The collection Crochet Chronicles explores themes of diaspora, refugee experience, and family heirlooms. It is inspired by the designer’s own displacement during the Yugoslav Wars. Central to the collection is a recurring motif drawn from the designer’s grandmother’s crochet doily. These doilies and other handmade objects were cherished heirlooms that many Eastern and Central European refugees and immigrants carried with them as they fled their homes.

Several pieces feature a screen print of the grandmother’s crochet pattern printed onto a gold emergency blanket. The emergency blanket material highlights ongoing global refugee crises while referencing the designer’s childhood memories of Southern European Byzantine, Baroque, and Secession-era gilding. A black-and-gold palette, sculptural silhouettes, and hand-sculpted clay elements further reference Byzantine mosaics and ecclesiastical dress, evoking themes of mourning, memory, and resilience.

The more wearable pieces in the collection feature digitally manipulated crochet motifs printed on cotton. The collection is accessorized with crescent-like clay elements inspired by Mara, the Slavic goddess of death and rebirth.

Photography @renatajphoto
Model @sav.savoy @elitetoronto
Art direction @stephensevern
Mua @judithparrishto