Maja Arčabić: Two piece skirt suit set of the salon Žuži Jelinek for Maja Štrban, 2021

Two piece skirt suit set of the salon Žuži Jelinek, 1968, owner Maja Štrban, now part of the MGZ collection, Zagreb

Two piece skirt suit set of the salon Žuži Jelinek for Maja Štrban

Maja Arčabić

Zagreb florist Maja Štrban, the heiress of the oldest flower salon Herzmansky, was a frequent client of the tailoring salon Žuži Jelinek in the 1960s.

In 1968, after winning first prize at the Europa Cup in Paris, Maja Štrban was invited on a three-week tour of ten cities in the United States to promote Interflora, an international florist association. Before leaving for this trip, Maja Štrban ordered dresses and costumes at the Žuži Jelinek tailoring salon. She chose the models according to the suggestions of the seamstress and according to the photos of fashion magazines. She also chose materials for costumes and dresses from those offered at the Žuži Jelinek tailoring salon.

The legacy of the Herzamsnky flower salon, which is kept in the Museum of the City of Zagreb, preserves photographs taken during her stay in the United States, as well as excerpts from texts published in the American press. One of the titles of the published texts (She Uses Flower Power) served as inspiration for the title of the exhibition dedicated to this craft "The Power of Flowers - 85 years of the Zagreb salon Herzmansky". The exhibition was realized in the Museum of the City of Zagreb in 2010.

Maja Štrban in a skirt suit set by Žuži Jelinek during a tour of the USA, 1968 photo: MGZ archive, Zagreb

Gaining the sympathy of the media during her stay in the USA, Maja Štrban presented in numerous interviews the techniques of making bouquets and arrangements, explaining the differences in the culture of designing and donating flowers and flower products. The young and charming florist from the country "behind the Iron Curtain" was presented by the media as the heir to the family tradition and one of the most famous Croatian ikebana practitioner, a connoisseur of flower arranging techniques used by rare florists. Commenting on Maja Štrban's craft skills and creativity, the American media also commented on her clothing style with a lot of compliments, noting that all clothing combinations were tailor-made in a tailor's salon.

Maja Štrban, florist (left) and Žuži Jelinek, seam stress (right)

During her stay in the USA, in one of the suit set sewn in the tailoring salon Žuži Jelinek, Maja Štrban also took photos for Interflor a promotional materials. Upon her return to Zagreb, she posed in the same suit while taking photos for an advertisement for the Saponia cosmetics factory, published on the pages of the women's magazine Svijet.

It is a rwo piece day suit sewn from woolen fabric of ultramarine color with white lapels of the same material. The jacket is dominated by classic lapels that form a deep neckline under which there are two tied buttons. There are side horizontal seams on both sides of the front of the jacket. The skirt, length below the knee, has five vertical seams on the front along its entire length.

For years after the end of her competitive career and trip to the USA, Maja Štrban kept this suit set, among other things, as a memory of professional successes. The suit is the only surviving item of clothing that Maja Štrban wore during her trip to the USA. She was succeeded by Martina Knapić, daughter of Maja Štrban, today's owner of the family business. In 2007, the suit set became part of the Collection of Fashion, Fashion Accessories and Textiles of the Museum of the City of Zagreb. Upon receipt in the museum holdings, after inventory and museum processing, the suit set was cleaned and preserved by textile restorer Iva Čukman. The suit is on display as a valuable museum item and an interesting clothing artifact. For the first time at the exhibition Žuži Jelinek - Ambassador of Fashion in 2008 and at the exhibition Fashion and Clothing in Zagreb in the 1960s, in 2019. Both exhibitions were held at the Museum of the City of Zagreb.

This garment from the holdings of the Collection of Fashion, Fashion Accessories and Textiles is a museum artifact no. MGZ 43832, which preserves the memory of two exceptional craftswomen who marked the history of crafts, fashion and clothing of the city of Zagreb with their work and success, and enriched the holdings of the Museum of the City of Zagreb with their valuable legacies of clothing, photographs, hemeroteca, awards and recognitions.

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* The text was produced within the project Fashion: Object,Image, Text: relations of fashion garment, photographic image and reference text, 2021.

* The project was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the City Office for Culture of the City of Zagreb, for 2021.

* Photos: MGZ, Zagreb (www.mgz.hr)