Anđela Lebović is a student of the generation at the Chemical-Technological High School, who graduated from the Clothing Modeling program. This profession allowed her to combine two very important things, creativity and usefulness.
"I have always been a creative soul and loved to play with materials, to dress up, draw, while on the other hand, this is a craft. When I enrolled four years ago, I wasn't sure if I would have the opportunity and I didn’t know in what position I would be for further education. If there are opportunities, great, but if not, I would know a craft and I will always be able to open something or work somewhere, and that is one of the reasons why I enrolled in this program and have never regretted it." says Anđela.
When making clothes, everything starts with an idea, explains Andjela, then comes designing, technical sketching, basic construction, modeling, and finally sewing. She has sewn everything so far, from t-shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, and jumpsuits for herself, to an apron for her grandmother, a jacket for her father, and a prom dress for her sister, on which she hand-sewed flowers for ten hours.
"I love sewing elegant things the most and doing it by hand, because hand-sewing is so relaxed, meditative, and I really enjoy it, so I always choose to hand-sew all the details I can. I have even sewn up to 200 or 300 meters by hand and I am overjoyed when doing it. When you love something, you immerse your personality in that world and simply enjoy it. You have to know how to love it, and I see fashion as one of the ways to express my need for art, and for it to be useful to me and others." explains Anđela.
During her studies, Andjela achieved numerous successes in competitions, both at the school and national levels, and one of the greatest was that this year, through the competition of the organization “Intervet”, she was among 11 students from our country, and the only one from the textile field, to do an internship in France, where she worked at a high fashion sewing factory in Lyon.
"The women who work in that small sewing workshop specialize in custom sewing for haute couture, or “high fashion”, which means that fashion designers come and bring unique items for them to sew. They don't engage in mass production, and there is a lot of handmade work, with particular emphasis on precision. I worked there for a month, eight hours a day, regularly visiting factories for material and bridal salons, sewing wedding dresses for some major brands. I didn't gain much theoretical knowledge there, but I gained a lot of practical experience, which is most important in this craft. Because in fashion, you have to learn how to sew first, and then you can start dreaming," emphasizes Anđela.
Anđela Lebović is one of 12 students in her generation who were awarded by the organization "IT Subotica 2030" as part of the "Students of the Year" project. In her desire to learn more about stage costumes and dresses that were once worn at court, she will enroll in the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, and in 2030, she would like to have her own boutique.
"I would like to have a multifunctional boutique, with more items and different segments. I would like to have my own brand or a small company that doesn't have to have many employees, but where my small world revolves. I believe that Subotica will be one of the great and beautiful cities in 2030, and I sincerely hope for that. If that happens, it will open up more opportunities for me, and I am willing to return. If not, I will wait a little longer in Belgrade, and then maybe come back." Anđela concludes.
