Nadira Škaljić Mingasson was born in Sarajevo in 1971 where she enjoyed a happy childhood before being caught in the clutches of war. When peace returned, she felt the urge and the desire to rebuild her country from the ashes by building bridges between Bosnia and France, where she had sought refuge.
Nadira's vision is as
follows : to transform the incredible talent of Bosnian woman knitters, heirs to an ancestral tradition, into a sustainable economic activity. These are golden hands, a precious treasure that we must reveal and share with the world. In the fashion market, the demand for high quality luxury hand-knit productions is at an all time high, it is from their home country of Bosnia and Hercegovina that Nadira and her squad of knitters take it upon themselves to respond to that demand.
In 2011, Nadira took a daring gamble. She moved back to Sarajevo where she opened the association “Udružene” (united women in bosnian). It is thanks to that gamble that came about the never seen before confluence between the word of high fashion and that of a tradition that is indissociable from Bosnian culture
In Sarajevo, in our Atelier, the beating heart of the association, knitters are trained to meet the demanding standards of international fashion. The exchange goes both ways. They share with us their knowledge, their experience, their techniques and secrets sometimes inherited from their mothers or even grandmothers. Together, they do more than just knit pieces for international designers : they weave a incredible story.
Internationally renowned fashion designers from all around the globe, Germany, France or Japan to name a few, discover a new approach to fashion and an extraordinary handmade quality that is rarely seen. On the other hand, knitters for the first time of their lives reach a new social status. Where knitting was nothing but a pastime and a way to make clothes, it now becomes a recognised and remunerated job. Udružene gives knitters the means to surmount their war traumas and move forward with their lives.
The poetry written in the meeting of two worlds.
Crafting Tomorrow: Udružene's Journey of Tradition and Renewal
The psychosocial aspect is a very important aspect of the project but it
isn't the only one. By handling the production of international
designers, Udružene fights to preserve and maintain an incredible tradition that is on its last legs. Beyond that, it also develops it by giving it a second breath, by making the tradition alive and returning the importance and nobility it once had.
Without even knowing it, during those 12 years of working with knitters and fashion brands, Nadira Škaljić Mingasson was setting the foundations for what is WoolyRouge today. Taking her unique experience gained through Udružene and applying it
to the creation of a luxury handmade and ethically responsible fashion brand.
A brand that embodies and brings together her values.
With the belief that it is no longer possible to produce clothes that don't answer to the ecological and social challenges plaguing our world acting as the the soulful heartbeat propelling the brand towards a brighter tomorrow, where fashion intertwines with ecological and social harmony, breathing life into every thread and stitching purpose into every design.
Not only does WoolyRouge have a very clear social and ecological goal but to that is added Nadira's peculiar creative ambitions.
From its inception to production, through to their prototyping, what Nadira wants is to gather all the energies and novel skills born from the the unique meeting of two worlds and use it towards the production of beautiful and dependable pieces crafted from high quality yarns and exclusively
hand-knitted.
Stitching Stories: The Collaborative Journey of WoolyRouge's Creations
This ambition is a collective one. Certainly , the concepts and sketches stem from Nadira's mind, but as soon as the knitters get the initial sketch, they rummage through their memories to suggest a certain forgotten stitches or technique unknown to the mainstream knitting community. It is through these interactions that the initial blueprint evolves and develops into stunning unexpected designs. This wonderfully unique creative process and mutual exchange is how every WoolyRouge collection comes into existence.
By wearing Wooly Rouge, you become the ambassadress of the values that inspired their creation, because we firmly believe that what our philosophies are expressed through our clothes. A part of the love and passion we put into these pieces will travel with you, making you an indissociable part of our story.
Lastly, we have the certitude that our designs will make its wearer feel good not only because of their beauty. You will, just how we are proud of our methods, feel pride in wearing a piece that carries meaning, that tackles modern challenges and enabled the woman that knitted it to reach a more favourable social status and live a better, more comfortable life. A pride in not wearing clothes produced in distant anonymity, but in Europe, by women fuelled by their passion and opportunities Wooly Rouge gives them, they in return leave a piece of themselves in each of their creations.
