Building BRADIC: The Honest Story Behind a Small European Label

I'm writing this because I think honesty matters, especially when you're asking people to trust you with their money and their wardrobes.

BRADIC is a small made-to-measure label that I started in Croatia. One person, one vision, a lot of trial and error. No investors, no team, no fancy office. Just me, trying to build something real in a world full of marketing smoke and mirrors.

This is the honest story of how it started and where it's going. 

Why I Started This Brand

I got frustrated watching luxury fashion brands sell thin, poorly made clothing for insane prices. You know the type. A silk dress that costs €2,000 but uses 16 momme silk that'll show wear in two seasons. A cashmere sweater that pills after three wears. Beautiful marketing, mediocre products.

I kept thinking: if they're charging luxury prices, why isn't the quality actually luxurious?

I also saw women constantly struggling with fit. My friends, my family, women in fitting rooms looking defeated because nothing sits right. Too loose here, too tight there, length wrong, proportions off. And I realized. Of course nothing fits. We're all different bodies trying to squeeze into the same six sizes.

I wanted to make something different. Real quality, thick silk, proper cashmere, construction that lasts. Made-to-measure so it actually fits your body, not an abstract size chart. Limited editions so each piece feels special, not mass-produced.

That was the idea. Simple on paper. Chaos in practice.

Early 2024 — The First Idea

The concept clicked in early 2024 when I was looking at luxury brand pricing and doing the math. A dress retails for €2,500. Production cost? Maybe €200-400, even with good materials. The rest is marketing, retail markup, brand positioning.

I thought: what if I cut out the massive overhead? No retail stores, no huge marketing budgets, no celebrity endorsements. Just a small operation focused on making really good garments and selling them directly to people who value quality over logos.

The model made sense:

• Limited editions (10-50 pieces per design)
• Made-to-measure for perfect fit
• Croatian (my home country) production
• No mass production, no overstock, no waste
• Transparent about materials and process

It felt doable. It felt honest. I had no idea how hard it would actually be.

Early 2025 — First Prototypes

Finding the right atelier was harder than I expected. I reached out to probably 15 different manufacturers in Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia. Most weren't interested in small runs. Some wanted minimum orders I couldn't afford. A few never replied.

Eventually I found a small atelier willing to work with me. They specialized in high-end garments for other brands and were open to my small-batch, made-to-measure approach.

I realised the only real long-term solution is to build the production myself, buy the equipment, set up a small studio, and have my own seamstress. No middlemen, no compromises, just full control over quality and craftsmanship.

The first prototypes were... not perfect.

The bias cut wasn't quite right. The straps kept twisting. I learned a lot about garment construction in those weeks. Things like: you can't just make any design in any fabric. Silk charmeuse behaves differently than crepe. Bias-cut pieces need specific handling. Hand-finishing takes actual hours, not minutes.

There were a lot of back-and-forths. A lot of "can we try this again?" moments. A lot of prototypes that looked almost right but weren't.

The costs were way higher than I'd budgeted. Quality fabric isn't cheap. Skilled labor isn't cheap. Small production runs are expensive per unit.

But then one day I was holding the revised silk slip dress prototype and I thought: ok, this is actually real. This is the quality I wanted. This is what I was trying to make.

That moment made it worth it.

Spring 2025 — Building the Website

I did everything myself because I had no choice. Budget was tight and I needed to launch.

I wrote all the product descriptions, trying to be honest about what each piece was, the fabric weight, the construction, the limitations. I built the website on Shopify, teaching myself as I went. I set up the made-to-measure system, the limited edition tracking, the whole backend.

Photography was the hardest part.

Here's the truth: I don't have budget for professional photoshoots yet. Real shoots with models, stylists, photographers, locations, that's thousands of euros per session. When you're making made-to-measure garments, you can't photograph the actual pieces because they're being made for specific customers.

So I used AI-generated images as placeholders. I know it's not ideal. I know people can tell. But it was either launch with AI images or don't launch at all while saving for months to afford a proper shoot.

I chose to launch.

I was very aware the site wouldn't look like Prada or The Row. It wouldn't have that glossy editorial vibe. But the goal was to have a functional brand, something real that people could actually buy from, even if the presentation wasn't perfect yet.

Summer 2025 — First Customers

The first newsletter subscriber felt surreal. Someone I didn't know had found the site and wanted updates. Then another. Then another.

The first order came in. A silk slip dress. I triple-checked the measurements, confirmed everything with the customer. When she received it and sent photo of herself wearing it, I just sat there staring at my screen.

That's a real person wearing something I helped create. Something made specifically for her body.

I'll never forget her name.

But it wasn't all smooth. The first few months taught me brutal lessons:

Production takes longer than you think. Four weeks becomes five becomes six when there are holidays, fabric delays, or small adjustments needed.

Communication is everything. Customers waiting for made-to-measure pieces get anxious. I learned to send updates proactively, even when there's not much new to say. "Your dress is in the finishing stage" feels better than silence.

Logistics are complicated. Shipping to different countries, customs forms, tracking issues, possible damage in transit. Every shipment was stressful until I knew it arrived safely.

People have questions I didn't anticipate. "Can I wash this?" "Will it wrinkle?" "How do I measure myself correctly?" I started building an FAQ based on real questions.

But the feedback is incredible. Women who finally had garments that fit perfectly. Who loved the quality. Who appreciated the transparency about materials and process. Who got what I was trying to do.

That kept me going.

Mid 2025 — Growth & Reality Check

By mid-2025, I'd learned how hard it actually is to run a real luxury brand, even a tiny one.

Making quality products is expensive. 25 or 30 momme mulberry silk costs 3-4x what cheap silk costs. Good cashmere is similarly priced. European labor isn't cheap (nor should it be, those are skilled artisans). When you're producing small quantities, you don't get bulk discounts.

I realized why most brands compromise on quality or charge insane markups. The economics are tough.

I also learned that transparency has costs. I wanted to be honest about everything, materials, production time, limitations. But honesty sometimes means admitting things aren't perfect yet. Like:

Yes, the website photos are AI-generated because I can't afford a proper photoshoot right now while also investing in premium fabrics and fair labor. That's the trade-off I chose, quality products over quality marketing images.

Yes, some orders take longer than the estimated 4-5 weeks because I'm working with small ateliers that also have other clients.

Yes, I'm still learning and improving the process with every order.

Being transparent meant accepting that the brand wouldn't look "perfect" in the traditional luxury sense. But I decided that was okay. Better to be honest and real than to fake polish I couldn't afford.

The customers who stayed appreciated that honesty. They understood they were supporting a small, genuine operation, not buying from an established house.

Today — What BRADIC Is Becoming

Right now, BRADIC is still small. Very small. But it's real, and it's growing in the right direction.

Here's what we have:

Limited edition portfolio: Each design is produced in small quantities (10-50 pieces) so they feel special, not mass-market.

Made-to-measure process: Every garment is tailored to your exact measurements. No "close enough" sizing.

European production: Everything is made in Croatia by skilled artisans who've been doing this for decades.

Quality materials: 25 momme mulberry silk for dresses, premium cashmere for knits, proper wool for tailoring. No cutting corners on fabric.

Transparent process: I try to be honest about everything, production timelines, costs, challenges, limitations.

Realistic pace: I'm not trying to release collections every season. I'm building slowly, making sure each piece is right before moving to the next.

The foundation is there. The quality is there. The process works.

What's still evolving is the presentation and scale. The website will get better. The product photography will eventually be real. The customer experience will keep improving.

But the core is making genuinely good garments that fit real women's bodies, that's solid.

Looking Forward — What Comes Next

I have clear goals for the next year:

Professional photoshoots: This is priority one. Real models, real styling, real photography. I'm saving for it. It'll happen when the budget allows, but it's coming. The products deserve better representation than AI images can provide.

Expanded inventory: More designs, more options. Right now the portfolio is intentionally small while I perfect the process. As things stabilize, I'll add more pieces.

New collection 2026: I'm planning the next collection now, new silhouettes, new fabrics, same quality standards.

Small ready-to-wear capsule: Some customers love the made-to-measure process; others want to buy immediately. I'm considering a tiny ready-to-wear line in core sizes for people who can't wait or don't want the customization.

Better UX and storytelling: The website will keep improving. Better product pages, better size guides, more detailed material information, more behind-the-scenes content.

The vision is to stay small but get better at everything. Better communication, better presentation, better customer experience—while maintaining the quality and integrity that started this whole thing.

A Human Note

I'm not trying to build the next huge fashion house. I'm not trying to compete with LVMH or be in every department store. I'm not trying to be famous.

I'm trying to build something small, real, and meaningful.

A brand where quality actually matches the luxury positioning. Where fit is personalized, not standardized. Where production is transparent, not hidden. Where you know who made your clothes and how.

I know BRADIC isn't perfect. The website isn't glossy. The product photos are AI-generated (for now). The order process takes weeks. The prices aren't cheap.

But the garments are real. The quality is real. The care is real.

If you've read this far, you probably get what I'm trying to do. If that resonates with you, if you value quality over marketing, substance over flash, slow fashion over fast, then maybe BRADIC is for you.

I'd love to hear from you. Whether you're considering an order, have questions about the process, or just want to connect with someone trying to do small-scale fashion differently.

You can reach me directly through the contact page. I read and respond to everything personally (because there's only me to do it).

Thanks for reading. Thanks for considering supporting a very small brand trying to do things right.

— Miron Bradic