Conquering Europe by knitting needle – Vunena designer clothes find way from Homolje to Austria and Switzerland

(Milica Bainovic) Ancient traditions, mystic beliefs, turbulent history, intact nature – these are the things one associates with Homolje and Zagubica, along with mountains, forests, 19th century freedom fighters, endless herds, colorful folk clothing, perfect spots for mountain climbing and leisure... Nevertheless, year after year, Serbia’s east numbers fewer and fewer citizens. Because – where can one find a job?

Surrounded by mountains, on the way to Crni Vrh, is Krepoljin. What used to be a municipality in mid-1960s now has less than 2,000 residents. The entire area relies on the mine in the nearby Jasenovac. However, there are almost no jobs for women. This is why the news that the women of Krepoljin started their own business several months ago, just like the women from Zlatibor, is so important.

Milica Bainovic, a young clothes designer, decided, after having lived in Salzburg and Milan, to return to Serbia and bring together tradition and fashion. She founded the Vunena knitting association in her home village, bringing together unemployed and retired women. Milica’s imaginative ideas are turned by their skilled hands into unique clothes worn with pride by ladies in Austria and Switzerland. This is a big thing for a small place like Krepoljin.

Milica shared with us some of the photographs of her favorite pieces of clothing produced at the Vunena workshop and she also revealed to us that she hoped to expand her business and that she dreamed of having her own yarn dyeing facility.

(Sweater prices range between EUR 100 and 200) Our interviewee says for eKapija that she came to the idea of returning to Serbia gradually.

– I had the idea of knitting sweaters, in fact, designing models to be knitted and woven exclusively. I started doing this three years ago and I met several weavers through my work. In time, I realized that our work needs to be made official. We decided to continue weaving the clothes I was designing within an official association – Milica Bainovic says for eKapija.

Vunena was founded in April 2016 and it has 14 members for now, mostly women who have lost their jobs, retired women and young, unemployed mothers.

– Each woman is able to organize her work in line with her obligations, as they all mostly work from home and weave when they’ve already finished other jobs. Working in this association is a source of additional income, which is welcome to everyone. I’ve known many of them from before and some I’ve gotten to known along the way. There’s great interest in it and the number of Vunena members is constantly growing – Milica Bainovic says.

Strangely or not, Vunena gets its wool not from the herds of Homolje, but from the European Union.

– I’d like for us to be able to buy everything from local producers, but the materials we work with are not available in Serbia, so we mostly import everything. We get our materials from the European Union through courier services – our interviewee clarifies.

Vunena soon at fairs

Milica favors floral motifs of all shapes and offers several such models. She looks to the nature for inspiration, and, as she reveals, the next collection will be inspired by recreational fishing and – the trout.

The offer, our interviewee says, depends on the season, but there are models which are popular throughout the year.

– One of our classics is a cap model I designed during my studies and it keeps reappearing in various collections. Aside from that, we mostly weave sweaters, cardigans and vests. Everything else depends on the season and the theme of the collection – Milica explains.

(Vunena has 14 members at the moment) The time it takes to weave a piece of clothing depends on how complicated the models are. Vunena’s weavers produce up to 50 pieces a month. The prices of sweaters range between EUR 100 and 200, depending on yarn quality and the time needed to manufacture a sweater. The creations are mostly sold online, but can also be bought at several boutiques. The purchasers mostly come from Austria, Switzerland and Serbia, but also from other European countries, as well as America.

Milica also reveals her ambitious plans aiming to improve the sales even further. She intends to present her unique knitted and woven clothes at fairs as well.

– So far, we’ve mostly been reaching our customers online or through personal acquaintance. We are now taking part in and exhibiting our products at fairs in order to expand our pool of clients. We are also working on our own online shop and website in order to facilitate the sale and expand the circle of foreign clients – our interviewee says.

Vunena is cooperating increasingly more with bloggers from abroad who advertise their products, as foreigners are their main target group.

– Our market is primarily located abroad and we have accordingly planned to expand outside Serbia. I expect the association to grow and acquire more members soon, and we might get an interesting opportunity to cooperate with local suppliers. We are also planning to expand our range of products and the manner of manufacture. Furthermore, I dream about us soon being able to dye the yarn by ourselves – Milica Bainovic adds.

This, as she says, would open even more possibilities for them and give them a chance of making the design unique. The municipality of Zagubica has provided Vunena with an office at the Krepoljin Cultural Center, thereby providing support to the artist who has returned to her home village and revived traditional clothes manufacture.

S.S.