Why Sarajevo is the place to visit for cutting-edge design

The labyrinthine streets of Old Town Sarajevo have for centuries been a focal point for shopping. Today you can see carpet-weavers and coppersmiths practising their trade, and artisans selling coffee pots, woodwork… and geometric jewellery and boldly cut hoodies.

“I didn’t like what I saw being sold on the streets of Sarajevo, especially in the Old Town,” says Zana Karkin, founder of Bazerdžan Concept Store (bazerdzan.ba). “I felt that I had an obligation to present the beauty of our tradition from a new angle.

“I thought that a lot of traditional products are no longer in use, so if we use the old skills to produce something fresh, maybe we could gain interest.”

Karkin is part of a new generation of entrepreneurs and designers seeking to create a fresh take on the usual tourist offerings, creating a fusion between traditional Bosnian artisan techniques and a contemporary aesthetic.

The new Bosnia

Bazerdžan sits behind the Latin Bridge – where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914, triggering World War One – among shisha bars and burek (pastry) sellers. Since its 2016 opening it has become a focal point for fashion-conscious Sarajevans.

The shop sells only products from the country’s independent designers. Sarajevo duo Werkstatt (instagram.com/werkstatt_studio) produce striking jewellery engraved with lyrics from Bosnian “Sevdalinka” love songs, while NNENN, another jewellery line, uses motifs from medieval tombstones.

Karkin is committed to sustaining traditional crafts, collaborating with makers of traditional rugs and sheets and with women from one Bosnian village to produce traditionally embroidered dresses and trousers.

Bazerdžan also stocks up-and-coming clothes designers such as Molimao, which takes inspiration from Sarajevo’s buildings and bridges, and Irma Kohel (instagram.com/irmakohel), who produces a line of streetwear sold without size or gender labels. Bosnian-born but Belgrade-trained, Kohel channels the minimalist forms she was drawn to in her previous life as a graphic designer into boldly printed urban clothing.

Then there’s the Angelina link. A few streets away is the studio of the Sofić brothers, Senad and Sead (sofic.ba). Goldsmiths who base their pieces on designs from Bosnia’s Historical Museum (some of which date from the 4th century BC), they design the awards for Sarajevo’s August film festival. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are fans, and in 2012, La Jolie famously wore a pair of gold earrings and oversized gold ring based on 14th-century designs.

Past scars shaping the future

In the years between the 1984 Winter Olympics and the beginning of the Siege in 1992, Sarajevo morphed from a proud, prosperous host city to one of the most hellish places on earth. And while the war finished more than 20 years ago, the reluctance of multinationals to invest in the city has created a burgeoning underground scene of shops, bars and clubs. Bar Zara and Benetton, the high street is as devoid of chains as it is of stag parties and Starbucks. And that’s giving designers the chance to return to their native city.

Aida Korman left London — where she worked with Alexander McQueen — in 2014, mainly because she wanted to introduce a new aesthetic to her hometown. At her shop in the heart of the city, Aida Korman’s Ideas Store (aidakorman.com), she creates handmade pieces of womenswear and menswear, jewellery and homeware. Her mission, she says, is to combine cutting-edge fashion with the richness of Bosnian tradition. “I felt a need to introduce a new way of dressing and thinking to Sarajevo,” she says. “I wanted to appeal to an urban audience which was not ashamed of tradition.”

Bosnian weirdness

“If someone wants something unusual, they call me,” says Omar Krasnić in his studio in the hills above the city (omarkrasnic.blogger.ba). Sitting in front of his work in progress — a Game of Thrones-style metal dress — he explains how he learned his craft in the Old Town but got bored of making coffee pots to old designs, and became an independent metalworker — and cult figure for tourists. “I make modern things the traditional way and traditional things the modern way,” he says.

He now collaborates with leading fashion designers to create metal dresses, jewellery and even underwear, while his latest line is Viking-inspired jewellery for women. The pieces are beautiful — and very sharp. “I realised how many women carried their keys between their fingers. I wanted to make rings and bracelets which were also a form of self-defence,” he says.

Sarajevo has always been said to be a city which straddles East and West. And now, as a new generation draws on the country’s history, it is offering visitors a uniquely Bosnian take on contemporary design.

Details: Sarajevo

Austrian Airlines (austrian.com) flies from Heathrow to Sarajevo via Vienna from £185 return. The Hotel Europe (00387 33 580 570, hoteleurope.ba) offers doubles from €133.50, B&B