Serb girls ... can't afford it anyway. They count themselves lucky that a branch of the Spanish fashion chain Zara has opened. Young, up-to-date, affordable European fashion, designed after quietly taking note of the shows in Paris or Belgrade. It's only once people start copying you that you know you've made it."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Europe, » Serbia