Download E-Magazine

    Exclusive interview: Hanan Besovic of @ideservecouture explains why he is attending Dubai Fashion Week

    Jessica Michault

    The man behind the beloved account has built an engaged online community for fashion lovers who take their haute couture with a dollop of humour

    “The reason I am coming is curiosity,” says Hanan Besovic of 'I Deserve Couture' over Zoom as we chat about his first trip to Dubai Fashion Week. “I am curious about what is being offered to the women of the Gulf. Is it going to be a lot of embroidery, what kind of silhouettes are going to be presented, and what’s the energy? I am sure there are a couple of designers that deserve a spotlight on the world stage. So curiosity is what fuels my arrival there – 100 per cent.” 

    For Besovic curiosity has always been his baseline. And his favourite means of expression? Humour. It’s a combination that made him well suited to the fast-paced, short attention span space that is social media. But it was only in 2020 (after he was let go of his hospitality job in Florida because of the global pandemic)  that he decided to launch @ideservecouture on Instagram to see where it might lead. 

    Since then he has developed a cult-like following of close to half a million followers on the platform. Carving out a niche as a sharp-witted, refreshingly unfiltered voice on the state of fashion today. Besovic offers his fans a catnip eclectic mix of posts that span everything from memes and red-carpet style analysis to more in-depth fashion history storytelling or highlighting up-and-coming designers that merit a closer look.

    "I started this whole thing watching shows on my iPad," Besovic recalls. "People think that if you're not at a show, you can’t critique it. But I don’t need an invitation to give my opinion. And that’s what I’ve always done."

    It’s a philosophy that quickly propelled Besovic to the upper echelons of the fashion commentary world. His ability to distil collections down to their essential elements – design merit, cultural impact, and commercial viability – has made him a trusted impartial source in an industry where writers for many fashion publications are pressured to kowtow to the demands of luxury advertisers. 

    "In the past, fashion criticism was tied to access. If you said the wrong thing, you might not get invited back," he explains. "I don’t have that fear. If a brand doesn’t invite me to their show, I’m still going to see it.  And let's be honest, they are not going to go bankrupt if I say, ‘Oh my God, I really don't like that show’. If that was the case, Dior would have been bankrupt a long time ago, but they're not, they're doing great, and I'm very happy for them,” says Besovic about his philosophy of being honest no matter the possibility of blowback from a brand.

    Even with such a large fan base, Besovic, who was born and raised in Croatia, is still operating as a one-man show. He will spend hours personally answering his DMs and is committed to keeping an open dialogue with his engaged community. "People follow me because they want a conversation. They want to know the history, understand the context of a collection, and, yes, they want to laugh too. Fashion is supposed to be fun," he says.

    But Besovic admits he is a bit concerned about the current state of fashion. In particular, the revolving door shake up of artistic directors and designers at a number of the leading fashion houses. “I feel like the fashion industry has hit the panic button and everybody's going everywhere,” he says. “This last year has just been the craziest year for fashion. It's like every two weeks, somebody's out, somebody's in, somebody's on the side, And these designers, in my opinion, are getting the shorter end of the stick. They're being given such a short period of time to prove themselves before a brand is looking for someone ‘better’. You cannot expect a designer to do miracles in two or three collections. It just doesn't work like that.”

    What Besovic is excited about is all of the designer talent he is discovering outside the four fashion capitals. He has attended a number of other fashion weeks, from Berlin to Barcelona, championing brands worth knowing that might not have their collections featured on Tagwalk or WWD. His ability to spot young talent is another key reason his Instagram feed is a must-follow for key industry leaders. 

    As his fame has grown Besovic has also found his own signature style, not unlike other iconic movers and shakers in the fashion world (think Anna, Franca, Adrian, Suzy). Today he can be spotted at the shows with his hands covered in stacks of rings and bracelets – his personal style now an extension of his brand. “Fashion is liberation. I really don’t care if people think it looks stupid, or weird, if I am happy with it, that is all that matters. I tell everyone just to wear what they think is best. If you don’t try, you’ll never know who you are.”

    It’s this fearless embrace of self-expression that has made Besovic such a compelling figure in the industry. He sees fashion as more than just clothes – it’s history, storytelling, identity. "At the end of the day, fashion is everything. It makes you think, it makes you feel, it connects you to the world. What I love about this industry is that it never stops evolving. And if I can help people fall in love with it the way I have, then I’m doing something right.”

    You May Also Like