Fashion for Compassion

Every Saturday I plan to be productive. Productive being - doing stuff I don't have time for during the work week.


Once I got up (and those who know me know how horribly confused I am when I wake up) it took me almost two hours to get ready for the gym. After the gym, I ran home where a smell of freshly baked crepas welcomed me.
        
Coming home, although in a rush to get ready, I noticed small things I usually do not. 
My mum's freshly cleaned kitchen, fresh crepas and warm milk on the kitchen table, the smell of the fabric softener coming from the scarves she hang to dry. This feeling brought back now sad memory of my past relationship. 


During my subway ride on the N train,after I would meet my ex to pick up the keys from his apartment cause he had to stay at work until late, on that dreadful brick walled 49th Street, never knowing when he will come home to bed....

 I was planning what groceries I needed to get from the small grocery on the corner, where the (always confused looking but friendly) Chinese guy used to work. 


Then I would rush to the apartment with these bags of groceries, dropped them on the kitchen counter, opened all the windows to air out the apartment from boyfriends smoking before going to work, cleaned out all the messes and started to prepare the late dinner. While the food was cooking I would shower (and do my Shakira solo - I could because he was not there to make fun of me) and got ready for bed, light some candles and hoped to stay awake until he arrived. I hated falling a sleep alone.


I really enjoyed doing this for him, that was my favorite part of the day and will never forget him coming home one day running up the stairs loudly and saying: "I love how when you are here my apartment always smells so nice." Duhhh,  I though.... that's cause I clean it. :) 


      Back to present. So, I took a quick shower ate couple of crepas and ran to get ready for "PechaKucha 20x20 night" at MSU (museum of modern art in Croatia). Pecha Kucha is Japanese word for " the sound of conversation". 

The project originally started in Japan and then spread across the world. In the light of recent tragedy which devastated Haiti, together with Architecture for Humanity, "PechaKucha 20x20 nights" are organized in over 230 cities around the world including Zagreb and Rijeka in Croatia in a form of informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas and works in Pecha Kucha 20x20 format.

      Basically, each has 20 slides of pictures on topic of his choice and 20 seconds to present each slide, this is the 5th time this event it taking place in Croatia, this time the money gathered for tickets goes to aid Haiti victims. 

More that 230 000 people died in Haiti earthquake. The country was poor before this earthquake and a vast number of people have now lost their already modest homes and the rain and the flood season hasn't even begun. They are predicting another, even stronger earthquake to hit Haiti this season. Based on some estimates it will take 3 years just to clear out the remains, and 10 years to rebuild. Croatian people have gathered 4 million Croatian kuna so far, which helped open 7 emergency clinics for vaccination and other medical needs.


First presentation was held by local Caritas representative - his slides were pictures of dead people, crying babies and ruined cities. His presentation was a call for compassion and help. A call to care about the problems of people hundreds of miles away, as somebody did for us during the War in Croatia in 1990s. I cried like a baby on his second slide - took me exactly 40 seconds. 


After him, 12 artists presented their work: musicians, architects, fashion designers, actors etc.
One of which was igle studio, represented by duo of lady fashion designers, already established on Croatian scene, who's presentation was a slideshow of photographs which famous photographer took during making of the photo documentary "Fashion Story from Croatia". 


At the end, all of the participating cities went live for a couple of seconds via live stream online - it was so moving to see how the people from around the world at the same time were united to help the suffering people of Haiti.


After the event, still emotional and feeling goosebumps, I went for a drink with Ivan and a friend from Miami who is a DJ and came to play for a night in one of the Zagreb's night clubs. 

"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."

~R.Satoro~

Xoxo,


              Kat