May 16th, 2021 - Our contestant for Miss Universe Croatia 2020, Mirna Naiia Marić (21) from Zadar, presented herself in her national costume on the stage of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood yesterday. It was designed by one of our most famous fashion designers, Matija Vuica (63). 

As Jutarnji List reports, in addition to the national costume, Vuica designed other cocktail and evening dresses that our missus wears. She also discovered the inspiration for the costume that Mirna proudly wore but also described in more detail what it looks like.

Matija Vuica Instagram | @matijavuica

"I am also looking forward to this year's cooperation with the management of Miss Universe Croatia, Marija, Vladimir Kraljević, and of course our beautiful Mirna. Mirna will take to America as much as she needs a dress for various events, cocktails, and of course a national dress and the main evening dress that is real Hollywood, covered with crystals, just for Miss Universe. The national dress has its own story: when we look at the surface, Croatia is a small country but it is rich and luxurious when we look at its cities, villages, nature, and history. The dress is a small, simple crinoline made of postcards covered with mirrors, but it is actually rich in depicting our beautiful cities to which we invite people to come, to visit Croatia. The dress is surrounded by mirrors, and my folk costumes decorated with mirrors were my inspiration. Throughout history, some of our ancestors held mirrors to protect them from spells, or on the other hand, women were burned for allegedly returning with mirrors. Well, now on behalf of those women who were burned, we are giving away a dress made of mirrors, which attracts the sun's rays and invites all people to come to our luxurious Croatia", said Vuica.

This year, as many as 75 beauties will be fighting to win this year’s Miss Universe pageant. One of them is, of course, our beautiful Mirna Naiia Marić. The girls are fully preparing for the finals to be held this Sunday in Florida, USA. Our Mirna eagerly awaits the finals and enjoys the many activities that this competition provides.

Mirna Naiia Maric Instagram | @mirnanaiia

"We don't have free time, we have been at fittings from the early morning, choreography rehearsals take a long time, and we also have a dance rehearsal. I am very happy because Pitbull is with us on stage" Mirna said excitedly.

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February 10, 2020 - Croatian fashion designer Matija Vuica has made a name for herself in Hollywood, and her status has been proven when her show was held at one of the exclusive Oscar afterparties.

It was a huge fundraising event, organised and hosted by Daphna Edwards Ziman, a filmmaker and philanthropist from Hollywood, in her house which has quite an importance in Hollywood (and American) history. The dinner tables were set for 300 people, but Matija Vuica says that there were at least twice as many people present at the party.

There was quite a lot of entertainment, Dennis Quaid & The Sharks (yes, THAT Dennis Quaid!), DJ Paul Oakenfold, 9-year-old YouTube star Madison Taylor Baez, the rapper Chief WaKil, and singer-songwriters Macy Gray and Paulina Aguirre. Matija Vujica's show closed the party, with the models showing Matija's dresses while walking amongst the tables. The party started after the Oscars award ceremony was finished, but the entire event lasted from 3 pm until somewhere around 1 am.

Matija Vuica told Jutarnji List how the hostess, Mrs. Ziman decided to wear one of Matija's dresses for the party which posed a bit of a challenge for Matija, as the dress needed a lot of adjustments to be ready for the occasion - as if she didn't have enough work already! She did the adjustments by hand, and was finished at 5 am! 

In addition to her show held at an exclusive location in the heart of Hollywood, some of her dresses made its way to the Oscars Red Carpet: Maya Ford, Metta World Peace's partner wore one of Matija's dresses, a dress already seen by the Croatian crowds on some of our local celebrities. Canadian actress Khloë Terae also wore a Matija Vuica dress, and she bragged about the numerous compliments she got for it. Last year there were also two dresses on the Oscars Red Carpet made by Matija Vuica.