NEW BUSINESS UROŠ TOPIĆ DESIGNS
Name of company: Uroš Topić designs Type of business: Fashion and textile design Location: Novo mesto, Slovenia How long has the company been running? I've actually just started. I applied for a business incubator programme in my hometown, which accepts only about a dozen people twice a year. They basically employ entrepreneurs who are just starting to develop their business idea and equip them with knowledge and skills on how to be a better businessperson. Where did the idea come from? Well, it was basically this or unemployment for me. I was just about to finish my master's degree in fashion and textile design and realised I had no job opportunities ahead of me, apart from work that would just serve to pay the bills (e. g. retail). Because I really love my trade, I decided to fully commit to it now, at the very beginning. Starting out is never easy and I know that there is a long way for me to go, but I decided to listen to my mother's advice, herself a successful business owner, who said that: "In order to start running a business, you first have to actually do the business." What are your company values? I strive for a future in which clothes have inherent value again. In a flood of textile products which are cheaply made, often with child labour and with unfair wages, which poison our planet, our minds, and our relationship with garments, I wish to create fashion and interior pieces that people would buy and
cherish forever. Or at least until they literally fall apart from overuse. What my main focus is now is to spread the idea that luxury clothes are actually completely sustainable. They always have been. Since I often draw aesthetic inspiration from different historical periods, I've learned a lot about garment construction in the Victorian era, baroque, renaissance… and no matter how extravagant their clothes were, the clothes were always made in a sustainable fashion. Currently, how many people work for the business? It is just me at the moment. Because high quality visual representation of our work is so important nowadays, I also double as my own photographer and (occasionally) a model. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business? Again – this will sound old and tired, but you just have to do it! Although social media has its dark sides, it also offers free advertisement for anyone who wishes to share their work. So, if you are looking to start your own business story – go ahead, start today. Let your next social media post be about what you can do and what you stand for. Where do you hope the company will be in 5 years' time? I hope to be in a place that feels financially safe and that allows me to hire other professionals who can help me better present my story. I wish to be able to pay myself an average monthly wage, which would allow me to keep exploring the world, looking for new ideas, meeting new people and finding new inspirations.