Zoran Dobric - Most Outstanding Designer of L'Oreal Fashion Week

Dobric says that fashion should not exist in a void. "Everyone is affected by war and politics - even in Canada," he said.  According to Dobric, designers are feeling moody and glum - a condition brought on by the conflicts that pepper the globe. Ironically, he was happy to see that other European designers, like Galliano, are affected by what is happening in world politics. Galliano wasn't the only one hanging metaphorical crepe in his collection, a thoughtful darkness runs through many fall collections, something that told Dobric that sombre is de rigour this season.

With an overall feeling of black definitely being back at the Fall 2006 L'Oreal Fashion Week in Toronto, Dobric's collection features hand embroidery and shibori pleating (not unlike Issey Miyake's Pleats Please line).

While marginal designers of the past (some of whom have become designers for the major houses today such as Vivian Westwood and John Galliano) have played with these themes before, Dobric has expanded on what his predecessors toyed with.

Design, for him, must be appreciated and evoke feeling. "What I like and what I design evokes my own emotion. The Japanese treat all textiles artfully and with meaning," he explains.

Although the crisp lines in this collection suggest Italian influences, the respectful and detailed treatment of the fabric used is obviously influenced by the Japanese. Dobric's designs are emotionally evocative and seem to speak, coinciding with an animistic belief underlying in Japanese Buddhism; that everything in life - whether it be a tree or, in this case, fabric - has a spirit. Dobric's work gives voice to that spirit.

For Dobric, textiles inspire him in a McLuhaneque way; the medium is the message, and Dobric's message is soulful. He is put off by mass design, saying that although economics and convenience drive people to wear soulless, mass-marketed product most people do not want to wear emotionally reflective garments. This just adds fuel to his fire. Because people shy away from clothes that speak to their emotions, Dobric feels there's a real necessity to his work; creating an outer self that is a conduit for the inner self. Expression, he feels, isn't just healthy, it's essential.

Dobric says that although the woman who wears his clothes is "artistic and poetic, open-minded and emotional," he has no muse. Muse, no, but there is one woman who is an ideal emblem for his unusual, passionate work.  Artist/director Floria Sigismondi, who has directed videos for such musicians as Christina Aguilera, The White Stripes, The Cure, Bjork and David Bowie, has recently slipped into Dobric's collections.  Despite the austerity that pervades his collection, the mention of this most famous client brings a smile to Dobric's lips. "I sent her some of my designs and I got an email back from her. She loved it and she was so excited to wear it!"

Rebel directors aside, Dobric says his designs have a general appeal that sometimes surprises him. "Surgeons, stockbrokers - not generally artistic people. There is one lady who buys many of my pieces and wears them all together; not necessarily the way I would put them together, but I love that."