The biggest star of the recently concluded large arms fair in Dallas organized by the famous NRA (National Rifle Association) was a Serbian woman, Miona Badžević-Anđelković. The recent champion of Serbia in practical shooting presented herself in the American state of Texas as a fashion designer and has attracted big attention with her dresses and jewelry made from empty bullet shells.
The fair in Dallas is one of the largest in the world, with 153 years of tradition, the world’s largest weapons manufacturers presented themselves at it, but by far the most photographed was the stand where our Miona exhibited her authentic dresses.
-I arrived in Dallas at the special invitation of the NRA, whose leaders were delighted with my dresses 4 months ago, at the world’s largest gun fair “Shot Show” in Las Vegas. Then they recognized me for the originality and beauty of my models but also stated that I am the only person who deals with this kind of art. I received great honors here, they introduced me as an artist from Serbia who creates dresses, jewelry, and mosaics from rifle and pistol shells, and it was a great honor to represent my country
at such a big event, which over 600,000 people visited in two days, says Miona Badžević-Anđelković for the Serbian Times.
She adds that photographers and influencers have been picking up her stand from the start:
-I had a very notable performance, and people from all over America approached my stand, and they admitted to me that they had never seen anything like it before. I was amazed because they are influencers followed by millions of people on social networks, journalists, and photographers, they all stood in line to take pictures with me and my models, and many of them went home with my jewelry. The biggest stars from the world of weapons also approached me, such as TaranTactical and his girlfriend Tetiana Gaidar, the famous country singer Rachel Stacy, and my biggest supporter was Diane Miller, the founder of “Women for Gun Rights”.
Miona further points out that she used the guest appearance in Dallas as an opportunity to promote Serbia, our history and tradition:
-I brought mosaics of the monastery Studenica’s Cross with me from Belgrade, so I explained to them that it was not an anchor, but the cross of Saint Simeon, along with the entire history that accompanies it. I was even approached by people from Donald Trump’s security, who asked how they could buy dresses for their wives, Miona Badžević Anđelković told us under her breath.
She also announced her exhibition and fashion show, which should soon take place in Chicago.
-When I came to Chicago last winter, I donated my mosaics to the humanitarian organization “Serbs for Serbs”. Next time there will be a lot more of those mosaics, and I am also designing new dresses, which will have their premiere in Chicago, most likely this upcoming winter, Miona announces.
Article by: Antonije Kovacevic Photo: Private archive
