The UKRAŠENA (Decorated) collection by designer Jelena Holec is inspired by the people, customs, religion and life of the Croatian region of Posavina. The starting point for the design of the models is
exploration of rich, hand-pleated clothes in red and white.

The designer, who was born in this area, was very lucky to come across several hundred-year-old hemp and jute fabrics. She decided to include them in the collection, thereby emphasizing the importance of Posavina’s textile heritage. This decision can also be understood as a positive message about sustainable fashion and the importance of recycling old materials. New digital prints created especially for this collection are designed to resemble traditional clothing embroidery in geometric and floral patterns. The silhouettes are reminiscent of female figures of that time. Emphasized hips and shoulders highlight the role and position of women. Their heads were often covered with scarves, which defined their marital status. The collection uses this headpiece as a modern accessory. The deconstruction of traditional draping techniques is strongly represented. The skirts are richly layered, with many intricate constructional historical details.

The entire collection is full of contrasting concepts: digitally printed futuristic fabric stands in contrast to traditional hemp textiles, naturally dyed fabric to modern printing processes, and carefully crafted hand-pleated skirts are a contrast to asymmetrically draped parts of the garments. Light reddish-brown tones of the fabrics flow throughout all the garments. The onion-dyed fabric symbolizes the rituals and customs of this area, as the lives of the locals were conditioned by natural cycles and strongly connected to difficult living conditions.