“It’s so important when you are young to fill yourself with culture, art, music, movies, fashion, travels. It’s fuel for life” – Milan Vukmirovic
Fashion is a very curious business when it comes to celebrity. On the one hand it is a very public business/profession to be part of because everyone in it is constantly trying to cater to the people and guess what they want. Then, there are people and companies in this industry powerful enough to influence what people will want and how they will act. But, then there is the other side of the coin, where, there are many who choose a completely secluded lifestyle and prefer not to be bothered for anything except work. Martin Margiela is a wonderful example. Taking into consideration the level of influence he had on the fashion world and consequently on society in general, he never showed his face. And then he left the industry, just as swiftly as he entered it. Pretty much no one has seen the guy. Nevertheless, MM managed to create a significant following and high level of admiration all the while working incognito. Very much like Banksy, except Banksy, I believe did show himself to an extent in Exit Through the Gift Shop, if that was in fact him.
Then there is another facet of the fashion world that is also very interesting. It’s the idea of a brand versus the designer. While even those that do not take fashion seriously, know, or at least have heard of houses like Chanel, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana, the actual creative directors appointed to carry these brands and attract customers with their work are often left unknown. There are designers whose names are arguably just as well known as the brand, and it especially helps when the name of the brand matches that of the designer. But, there have been people that managed to create a name for themselves, no less influential, within an established brand. Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs are great examples.
Today, I wanted to talk about one of my most favorite people in the world, and the man whose achievements I hugely admire. His name is Milan Vukmirovic, and he plays a very significant role in the fashion world. Unfortunately (and surprisingly to me), every time I mention his name – and I mention it often – very, very few people have even the slightest idea of who he is. I went to a Trussardi 1911 store in Barcelona in order to find out the problem behind this. You see, I have a very silly habit; I’ll go into fashion stores, walk up to a store clerk and start inquiring them about the brand they work for. They are simple questions such as what the name of the fashion director is, when and where the brand was founded, etc. It’s just that I feel somewhat reluctant to shop at a store that carries a name like Gucci or YSL when the people working there do not know that Frida Giannini and Stefano Pilati, respectively, are the people who design the clothes they are trying to sell. However, thankfully, that is usually not the case, and the employees are well aware of the important names and facts that have to do with their work place.
So there I was, in Barcelona, inside Trussardi 1911. Being his huge fan, I knew that it’s been quite a few seasons now that Milan Vukmirovic has been the creative director of the brand. The store was empty, and there were two store clerks, a boy and a girl. I walked up to them and asked if they could help me identify the creative director of the brand. Guess what, they had no idea, except that most likely he was Hungarian. Hungarian?! Not only is he not Hungarian, but how was this possible? This is my hero, a person who I thought rightfully deserved to be considered one of the most recognizable and accomplished people in the industry, and even the people who are technically working for him don’t know who he is. You can’t even find a page on him in Wikipedia…oh em gee, what is the world heading towards?
Therefore, I decided to dedicate a post to him. Not primarily because I feel the need to let the world know about him (I’m sure he is doing just fine without my public relations talents). Apart from that, bare no doubt, I am not delusional, and am well aware that this is not perezhilton.com, and we do not get a gazillion visitors a day. I just really feel like he is someone worth posting about, and if someone comes across reading this, they will be interested to know who he is and the things he has achieved. My aspiration is to one day be able to be so multi-faceted as him, and be able to be part of so many amazing things just as he is. Apart from that, he is also gorgeous and has impeccable style, and this post is a great excuse to stare at him while supposedly sorting through pictures on the internet to add to the writing.
The quote at the beginning of the post is a sort of motto of my life. I actually believed in this before I read about him saying that. That’s why we started this blog. But, this description of a certain lifestyle, one that requires constant discovering and curiosity about existence is most fitting for a man like Milan Vukmirovic. He is an extremely talented and open-minded individual and that shows in his work. Whatever project he decides to embark on ends up being tasteful, new, exciting, and what’s most important, successful. I don’t know how he manages this, and I suspect teleportation might be involved, but he is capable of creating the men’s and women’s fashion lines for Trussardi 1911, run a magazine, L’Officiel Hommes, shoot editorials for the magazine and campaigns for Trussardi and other brands, and run a business in the face of a wonderful clothing boutique in Miami called The Webster. Milan is no newbie when it comes to any of his endeavors. In fact, he has been working with various fashion houses for over twenty years, some of which include Gucci group, Jil Sander, and Christian Lacroix. As far as entrepreneurship goes, Milan was one of the cofounders of Parisian fashion mecca, Colette, a concept store renowned all over the world for its awesome collaborations and the most interesting and exclusive products. Photography may be his newest passion, which came to life through his work with the magazine L’Officiel Hommes, but just like in any of his other undertakings, it proved to be a form of expression at which he was very talented. As proof of that, he has just had his first photography exhibition at Art Basel Miami in December.
I don’t know what else is in store for Milan and what ideas he has cooking inside his head, but I look forward to each and every one of them. He is a special man with a huge talent that I hope many more will come to learn about, for their own sake. Because, they just don’t know what they are missing out on.
 |
| Photo by Milan Vukmirovic. Ad Campaign for Tru Trussardi |
 |
| Photo by Milan Vukmirovic. L'Officiel Hommes |
 |
| Photo by Milan Vukmirovic. L'Officiel Hommes |
 |
| Trussardi 1911 Spring Summer 2011 |
 |
| Trussardi 1911 Spring Summer 2011 |
 |
| Trussardi 1911 Spring Summer 2011 |
 |
| Trussardi 1911 Spring Summer 2011 |
Photos of Milan Vukmirovic taken from thesartorialist.blogspot.com and gq.com.
Photos of Trussardi men’s and women’s spring summer 2011 collection taken from style.com and gq.com
Milan Vukmirovic’s photography taken from L’Officiel Hommes and Tru Trussardi ad campaign
No comments:
Post a Comment