Interview with Tihana Mikša
Design Legend Interview
29 October 2025
I graduated from the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb, Department of Textile and Clothing Design.
I choose to become a designer.
I am most excited about design based on textile research.
I am not a design legend. I just enjoy making textiles and clothes.
You think about great design for days. And it stays somewhere inside as inspiration.
It seems to me that good design is one that respects its audience.
Because it lasts a long time and provides added value...makes me happy.
I don't have a dream project.
Many...I remember when I saw Ma Ke Wuyong a long time ago how it affected me.
There are a lot of good designers. I like to recognize that they have put a lot of thought into what they are doing.
Always research.
I don't know.
The Past...at Last project. Because I had a lot of time, and invested a lot of money, to research the subject.
I collect and filter information.
None of that, fashion repeats itself in a circular fashion. Within this, new trends and designs are created.
I would say it differently, I stick to the "holy trinity": shape, color, and materia. The aspiration is that all three are at a high level. And the ambient is something that can provide a description or context.
...who can read my mind. Not really.
Designer and illustrator Goran Lelas.
A lot of it.
When I manage to create a new model that works. I have ways of observing myself, when it's good to work, and when it's better to take a breath of air.
Designer Interview
29 October 2025
I was always creative and good at drawing, during elementary school. There were drawings on the walls of my apartment. At the age of 14 I made my first dress, from a blanket, which was blue, with some printed figures and buttons. I also did sculpting and made dolls and figures. My mother was very creative, she knitted on a knitting machine, did embroidery, sewed, made macrame and so on.
In addition, I attended ballet school at the same time and was involved in art and theater.
In addition, I attended ballet school at the same time and was involved in art and theater.
"Tihana Mikša took a master’s degree in the postgraduate course of textile and fashion design, textile design module, from the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb.
She became a member of ULUPUH (Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts) in 1997, of HZSU (Croatian Freelance Artists Association) in 2001 and of HDD (Croatian Designers Association) in 2011.
Since 1994 she has been continuously engaged in fashion design. Since 1997 she has also been into illustration. She has taken part in 11 fashion shows at home and abroad, 43 collective shows and had five solo exhibitions at home and abroad.
She designs costumes for films and theatrical productions, and collaborates in making toys and puppets.
She does illustrations for Croatian publishers, and from time to time devises and runs workshops for children and adults.
She is occupied with the hand making of small batches of and one-off clothes, and with the exploration of experimental fashion and textile art.
She has been an instructor at the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb for eight years.
Tihana has won three prizes for her work."
She became a member of ULUPUH (Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts) in 1997, of HZSU (Croatian Freelance Artists Association) in 2001 and of HDD (Croatian Designers Association) in 2011.
Since 1994 she has been continuously engaged in fashion design. Since 1997 she has also been into illustration. She has taken part in 11 fashion shows at home and abroad, 43 collective shows and had five solo exhibitions at home and abroad.
She designs costumes for films and theatrical productions, and collaborates in making toys and puppets.
She does illustrations for Croatian publishers, and from time to time devises and runs workshops for children and adults.
She is occupied with the hand making of small batches of and one-off clothes, and with the exploration of experimental fashion and textile art.
She has been an instructor at the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb for eight years.
Tihana has won three prizes for her work."
Enjoying research
When I determine the conditions and direction.
There are plenty of them.
I enjoy transforming textiles. And I love handicrafts.
There are no rules.
It depends on what it is about, what the emphasis is on.
It depends on the outcome.
When it works aesthetically and functionally.
Mostly, a lot of effort has been put in, but it's not a rule.
I mean, I like to see completion with respect to the topic.
I mean, I like to see completion with respect to the topic.
Not being part of fast fashion.
Interesting things are happening in 3D, biotextiles, recycling, sustainable design...
Before Covid. 2019 in Zagreb. The project was called Mad as a Hatter. I was researching felt, i.e. caps and hats.
Everywhere, it can be a color, an image, a text, a feeling...
Sources are observing and listening to oneself, or reacting to something...
Sources are observing and listening to oneself, or reacting to something...
It could be organic, as well as futuristic. Contrasts always work best.
The approach is always to gather ideas, information, colors, textures...then clean up.
The approach is always to gather ideas, information, colors, textures...then clean up.
I live between Zagreb, Croatia, and Austria.
I used heritage in my creations.
I used heritage in my creations.
I don't understand the question. I work mostly for myself. Or for theaters or companies to make costumes for them.
To learn from the best.
The positive is the wonderful freedom and joy of creation, and the negative is that it can be very exhausting.
Listen to yourself, observe and learn.
Persistence.
I am a designer-maker. I do everything myself.
It depends on the object.
"How was that made?"
Sometimes I work in a team, depending on the project. But mostly alone.
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