Josip Grabovac

Josip Grabovac
Born (1985-10-12) October 12, 1985 (age 41)
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
OccupationFashion journalist

Josip Grabovac (born 12 October 1985) is a Croatian fashion journalist based in Milan, Italy. He founded GLAS MODE, a fashion magazine, and later the Milan Fashion Department, an initiative intended to provide emerging designers with access to the Milan fashion industry.

Early life

Grabovac was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before pursuing fashion and becoming involved in fashion blogging, journalism and scouting, he worked as a bartender.

Career

Grabovac moved to Milan, where he pursued a career in fashion journalism. He became a regular participant in the Italian fashion industry and attended Milan Fashion Week, where he attracted attention for his own styling. He was the first journalist from the Balkan region to be accredited at the event.

By the late 2010s, he was receiving attention in the Balkans and Italy for his fashion work. He described working in Milan's fashion industry as fulfilling a long-term career goal. In 2019 he attended Belgrade Fashion Week as a guest of honour. He went to Dubai to attend fashion events and to receive an award in 2021.

His work and career have been covered by Croatian and regional media including ‘‘Forbes Hrvatska’’, ‘‘Večernji list’’, ‘‘Jutarnji list’’, RTL and other publications.

Since 2023 he has been an ambassador for the Ultra Europe music festival. In 2025, he launched Milan Fashion Department to help up and coming Balkans break into the fashion industry. In 2026, he again participated in Milan Fashion Week while serving in the journalists' jury at the Sanremo Music Festival following an invitation from RAI, the Italian broadcaster.

In 2026, he launched a limited edition collection "JOAN by Josip Grabovac – BLANC" which sold out. This was a collaboration with the fashion brand JOAN, beginning with his first authorial fashion design collection. The project was a transition from playing behind-the-scenes roles into designing under his own name.

Awards and recognition

Grabovac received the ‘‘Večernjakov Pečat’’ award in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "Karijeru je gradio od Širokog Brijega do Milana i na kraju uspio u svijetu mode". Forbes Hrvatska. 15 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Od Mostara do Milana: impresivna međunarodna karijera modnog novinara i urednika Josipa Grabovca". Večernji list.
  3. ↑ Redakcija (2019-01-02). "Josip Grabovac: Da moram samo na Instagramu objavljivati fotografije brendova koji me plaćaju, radije bih se vratio poslu barmena". Azra Magazin (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  4. ↑ "Josip Grabovac: Sanremo, Milano Fashion Week i žiri RAI-ja". Jutarnji list. 27 February 2026.
  5. ↑ Josipović, Ana (2022-01-14). "Najzanimljiviji outfit na tjednu muške mode u Italiji odjenuo je Hrvat - Josip Grabovac - Style Zagreb". Style Zagreb (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  6. ↑ "Slobodna Dalmacija - Odabirom neobičnog stylinga hercegovački modni stručnjak osvanuo na svjetskim naslovnicama mnogih modnih časopisa". slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  7. ↑ Tomic, Bojana Veljkovic- (2024-09-09). "Josip Grabovac –novinar koji je balkansku modu pozicionirao u europski kontekst | FashionMag42". Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  8. ↑ Y.Z (2020-02-24). "Italian Media writing about a Man from Siroki Brijeg". Sarajevo Times. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  9. ↑ "Josip Grabovac: Ostvario sam svoj veliki san". www.vecernji.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  10. ↑ "Josip Grabovac ospite d'onore alla settimana della moda di Belgrado". www.ravenna24ore.it. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  11. ↑ "Il faentino Josip Grabovac eletto a Dubai Fashion Editor e giornalista dell'anno". Ravenna Notizie (in Italian). 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2026-09-10.
  12. ↑ WhatsApp, Redazione 10 luglio 2021 08:18 Facebook. "Il faentino Josip Grabovac eletto a Dubai giornalista di moda dell'anno". RavennaToday (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-09-10. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "Modni skaut Josip Grabovac otvoreno progovorio o životu u modnoj industriji". RTL.
  14. ↑ "Da Faenza alle vette del fashon journalism: Josip Grabovac nominato ambasciatore dell'Ultra Europe Music Festival di Spalato". Aprile 9, 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ↑ "Josip Grabovac ambasador Ultra Europe Festivala u Splitu". www.vecernji.ba. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  16. ↑ "Karijeru je gradio od Širokog Brijega do Milana i na kraju uspio u svijetu mode. Sada želi pomoći mladima s Balkana u osvajanju modne scene". Forbes Hrvatska (in Croatian). 2025-06-15. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  17. ↑ Love, Katherine. "World Of Forbes: Stories Of Entrepreneurial Capitalism Across Our 49 International Editions". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-12-15. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  18. ↑ "Jutarnji list - Tko je Hrvat u žiriju legendarnog Sanrema: 'U školi su me ismijavali i širili laži...'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
  19. ↑ Kunić, Natalija (2026-08-09). "Josip Grabovac predstavio kolekciju BLANC brenda JOAN u Porto Montenegru". Harper's BAZAAR Srbija (in Serbian). Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  20. ↑ Bljesak.info (2026-06-26). "Josip Grabovac predstavlja prvu autorsku kolekciju". Bljesak.info (in Croatian). Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  21. ↑ "Nakon godina iza kulisa, Josip Grabovac izlazi u prvi plan s autorskom kolekcijom". 27 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Josip Grabovac: Ostvario sam svoj veliki san". Večernji list.