“In China I was in 1989 and all the big French houses had their own factories that produced pret-a-porter models sold in boutiques. And we are part of that, the cheap labour is in our hands and in some way we are doing exploitation. But it's not just textile. So it is almost in all industries in our country. In France they will pay 1000 euros, with us 200 euros”, says Zorica Mladenovic - a famous Macedonian fashion designer, costume designer and professor. With all this in mind, it is not optimistic about the development of the textile industry, but even more so for the staff that is educated in this branch.
“There are several examples of fashion designers from Macedonia who were outside, some of them managed, but it is very difficult. Lidija Georgieva went to school in Paris, Marian Peyovsky stayed in London and now she has a boutique in Paris, Alek Bimbiloski works through Paris, sells to America, Japan, France. However, I'm sorry for the young fashion designers, because here, they cannot do what they dreamed and hoped for. That is, the majority of them” - says Mladenovic.
According to Lidija Georgieva, it is undoubtedly that we should ask ourselves why tradition does not guarantee us to develop further. She thinks that several factors influence this. Of course, one can not ignore the dissolution of a country, and therefore of one system. Furthermore, the giants were divided into units, the continuity of working in a professional manner was interrupted in the industry, and continued to sew after the LON system, and this is not the same. The new owners naively thought that a modeler could perform the function of a creator, or simply did not differentiate those two totally different positions. As long as the owners of the plants do not understand that they cannot exclude the creative mind, we will not have much progress, regardless of the fact that we have a young educated staff. Today the market is extremely competitive and precise positioning for success is needed. We have great quality and advantages. But what might be a mistake is that we built the experience only with the perfect production of products, but not in the creation of brands - considers Lydia.
How are textile associations satisfied on the other? According to the latest information published by the Economic Chamber of Macedonia, and connected with this branch, things are not good.
The textile association points out that the textile industry is facing a break down. According to the Association of Textile Industry and Apparel in the Economic Chamber of Macedonia in 2005, the export and the number of employees are reduced. „Considering the textile industry is one of the main economic branches, anti-crisis measures should be taken in terms of certain incentives in the function of maintaining the industry, otherwise the textile industry will be dead“, said the president of the Association. Among the other requirements, the Association asked for support to make a conversion from "LON" -production into classical production, ie the creation of own brands that will be intended for export. In the end, the breakdown of a single system, transition, lack of staff or favourable working conditions are contributing to the poor state of TI. And whether the current alarming situation described above contributes to a new and better time and development, remains to be seen. In fact it will be the next historical period that will have to be noticed.
Erasmus+ 26