to zagreb 08 - Zagreb tourist info

MyZagrebMauro Massarotto owns Zagreb’s best boutique, Sheriff and Cherry (Medvedgradska 3).He’s also an illustrator, fashion designer and stylist.What’s the fashion scene likein Zagreb?There is no obvious scene. Like all ex-Socialist countries in transition there’sa desire to look Western. It’ll take afew years before people assert theirindividuality. We’ll be in the EU andmany foreigners will live here; peoplewill be more easy-going. We had anauthentic retro-trashy style inYugoslavia but that’s gone and mostpeople who know how to create thisstyle have left. Right now it’s the startbut there are business opportunities,here I can buy my shops, in Londonit’s hard to pay the rent.People here care about theirlooks. Ladies with full make-upjust to pop to the local shop ona Sunday morning.Oh, people care a lot, it’s moreimportant than religion; we evenhave this terrible fashion guru onTV… Many women go to thehairdresser twice a week but theydon’t know much about fashion.We don’t have the magazines, justthings like Cosmo. I get sent lots ofthings by young designers and mostare awful. We have ‘Fashion Weeks’but people don’t understand thebusiness; and styling is poor.But many people look, and like tolook, wealthy.Yes. Brands are perceived as veryimportant – the car, the watch, theshoes, the branded sunglasses, theright cigarettes… I’ve travelled alot and I’ve never seen as manysunglasses shops as in Split[Croatia’s second biggest city onthe Dalmatian coast].Your shops are playful and fun.How’s business and who are yourcustomers?Business is good but we have to workhard; we are playful; it’s a lifestyle –we think a lot about the whole lookand feel including the music. I thinkwe attract a certain mindset so we getall sorts of people; punks to posh andwe get to know them, they come andrelax and spend half an hourchatting… Some other places havegreat clothes but the shop design andstaff just seem wrongWhat creative areas is Croatiagood at?Right now animation, graphicdesign, post-production…What should I do in Zagreb?The authentic. Dolac market (see p9),Hrelic flea market (see box p11), ifsunny Jarun lake (see box p23), adrink at Krolo’s (what locals call MKBar – see p21), a night at KSET (seep22). The alternative crowd needs anew home - the people with greatideas don’t have the money to run aplace so people meet at house parties.So, what’s next for you?The relaunch of Startas, ex-Yugoslavia’ssports brand, starting with sneakers.The factory is the same as it alwayswas, the shoes all handmade.We’re now signing off designs andorganising international distributionincluding London, Paris and Milan.Tena √tivi±i© is a Zagrebbornplaywright resident inLondon who has writtenaward-winning plays inEnglish and Croatian. Herlatest work, GoldoniTerminus, was featured atthe 2007 Venice Biennale.Why theatre?My mum took me when I was little. Iwas mesmerised. I studied at theAcademy of Dramatic Art right afterthe war when the country was inpieces, emotionally andeconomically. We felt isolated.Turbulent times reveal much abouthuman nature however unfortunatethey are to live in. My first play wasabout relationships and an inabilityto communicate. Later I becamefascinated by ‘transition’, theconcept and contradictions. ForZaposlena magazine I write aboutthe bizarre double identity of beingan Eastern European in London andLondoner in Zagreb.How was London at first?The London I imagined was from‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ and Ilanded in ‘Only Fools and Horses’ –Goldsmiths’ College in New Cross. Itwas strangely liberating but difficultin many ways. It taught me aboutculture, race and identity. After twoweeks I got mugged but even thatwas a valuable experience. Having tofind your way through a new cultureis like learning to walk. I becamesensitive to the immigrant experienceand its misrepresentation in theWestern media. The multiculturalmodel doesn’t try to integrateindividuals but communities.And how is Zagreb now?In the immediate post-war period,society wants to get back tonormal so it chooses denial ratherthan dealing with everything atonce. Slowly Zagreb is becomingmore open and tuned into Europewhile retaining some of its oldcharacter. You can walk from oneplace to the next. The lifestyle ismore laid back, less work-orientedand more spontaneous. There isstill a sense of community that isboth claustrophobic andreassuring. I have coffee in Booksa(see p20) and around Bogovi©eva.The anonymity of London canmake Bogovi©eva feel quite intense– everyone you know is likely topass by. I have drinks in the BPClub (see p23) and I’ve been goingto Noce (see p19), a lovely littlerestaurant at Kamenita Vrata.Eating out here requirescommitment. People still enjoytime with friends and family. InLondon, it’s not a priority.And the future?The company Unique and I areadapting my play Fragile!, staged atthe Arcola Theatre, to be broadcaston BBC Radio 4 on 9 May. I amdeveloping an idea for a TV seriesand I should have a new play out inLondon in September. In Croatia Ihave a book of plays out this Spring.London was designed for those withendless drive. When I grow old Iwould divide my time betweenLondon, perhaps Blackheath, andhave a little Vespa to drive aroundIstria if my bones still serve me well.12 TIME OUT ZagrebTIME OUT Zagreb 13