For those who are not familiar with the fashion brand Berberovic, this is the story of a young and talented lady who creates woman’s favorite fashion accessories – handbags. Berberovic bags found their way to many hearts and hands of ladies of all ages, with very different styles and professions.
Miss Berberovic-Dizdarević, can you tell us something about yourself?
My name is Nađa Berberović-Dizdarević and I am a freelance portrait and fashion photographer from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am an Art Historian and Comparative Literaturist and I have a Master’s degree in Visual Art and Communication Design.
You are engaged into photography. Can you tell us when you started doing this? Do you have some interesting story to share with our readers?
As a child, I used to paint and draw a lot, and I was pretty talented and dedicated. By the end of high school, I discovered analogue photography and started experimenting with black and white film. I took photos of my friends in unusual costumes and locations. I would do the make-up, hair and styling myself. I completed several courses and workshops on photography, where I learned how to develop photographs the old-fashioned way. Soon, I switched to digital photography and discovered the creative benefits of photo editing software. In the beginning, photography was just a hobby, a creative outlet for my fantasies. However, soon I began receiving offers from fashion designers and brands to do professional editorials for them. I began working with professional make-up artists, models and hair stylists. My photos were published in fashion magazines, on the covers of books and CDs, and even on billboards. I also worked on refining my style and aesthetics, which remained inspired by fairytales and the fantasy genre, with a touch of glamour.
Your photos are very recognizable, it is hard to replace them with someone else’s. How do you do it?
Thank you. For me, photography is my passion, my career and my lifestyle. In planning and executing my photo-shoots, I am a perfectionist. I choose my models and locations with great care and spend a lot of time retouching and editing my work. I upload and share only a small part of my work, since I am very self-critical. I try to learn something new each day and work together with stylists and make-up artists on creating the visual identity of each editorial. I pay a lot of attention to the whole creative process, from pre-production to post-production, and try to be involved in each and every phase. I believe it’s very important to be dedicated and passionate about what you do, and ruthlessly self-critical in order to be able to grow as an artist. Also, I do follow a lot of international photographers, visual artists and fashion designers via social media and magazines, but when I plan to do some personal project, I do a “digital detox” where I try to steer clear of these influences in order to come up with a unique, individual and meaningful vision of my own. Copying other artists’ work can sometimes happen on a subconscious level. This is why sometimes I just like to unplug and listen to music, read books and do some exercise, yoga and meditation. This is when ideas and inspiration start pouring in.
We also want to mention your collaboration with Idda van Munster (Aida Djapo). Can you tell us a bit more about that?
Aida Djapo is a very close friend of mine. She is one of those rare people that are attractive on the outside and beautiful on the inside. Aside from always looking gorgeous and glamorous, Aida is a very successful and talented young woman with a great eye for photography and aesthetics. I am proud to say that, in a way, I discovered her via Facebook, and was the first photographer to take professional photos of her. It was eight years ago. I really enjoy working with her, because it’s always so fun and relaxed, but also very professional and well-timed and planned. We shot a lovely editorial for retro fashion brand TopVintage Boutique in Netherlands recently. The shooting took place in a dreamy park called Mondo Verde. You can take a look at these photos on the official website of the brand, as well as my Facebook page (Nadja Berberovic Photography) and Instagram profile (@nadjaberberovic).
At the very beginning of the interview, we mentioned the brand Berberovic. Can you tell our readers something more about the origin of the idea?
The idea was born spontaneously, since my mother, my sister and I all share a great love for fashion design. We realized that nowadays it is a very difficult task to find a high quality genuine leather bag that is both practical and chic with an affordable price tag. So we decided to try and establish our own fashion brand which specializes in ladies’ leather bags.
It is well known that it is very difficult to place new products as a result of great supply on the market, but your bags are unique and without competition. What is your experience in this?
Today, you can find a lot of really cute and affordable bags in high street stores such as Zara, Mango or H&M. However, most of these designs aren’t made of leather, and if they are, it isn’t high quality leather. Like all fast fashion items, these bags just weren’t made to last. We all know this from experience. Our mission was to create bags that could stand the test of time, bags in which you can carry a laptop or even an extra pair of shoes, and which won’t change their shape. The idea was to create a bag for the modern, urban woman who is always on the go, a bag that can take you from work to dinner. We know that the contemporary young woman is very busy and that she needs a practical, roomy bag, but that she also doesn’t want to skimp on style. We didn’t want to make a compromise between functionality, quality and fashion.
[wzslider autoplay=”true”]How can we order your bags and how can we follow your offer?
You can follow us on Facebook (Design by Berberovic) and Instagram (@designbyberberovic). We take a lot of orders via e-mail or social media. You can also purchase our bags in Concept Store Burtuqaali and Ema de Ir store in Sarajevo. Very soon, a special limited collection of our designs will be available for international orders via Modamo KreARTiva web shop.
Interview by: Zejna SY