Croatia’s Once Mighty Shoe Firm Finds its Feet Vogue’s recognition of its Startas sneakers is only the latest sign that the humbled economic giant in Vukovar is on the way back up. Startas sneakers in the same colours as when they were first designed in 1976. | Photo: Borovo.hr Startas sneakers - already on their way to becoming a global brand - gained further recognition on the design scene when Vogue in December featured its pink sneakers with unicorns as a “must-have” fashion item for all those who “want to indulge the inner child”. The sneakers are a product of Borovo, a shoe company from a satellite neighbourhood to the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar. While Startas shoes are now becoming a top selling export, their basic design has existed for 40 years. Borovo was founded by the Czech industrialist Jan Bata, owner of Bata shoe industry, in 1931, when he built the whole neighbourhood for company workers. During communist Yugoslavia, between 1945 and 1990, ...
