Features
style
Carrot Clothing
Freedom Fighting
"Soon the authorities recognised us as ‘terrorists’ and they put us in jail for six months." Carrot Clothing
Streetwear from Serbia? What the… These days contemporary fashion labels are emerging from every nook and cranny of the planet and while some of the more geographically isolated labels tend to demonstrate a lack of trend progression, it is nice when you stumble onto something unique yet potentially international in its style. Our discovery of Carrot Clothing was an enlightening experience that lead to some basic education in Serbian history as well as the background story of brand founder Alexander Gligorich. And did I mention that the clothing is pretty dope too?
When was Carrot established?
Officially 2007, but we have been making clothing since '99.
Why did you go with the name Carrot?
It was about the “carrot and stick” story...we always felt that young people were given a carrot; a dream that you cannot reach. Not just in life, but in fashion too. I mean, how you can you buy a tee when it costs $250?! People love things that they cannot have, it is human nature...on the other side, the Carrot plant is a synonym for ‘root’, and the Carrot brand has strong roots in street culture.
Define the brand?
Carrot stands for freedom in every way... in street fashion too! We are a fusion of lots of different styles and cannot be defined easily. The product hype doesn’t interest me mainly because the majority of products being hyped are shit and there are other people doing that already. You cannot teach the kids what’s good and what is not; they are capable of recognizing the 'real deal'.
Who are the people behind the brand and what are each of their roles/responsibilities?
In the office is myself, I am the founder, I design the clothing and do all the paper work. Besides myself there are a lot of artists wordwide who are involved in the design. We have lot of friends who rep us in different areas, they organize events and take care of our stockists.
Describe the kind of people wearing Carrot.
Carrot is more of a culture. It’s a bunch of different elements. You’re talking about a lifestyle. It’s skate, surf or graffiti, those are all under the gamut of Carrot.
Tell us about the streetwear scene in Serbia.
Our culture is street progressive. It’s not just apparel but I think it’s a movement.
What are the pros and cons of being based in Serbia?
First at all Serbia is a beautiful country with cool and nice people living here. There are a lot of young artists, skateboarders and pretty girls. On the other side, it's way easier to manage a brand from let's say NYC or Sydney… to start with you are surrounded with many shops who will support you, you can visit them face to face...etc.
Do you have any stockists for Carrot outside of Serbia? If so, where?
Actually we have very few stockists in Serbia. Most of our stockists are based in EU, North America, Japan etc. People here buy from us directly. Come to our office and choose something for yourself.
What were your inspirations in creating Carrot in the beginning?
“Back in '99, after all these wars [Serbian] people were disappointed and sick of everything. So we started a riot against the communist regime, against war...our way to do it was to print t-shirts with anti-war, anti-regime messages. Soon the authorities recognized us as ‘terrorists’ and they put us in jail for six months. That's how the Carrot idea was born.”
So tell us about these controversial tees you created…
I printed tees like ‘F**k War’ and ‘Murder the Government’ graphics and it was enough! One morning there were like ten pigs knocking on my front door. ‘Come to poppa’ they said [laughs]. Pigs! In the jail they beat me up and I was told that I am a ‘terrorist who betrays his own country’. The truth is that I love Serbia more than all and I am not a terrorist. The interesting thing is that I saw some of those policemen in a riot (almost beside me) against the regime in 2001!
Is the political climate in Serbia very different today?
Yes, it is. Now it's democracy instead of communism and it's great. The problem is that people are still not satisfied with their lives...but in the end who is? Like I said: Serbia is a beautiful country with really nice people living here.
After being arrested did you consider leaving Serbia?
Believe me – you cannot find even one single young man who doesn't consider leaving Serbia...me too. I traveled a lot after jail and realized that people live way easier in France, UK...but to be honest, I made the decision to stay here and make things better! I cannot do much, but if everyone puts in some effort results must come!
How did this experience shape who you are today?
I learnt to fight for my rights, all this just made me stronger and gave me strength to push harder.
Tell us about the new range? Is there a particular style or influence that defines the latest season?
Our Fall and Holiday seasons continue where we stopped with the Summer range. There are a lot of cut and sew pieces, it is definitely the way we will go in the future as well as three brand new fitted cap styles. Also we did three collabos with Steve ESPO Powers, 123 Klan and Nico Berry.
What are your long term goals for the brand?
I can see Carrot in the top five independent street fashion brands in the next five years.
Outside of your work with Carrot what else are you personally involved with?
I ride my skateboard whenever I can and teach my kid to ride too. Basically spending good time with my family.
Check out more from Carrot at carrotclothing.net
Back
Officially 2007, but we have been making clothing since '99.
Why did you go with the name Carrot?
It was about the “carrot and stick” story...we always felt that young people were given a carrot; a dream that you cannot reach. Not just in life, but in fashion too. I mean, how you can you buy a tee when it costs $250?! People love things that they cannot have, it is human nature...on the other side, the Carrot plant is a synonym for ‘root’, and the Carrot brand has strong roots in street culture.
Define the brand?
Carrot stands for freedom in every way... in street fashion too! We are a fusion of lots of different styles and cannot be defined easily. The product hype doesn’t interest me mainly because the majority of products being hyped are shit and there are other people doing that already. You cannot teach the kids what’s good and what is not; they are capable of recognizing the 'real deal'.
Who are the people behind the brand and what are each of their roles/responsibilities?
In the office is myself, I am the founder, I design the clothing and do all the paper work. Besides myself there are a lot of artists wordwide who are involved in the design. We have lot of friends who rep us in different areas, they organize events and take care of our stockists.
Describe the kind of people wearing Carrot.
Carrot is more of a culture. It’s a bunch of different elements. You’re talking about a lifestyle. It’s skate, surf or graffiti, those are all under the gamut of Carrot.
Tell us about the streetwear scene in Serbia.
Our culture is street progressive. It’s not just apparel but I think it’s a movement.
What are the pros and cons of being based in Serbia?
First at all Serbia is a beautiful country with cool and nice people living here. There are a lot of young artists, skateboarders and pretty girls. On the other side, it's way easier to manage a brand from let's say NYC or Sydney… to start with you are surrounded with many shops who will support you, you can visit them face to face...etc.
Do you have any stockists for Carrot outside of Serbia? If so, where?
Actually we have very few stockists in Serbia. Most of our stockists are based in EU, North America, Japan etc. People here buy from us directly. Come to our office and choose something for yourself.
What were your inspirations in creating Carrot in the beginning?
“Back in '99, after all these wars [Serbian] people were disappointed and sick of everything. So we started a riot against the communist regime, against war...our way to do it was to print t-shirts with anti-war, anti-regime messages. Soon the authorities recognized us as ‘terrorists’ and they put us in jail for six months. That's how the Carrot idea was born.”
So tell us about these controversial tees you created…
I printed tees like ‘F**k War’ and ‘Murder the Government’ graphics and it was enough! One morning there were like ten pigs knocking on my front door. ‘Come to poppa’ they said [laughs]. Pigs! In the jail they beat me up and I was told that I am a ‘terrorist who betrays his own country’. The truth is that I love Serbia more than all and I am not a terrorist. The interesting thing is that I saw some of those policemen in a riot (almost beside me) against the regime in 2001!
Is the political climate in Serbia very different today?
Yes, it is. Now it's democracy instead of communism and it's great. The problem is that people are still not satisfied with their lives...but in the end who is? Like I said: Serbia is a beautiful country with really nice people living here.
After being arrested did you consider leaving Serbia?
Believe me – you cannot find even one single young man who doesn't consider leaving Serbia...me too. I traveled a lot after jail and realized that people live way easier in France, UK...but to be honest, I made the decision to stay here and make things better! I cannot do much, but if everyone puts in some effort results must come!
How did this experience shape who you are today?
I learnt to fight for my rights, all this just made me stronger and gave me strength to push harder.
Tell us about the new range? Is there a particular style or influence that defines the latest season?
Our Fall and Holiday seasons continue where we stopped with the Summer range. There are a lot of cut and sew pieces, it is definitely the way we will go in the future as well as three brand new fitted cap styles. Also we did three collabos with Steve ESPO Powers, 123 Klan and Nico Berry.
What are your long term goals for the brand?
I can see Carrot in the top five independent street fashion brands in the next five years.
Outside of your work with Carrot what else are you personally involved with?
I ride my skateboard whenever I can and teach my kid to ride too. Basically spending good time with my family.
Check out more from Carrot at carrotclothing.net
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