7-27-2025 MY INSPO: unsung fashion heroes

 last week, i was scrolling mindlessly when a croatian facebook page posted a photo of remembrance for žuži jelinek a croatian/hungarian fashion designer, columnist, and sex guru - as it was her birthday on the 17th. basically, the first carrie bradshaw.

as a child i was interested in tabloids, and adult pop culture stuff, and i always wanted to read fashion magazines at cousins' homes, etc. žuži was frequently on tv, and was an old lady at the time, but still controversial. in later history and during the time i heard of her, she was known to be an expert on relationships, sex, and had a column not much different than what carrie bradshaw would have - in the magazine gloria - where she was also an editor. my mom never bought fashion magazines but would occasionally watch tabloid shows. she was never a fan of žuži. seeing the name žuži years later, almost 10 years after her passing, i realized, i didn't know nearly enough about this woman, but i know she was some kind of pivotal character in the fashion life of croatia. 

žuži was born in hungary by poor and deaf parents, and her brothers were killed by nazis in world war ii. žuži's family was jewish, and she expected no mercy for her parents and herself. even though she was married (for money, to a doctor, but she still loved him), žuži claimed she seduced a nazi soldier in order to keep her parents alive. in many interviews, books and documentaries she stated, "sex saved my life". before the war, she went to work for nina ricci and knew coco chanel. she claimed that the two once entered the atelier and žuži told one of them her outfit didn't fit her right, which caused one of the designers to have a temper tantrum.

after the war, she continued to be a seamstress, and lived in the usa for a bit, where she was quite successful. marshall josip broz tito - in power at the time of yugslavia, was unhappy that she was self-promoting the wrong ideal and offered her to work at the macedonian teteks company, to solidify the socialist ideal at the time. she refused this offer - which caused her to become enemy of state. žuži relocated to geneva, switzerland. during this time, her first husband was cheating on her, and she left him. 

after some time, she was welcomed back to yugoslavia, where she became tito's wife, jovanka broz' designer. žuži became one of the most popular designers behind the iron curtain. steven spielberg was so inspired by žuži's story to survive the war, that he wanted to make a film inspired by her, having žuži be an advisor for the film. not wanting to stay in the usa too long, she declined this offer. žuži had 4 husbands, a few kids and grandchildren, and after she passed, she left behind a legacy of numerous books, editorials in gloria, and a story that never got to hollywood. 

gianni bini: beating the blues with shoes

back when department stores meant something to the american woman, you could find various almost high-end shoes for the fraction of the cost, and they looked trendy, stylish, unique. my mother was a department store fiend, and she knew how to shop there without breaking the bank. 

my aunt and many other mature cousins, and older croatian ladies continued keeping the department stores out of bankruptcy (they could not save macy's). many ladies continued thinking of my mother and bringing her gifts. most notably, the ones sib and i looked forward to, were the shoes. and always the same brand: gianni bini. 

my mom had various shades of pink strappy heels, black wedges, and tiny kitten heels in her collection, and sib and i would fantasize of outfits to wear for a hot summer night.

many years later, our mom finally gifted these to us, and we continue to check out what the dillard's shoe section has to offer. 

listen, don't ignore the gianni bini sign. don't ignore the brand if you ever go shoe thrifting or if you're scrolling through ebay or poshmark, searching for the perfect summer shoe (my rule of thumb for shoe thrifting, if it's like new, it's safe. anything else isn't worth the hassle). 

gianni bini is here to rescue you. the designs are just as iconic as they were 20-30 years ago. the prices aren't as crazy, and they're overall pretty comfortable. 

while researching for the blog, i discovered very minimal about gianni bini. it is most likely a made-up brand by designers from other department store companies. some websites claim that this is a vince camuto offspring. the gianni bini website states it came to life thanks to designers gianni and bini. who the hell are these people? no one knows. 

if you look up gianni bini, you may also find bini & martini - which is an italian dj duo - a gianni bini and a paolo martini. is this the same person that makes my mother's favorite shoes? nothing to confirm or deny this.

i and sib own four pairs each, creations of this martin margiela-like mysterious designer:

my collection

sib's collection