On Thursday 14th December 2017, those in the know got to Galerija Bar at 8 pm sharp for a little ‘something different.’
Last Thursday, I meandered through the dark alleys of Split’s old town, to make my way to one of my favourite bars – Galerija. I was sent a very subtle invite the day before
Which was followed up with, “Don’t be late. It starts at 8 pm.” Now, if you don’t know much about Dalmatia, one thing you should know is that being on time and start-times, don’t generally mean much but this event seemed different somehow (was the hint in the title?), I was intrigued.
I arrived at 8:02 (yip, I know 2-minutes late) not expecting anything to be happening but the bar was full and it seems, the ‘performance’ had already started. Already this was different.
Something Different was a fashion show put on by Chicks on Chic and Little Wonder jewellery but rather than a typical fashion show and runway, Galerija transformed into a dark, sultry ‘underground’ bar. As Daniel Jones put it – “the Berlin led charge back into the 90’s was evident…”
Galerija bar has an intimate vibe at the best of times, during the day it is like a cosy living room and at night, every inch of space fills with bodies but this time, the living room area was occupied only with the models. They moved around the space, whispering, drinking, dancing… all movements exaggerated, emphasising the flow and lines of the designs and jewellery.
The girls were full of attitude and the whole set-up was mesmerising and almost a little perverted… dozens of people standing around, eyes fixed on the models who seemed to be in their own intimate world. But, if you think about, maybe this was a play on the modern world – how ‘watched’ our lives are, how we can peek into someone’s world with a swift scroll of the thumb… on the contrast, the girls acted oblivious to all of the eyes – something we can all perhaps take into the New Year – move with confidence, dance like no one’s watching, f*** everything and everyone, have the courage to be ourselves, rather than following the crowds.
Actually, Split could really learn from this. Sometimes I feel like everyone is a copy-paste of everyone else, ideas are recycled, one bar gets a pineapple cup for cocktails, magically they are everywhere… It was brilliant to see some genuine creativity and initiative. Bravo to the creatives behind the event.
This is obviously all my own interpretation and that is enough words from me; from here I will let the beautiful photos of Daniel Jones tell a story and you take what you want from it because who am I (or anyone else for that matter), to tell you what it all means.
Here’s to 2018 being something different.
All photos, copyright Daniel Jones Photography.
