Croatia is a country most people file under “coastline and Game of Thrones filming locations” – but it is also, quite literally, the place that gave the world the necktie. That single fact tells you something important: this small Adriatic nation has been quietly influencing global style for four centuries, and it is still doing it today.
The modern Croatian fashion scene is small but unusually rich. In the space of a few hours you can go from a century-old shoe factory that survived a war, to a designer whose studio sits in the middle of a forest, to a company selling clothes that only exist in augmented reality. Below are the five fashion brands in Croatia that best capture that range – heritage houses, contemporary labels and genuine world-firsts. If you want to understand how Croatians actually dress (and what to bring home), start here.
Why Croatian fashion is worth your attention
Croatia sits at a cultural crossroads, absorbing Mediterranean, Central European and Balkan influences, and its clothing reflects that mix: clean lines, quality natural fabrics and a strong instinct for craftsmanship over fast fashion. Because the domestic market is tiny, the best Croatian brands survive on two things – genuine quality and a distinctive point of view. Most of the names below still manufacture at home, which is why “made in Croatia” has become a quiet mark of trust rather than a marketing slogan. As an EU member using the euro, the country is also easy to shop in, whether you visit in person or order online.
- Croata – the brand that put a tie around the world’s neck
No list of Croatian fashion brands can begin anywhere else. The necktie is a Croatian invention. During the 17th-century Thirty Years’ War, Croatian soldiers serving in France wore distinctive knotted cloths around their necks. The style caught the eye of the French court under Louis XIII, was adopted into civilian fashion, and picked up a name derived from the French word for “Croat” – the root of the word cravat still used in English today.
Croata, founded in 1990, is the brand built to honour that legacy. It is an independent, family-owned luxury house that today employs more than a hundred people, and it treats the tie as a piece of national heritage rather than a mere accessory. Its silk cravats, scarves and shawls are frequently decorated with authentically Croatian motifs: pleter (the interlaced braiding carved on medieval Croatian stone monuments), Glagolitic script (an old Croatian alphabet dating to the 11th century), and traditional folk embroidery. Each tie is cut on the bias in three pieces and hand-stitched by skilled artisans – the kind of detail that separates a heirloom accessory from a supermarket one.
Croata also founded Academia Cravatica in 1997, a non-profit dedicated to researching the cravat, and helped put the accessory on the world map in 2003 by wrapping a giant red tie around the Roman arena in Pula – a stunt that earned a Guinness World Record and gave rise to World Cravat Day, celebrated every 18 October.
Best for: meaningful gifts, formalwear and anyone who appreciates provenance. Where to buy: boutiques in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Varaždin and Osijek, plus worldwide online shipping.
- Startas – retro sneakers with a survivor’s soul
If Croata is heritage at its most elegant, Startas is heritage at its most emotional. These colourful canvas sneakers are made by Borovo, Croatia’s oldest shoe manufacturer, founded in 1931 near Vukovar by the Czech Baťa (Bata) footwear company and later nationalised under Yugoslavia.
The Startas sneaker launched in 1976, originally designed as a lightweight shoe for table-tennis players. Much like Converse in the United States, it was quickly adopted by young people and became the shoe of a generation across the former Yugoslavia – by the late 1980s the brand had sold around five million pairs and sponsored the 1987 University Games (Universiade) in Zagreb.
Then came the war. The Vukovar factory was heavily damaged during the fighting of the early 1990s, and the brand almost disappeared entirely. Its comeback is genuinely remarkable. A brand redesign introduced bold new prints – unicorns, and licitar hearts, the folk motif traditionally used to decorate Croatian gingerbread – and the reborn Startas earned features in Vogue and The New York Times. Crucially, the shoes are still handcrafted in the same (now historic, bullet-scarred) Vukovar factory from natural cotton and gum rubber, passing through the hands of local workers exactly as they did decades ago. Buying a pair is a small act of support for a community that rebuilt itself.
Best for: everyday wear, gifts with a story, and travellers who like their souvenirs to mean something. Where to buy: Borovo outlets across Croatia and the official webshop; Startas has also shipped to the US, Canada and Australia.
- XD Xenia Design – architecture you can wear
For contemporary high fashion, XD Xenia Design is Croatia’s most internationally respected name. It was founded in 1986 in the northern town of Čakovec by designer Ksenija Vrbanić, who graduated from the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Textile Technology in 1984 and is widely regarded as the country’s leading fashion designer.
The brand’s whole identity is built around what it calls the “XD Dimension” – an avant-garde, almost architectural approach to construction. Think classic tailoring reworked with asymmetry, sculptural volume, unexpected layering and soft technical fabrics shaped into angular lines. It is womenswear for someone confident and individual, sold in three distinct lines that run from wearable classics to genuinely extravagant statement pieces. XD has never chased global trends; it prefers to set its own, which is exactly why it has stayed relevant for nearly four decades and shown at major international fashion events.
Sustainability and transparency are central rather than bolted on. Collections have been produced exclusively in Croatia since day one, and the brand’s serene design centre – reportedly laid out according to vastu architectural principles and set in a forest in the Međimurje region – houses a small team of around fifty people focused purely on developing new collections.
Best for: design lovers, capsule-wardrobe investors and anyone who wants a piece that reads as art. Price note: this is designer-level pricing; expect to pay accordingly for the craftsmanship and made-in-Croatia production.
- ELFS – Croatian pop culture, stitched into clothes
Where XD is cerebral, ELFS is pure fun – and it is arguably the most recognisable ready-to-wear name in the country. The label emerged in the mid-2000s from the work of two designers, Ivan Tandarić and Aleksandar Šekuljica, who developed it while still students at Zagreb’s Faculty of Textile Technology (they graduated in 2009) and grew it into one of Croatia’s most commercially successful brands.
ELFS understands fashion as entertainment. The brand made its name with a knowing, camp sensibility – playful “logo-mania,” ironic references to regional pop culture, and collections that treat the runway show as a piece of theatre. That attitude has made it a favourite of Croatian and regional celebrities and pop stars, whose visibility in turn cemented ELFS as a genuine cultural brand rather than just a clothing line. Its aesthetic today balances that playfulness with breezy, wearable, coastal-friendly pieces, and everything is designed and produced in Croatia.
Practically speaking, ELFS is also one of the easiest brands here to actually shop. It runs stores in the centres of major Croatian cities – Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Dubrovnik and beyond – alongside a well-developed webshop that ships internationally, and it even sells a mini-collection of design-led souvenirs (canvas bags, scented candles, lavender pillows) for visitors who want a small taste of the brand.
Best for: fun, contemporary everyday fashion and holiday wardrobes. Where to buy: flagship and city-centre stores nationwide, plus worldwide online delivery.
- Tribute Brand – the future, worn digitally
Finally, the boldest entry on the list – and proof that Croatia is not just preserving fashion history but writing its next chapter. Tribute Brand, founded in Zagreb in April 2020 by Gala Marija Vrbanić with co-founders Filip Vajda, Marina Jukić and Igor Lipovac, is widely credited as the world’s first direct-to-consumer digital fashion brand.
The concept sounds like science fiction because it more or less is. You buy a garment that does not physically exist; the brand’s CGI artists then “fit” it onto a photo of you, or you wear it in augmented reality and virtual spaces via an app. The designs – liquid metallics, neon corsetry, gravity-defying gowns – draw heavily on video-game culture (think The Sims and Grand Theft Auto) and lean into a Y2K-futurist aesthetic. There is a serious idea underneath the spectacle, too: digital clothing produces no material waste and fits any body, gender or size, which the founders frame as a response to fashion’s sustainability and inclusivity problems.
This is not a fringe experiment. Tribute Brand raised a $4.5 million seed round in 2022, has created digital pieces in collaboration with luxury houses including Jean Paul Gaultier and Carolina Herrera, and has dressed artists such as Charli XCX and Kim Petras. In 2023, Gala Marija Vrbanić was named on Vogue Business‘s Top 100 Innovators list in the Web3 category.
There is also a lovely full-circle detail that captures the whole Croatian scene: Vrbanić grew up around the industry because her mother is a fashion designer – none other than Ksenija Vrbanić of XD Xenia Design. One family, two brands, spanning the entire spectrum from hand-built physical couture to the metaverse.
Best for: early adopters, digital creators and anyone curious about where fashion is heading. Where to buy: online, through Tribute Brand’s own platform and app.
How to shop Croatian fashion (a few practical tips)
- Go to the source. Zagreb’s central shopping streets (around Ilica and the lower town) are the densest hunting ground for local designers, while Dubrovnik and Split are strong for boutiques. There is also a Designer Outlet Croatia in Rugvica, near Zagreb.
- Look for the label. Genuinely local brands almost always state “made in Croatia” and produce domestically – a reliable quality signal.
- You do not have to visit. Every brand above ships internationally through its own webshop, so you can buy from anywhere.
- Prices are in euros. Croatia adopted the euro in 2023, which makes budgeting straightforward for most international visitors.
Quick comparison
| Brand | Founded | Known for | Vibe | Price level |
| Croata | 1990 | Silk ties & scarves | Heritage luxury | €€–€€€ |
| Startas (Borovo) | 1976 | Canvas sneakers | Retro, feel-good | € |
| XD Xenia Design | 1986 | Architectural womenswear | Avant-garde | €€€ |
| ELFS | mid-2000s | Playful ready-to-wear | Pop, camp, fun | €€ |
| Tribute Brand | 2020 | Digital fashion | Futuristic | Varies |
Frequently asked questions
Did Croatia really invent the necktie? Yes – the modern tie is widely traced to knotted neckwear worn by 17th-century Croatian soldiers, adopted by the French court, and named after the word for “Croat.” Croatia celebrates World Cravat Day on 18 October each year.
What is the most famous Croatian fashion brand? It depends on the category. Croata is the most iconic for accessories, Startas for footwear, and XD Xenia Design is the most internationally recognised designer label. Tribute Brand is the most talked-about newcomer globally.
Are Croatian fashion brands sustainable? Many are. Local production keeps supply chains short, several labels emphasise natural materials and transparency, and Tribute Brand’s digital model produces no physical waste at all. As always, check each brand’s specific practices.
Where can I buy Croatian fashion online? Every brand in this guide runs its own webshop with international shipping, so you can buy directly without visiting Croatia.
Final thoughts
What makes the Croatian fashion scene special is not scale – it is character. In five brands you get the invention of the necktie, a shoe factory that outlasted a war, an architect of fabric, a pop-culture powerhouse and a glimpse of fashion’s digital future. Whether you are planning a trip, hunting for a distinctive gift, or simply curious about a scene that punches far above its weight, these are the fashion brands in Croatia genuinely worth knowing.
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