Josip Grabovac

1. Personality, fashion, style and integrity are the first terms that can be related to your name, how do you feel about it, and who is really Josip Grabovac?

In the deepest depths of all of us there is a little egoism, which without egoism cannot be good neither to ourselves, nor to others. And if asked who actually Josip Grabovac is, I would say first and foremost the father of a pretty girl and my little princess who came to this world 10 years ago and I think that I might have being a different person if I she didn’t come into my life. Whena precious another being comes into your life, you just have to change yourself, because I have to be a role model and a support to my child. Josip Grabovac is also a very sensitive and kind person, full of spirit and humor, who is able and willing to help anyone without pointing it out. When I started the entire business, I really didn't crave becoming a public figure. And nothing happened overnight. It is the fruit of hard work, respecting the schedule and discipline, but mixed with the feeling that I left my country many years ago and struggled with myself alongside. I had a few acquaintances and friends who were directing me, but they had their own families in Italy and could not commit to me 24/7 to help me. I have been building my career very carefully, not through bed stories or scandals. I reach the media with the honesty of story that I give toi them. My story. Whatever I say I was good at, that was just at the very beginning. A lot of things, of course, I did for free and voluntarily, until at one point I realized that people started abusing and exploiting me, which honestly came as a shock to me since I didn't use a single person for gaining any benefits in my entire life. Of course, life, problems, and experience have taught me so much, but it's my life, my real life, where my apartment, bills, and everything my child and family need should be paid.

2. You build your career carefuly and that has become synonymous for success not only in the Balkans and in Italy, but also planetaryly. What many do not know is that beneath a perfect image and unique appearance lies a man of great heart and spirit. How much did it help you, and how much did you get tired of being in a spotlight considers the world of fashion to be ruthless and relentless?

Unlike honesty, words are little less appreciated, even if they are honest and jargon. It didn't take me long, it just made me stronger, because even though my family and me are not together right now, it doesn't mean we won't be. I have not lost love, I have not lost faith in myself. It has always been said that the world of fashion gives a distorted picture of things that are actually being marketed by those who want to make it out to the public coming out of some dark place. Immoral offers are something that is talked about, and it may be happening, but in six years I personally have not had one, although in Italy there is a liberal market where more than sixty percent is made up of the gay population where I am exposed to it on the one hand. But even though there are so many gay people I have not had these experiences, it is simply not my priority because offering co-operation through bed is neither a healthy nor a professional option, and thankfully professionalism comes first. I strongly appreciate professionalism, order, discipline and making an effort, so that is exactly what I want to give to the agency I work with, company or brand.

3. You are originally from the Balkans where individualism, talent and dedication are unfortunately still not appreciated enough. Do you think the current climate allows more space for young people to express themselves and how?

Unfortunately, at the Balkans there is something called "fashion mafia" , and they’re here for a very long time, on the throne, and of course they all stick together, not allowing anyone to enter those circles no matter what. I have been in this world for a very long time and I simply do not give material to the circled and closed media that do not give young people living and creating outside the borders of the Balkans. I was born in Siroki Breg, finished elementary school in Mostar, moved to Zagreb, so the Balkans itself is my Balkans, and it is all the same to me if talking about Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia. We are all the same and we are all one. And why couldn't I and many other young and educated people be able to work in the Balkans? They have no space there. The fashion mafia circuit is closed. They don't allow you to do anything, they just take the money away from you. The projects that are being done are benefitial to very few people, so you can see where they then go on enjoying going trips on their social media accouns. The turnout for fashion events that I do not even want to mention and other closed-type of events with limited number of people invited from that industry, and who have been around for a very long time, and all that is still not giving any space to young and creative upcoming forces. For example, people who are dictating it all are not involved in fashion events for over twenty years, but they still have primacy, and the acces only through the media. And they live it as part of real, real life but have no opportunity to contribute to fashion events in their own native country. I do not fight it, nor do I intend to fight it. I have my way, the social networks and channels through which I collaborate. I would like to reiterate that it is very different outside the borders of the Balkans, and all those who claim different can say the same just because all their knowledge related to being really inforemd is based on what they hear and see in foreign magazines. But let’s go back to the young, creative forces. I am very sorry that many creative people do not have the financial capacity to go and work outside their own country. On the other hand, that small part of the exosome that adorns us all from the Balkans gives everyone a special charm. I have personally had the opportunity to meet so many talented young people that I know, and I will give them a chance and help as much as I can. I just wish that today, tomorrow I can be known through it all. And I don't mean egoism, I was refering to the part that just knows I did my best in the most sincere way possible because no one helped me, so I would try to give everyone what I can and what they need in order to succeed and acomplish themselves .

4. How does it feel to do what you really love?

My job is very turbulent, meaning that I work literally 24 hours per day. Maybe I was wrong and did not pay enough attention to people from the private environment because of the business responsibilities and contacts that I had to be committed to. But that all changed. I do not hide or want to hide and again I do not want to make my private life a public show. How it is possible for a person who is both handsome and attractive to be single is a major question. But I will never give my life served on a plate, though maybe that day will come, but even then I will be extremely careful in choosing how and to whom I will give that information.

5. What would you say to Josip Grabovac, who is just starting to acomplish his dreams?

Love is fashion and fashion is love to me. Again I say, I am acomplished in all fields of life, because after all that I worked on, and I was even a bartender, a very rersected bartender actually, who worked in the most luxurious hotels, even as a manager, etc. And on the one hand I met a lot of people from this industry, but that was just the beginning. In the end, love prevailed. Love for this business, love for fashion, and love as an emotional entity. To me, it's all the same, though it's different. Because when I love privately, it is the love that is the purest, the most normal, the most beautiful and I am always sure of

6. How would you combine fashion and love in a few words?

Love is fashion and fashion is love for me. Again I say, I am acomplished in all fields, because after all that I worked on, and I was a bartender, a very recognized one, who worked in the most luxurious hotels, even as a manager, etc. And on the one hand I met a lot of people from this industry and that was just the beginning. In the end, love prevailed. Love for this business, for fashion, and love as an emotional entity. To me, it's all the same, though it's different. Because when I love privately, it is the love that is the purest, the most normal, the most beautiful and I am always sure of it, as well as that those who are beside me always get all of me.

7. Regarding the situation we are in globally, what is your focus on the future that is still smiling around the corner to us all?

My focus is to include as many young designers, artists and so on into Fashion Week Milano. Speaking of Fashion Week Milan, not to bring them in and perform "AS" at MFW, but really to be a part of it, and to be in a calendar which may sound impossible to some. But belive me it is quite possible and I am the only scout at the Balkans that gives everyone the opportunity to present themselves, and I have already done it with great success and visible evidence 1/1. I am very proud of the fact that I have been accredited for 5 years for the largest fashion organization in the world by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. I am a fashion editor for some fashion magazines, and as I have mentioned scaut for one of the leading agencies in Milan "EMERGING TALENTS MILAN" .

I must emphasize that we are currently experiencing a living nightmare. I can say the fear and panic has prevailed and turned it all into a huge will to live and love life. Living in the midst of a pandemic that, in just a few days, has transformed millions of lives into a life no one was prepared for. We are not losing hope and we are sure this all will pass, but on the other hand this is a great lesson for all of us. I'm also sure this will change everything. I deeply believe that this will change the man and his bad habits. I want to believe that and not to lose hope. I think it's time to finally start living united life that the one above gave us and put us to use. it, as well as that those who are beside me always get all of me.

8. Do you still believe in love?

I never want to, and I will not put myself in the first place, first of all, because I am a truly great humanitarian who does not ask anything from others in order to get something in return. Everything I do it bz myself and according to my own will. I am not as well-off as some of the media think, but I give maximum love and attention and that has no price ticket. I am a member of a couple of charities and everything is driven by love. Maybe I made mistakes in my life in terms of a turning point. I fell in love very young, which happened, I got into a relationship and stepped in the marriage with my now ex-wife, but now it's all behind us. We are grown up, we are mature, we have found common ground as friends even though everyone went their separate way. But then again, there is one very special love between us and that most precious one - our child who will always be with us, and so we are forever family. And I will always go back to my story - my daughter is our princess, the treasure, the gem of the whole family, so love exists both between us and also in my private present life, which, if by God’s will, will last forever.