Serbia's Old Sandals Make Tracks in Japan

Sales of the sandals started after a Japanese company, Vallauris, visited the Tigar rubber firm in the southeastern town of Pirot to see their protective rubber footwear. They ran into the "opanci" at the same time.  

"When we told them that they were a handmade product, dating back to 1935, when Tigar was founded, they obtained a unique status in their eyes, representing tradition," Jelena Petrovic of Tigar said.

The Japanese have sought for the sandals to be slightly modified. "But the basic structure and form of the product remain the same," Petrovic said.

The new model is more comfortable and easier to wear and maintain, Tigar said. Symbolically, the Pirot "opanci" are being sold in Japan under the name "1935".

Opanci are traditional peasant footwear worn throughout the Balkan region and made of leather or rubber. Nowadays, they are most often worn in rural areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia.