The Labor Day has always had a special place among the national holidays around here. It has been marked by really great early summer weather, traditional picnics in nature and, most importantly, days off for all the not so hard working people of the former socialist homeland. Well, many things have changed since, but this holiday remains one of everybody’s favorite. Warm weather, almost mandatory overeating, day off- what’s not to like?

After an intro like this, how on Earth is this article going to take a turn towards its subject of local fashion and design, you might ask yourself. By paying tribute to an item that is both utilitarian working class classic and a pop icon of former Yugoslavia, which happens to be a brand of shoes called Borosane.

Produced in Borovo factory (another socialist time survivor) in Croatia, these shoes had been found on feet of nurses, cooks, hairdressers, waitresses, cleaning ladies…. all over the what is now called Adriatic region. The open toe and heel canvas shoes might had been a subject of mockery, but these ladies who had been spending at least 8 hours a day in them for sure found them to be seriously comfy. And what they have been lacking aesthetically has over the years been compensated by their ironic and retro appeal.

So far, the shoes have been resurrected many times by global fashion brands, most recently by Lacoste. The original producer itself has made some attempts to cash in on the nostalgia and redesign them to appeal to the younger generation, but not so successfully. Something worth looking forward to is the moment when creative team of Sheriff and Cherry , which was behind a fantastic redesign of another iconic Borovo brand Statas tennis shoes, soon lay their hands on them to turn them into something super- hip. However, if you are really brave and daring, wait no further , as you can still find the original deep blue and white models in the- frozen- in- time kind of stores.

At least you can count on positive reactions even by those who don’t get the joke and your sense of style- just looking at you will bring back many happy memories to the favorite nanny in kindergarten.

Light, comfortable and funny- these shoes are perfect for the whole month ahead of us!

"If it is not by Borovo, it is not Borosana"

Lacoste SS '10 catwalk - looks familiar, ha?

Borosana redesign attempts

Limited edition by Sheriff and Cherry, designed for a theater play

Borosana T shirt designs Slovenian designer Teja Klec, www.tejaideja.com, made while working with www.armada.si