Lamija Suljevic is an upcoming Swedish designer with roots in Sarajevo. The mix of the two cultures has inspired her design in different ways as she tries to unite the two cultures with the ambition of creating something unexpected and new. By Suljevic’s talented hands, traditional costumes from Sarajevo and modern fabrics which she relates to Sweden, merge, resulting in the strongest collection showed during Stockholm fashion week.

Suljevic’s A/W 2015 collection, as well as her previous work, carries a depth that not all designers menage to express. Her unique pieces, from laser cut out dresses to traditionally decorated but modern slitted pants, are all highly executed and decorated by hand. The time and effort put into the collection shows in every single piece sent down the runway. Suljevic really knows her craft and you can’t help but feel a vibe of haute couture even though we are far from Paris, both geographically and ideologically.

This collection is great in so many levels – the craft, the pieces and the personal inspiration behind the collection – it embraces the mix of cultural references and shows how she successfully united them. Her work is a proof of how fashion can unite and bring people and cultures together resulting in something more interesting and innovative than it otherwise would have become. The combination of the personal sources of inspiration and the dark and in the same time beautiful pieces, all created with amazing craft, makes this collection a story about life’s deepest and greatest moments. The sparkly and black pieces seem to be a reflection of the fine line between them both, and how fast it all can change. In other words, it is a collection about life.

This method generated very different fashion reflections that move from the role and nature of contemporary aesthetics, to introspective speculations, passing through commentaries on the technicality of fashion design. 
Among all these creations, it is possible to admire the architectural geometries by Lisa Laurell Amandonico who works on minimalistic and classical shapes sewn together by a sort of white spinal bones connections, or Alina Brane’s impressive “Dreamward” where plastic and feathers are constructing dream-like enclosures. To be notice also the collections by Per Gotesson, Emmy Andersson and Lamija Suljevic. The first formulates an experimental discourse on shapes and materials through the construction of a contemporary pirate, while the second mixes extraordinary accessories with clean cuts that, to some extent, resemble the work of Ann Sofie Back. Impressive were also the work by Slijevic who created hand-weaved gold ribbon armors and hand-folded hats made of PVC sequins and clear rhinestones.

Indeed, Beckmans’ students show how schools are not only places of individual sufferance and struggle but also incubators where critical creativities are formed, shaped and developed. Discipline and creativity walk hand in hand in fashion design and they are crucial skills especially in the attempt to enter the fashion field in these hard days for the market. However, to use the words of the departing director Tom Hedqvist: “Tough times can, at best, bring about the formulation of constructive ideas. At best”.