Bokabulary: The Words That Inspire Our Pieces

The Language of the Bay: Montenegrin Words That Inspire Us

There are words you can translate — and then there are words you have to live to understand. In Boka Bay, language isn’t just about communication. It’s a rhythm, a philosophy, a way of moving through the day. Some words, born on these shores and shaped by centuries of Italian, Venetian, and Montenegrin influence, hold more than meaning. They hold a lifestyle.

At Fragmenti, these words aren’t just phrases we grew up with. They’re little mantras stitched into everything we do. Here are a few that inspire us daily.

Guštati

From the Italian gusto (good, just right), guštati is more than “enjoying.” It’s the art of savoring. To guštati is to find pleasure in a coffee that lasts an hour, a meal that takes all afternoon, or even a chore that you make sweet with music in the background. For us, guštati means slowing down the fashion process, creating pieces that aren’t rushed but considered — designed to be enjoyed, not just worn.

Nije preša

Literally: “no pressure.” It’s what we say when someone feels the need to hurry, and we gently remind them — there’s no rush. Along the Montenegrin coast, slow living isn’t a luxury, it’s a way of life. Meals, meetings, even Mondays unfold at their own pace. It’s also how we approach creativity: inspiration doesn’t like deadlines. It likes space to breathe.

Lagano

Light. Easy. Gentle. You’ll hear it often, said with a smile, a shrug, or a hand waving away stress. Lagano is the way we want our clothes to feel — effortless, never overcomplicated, ready to move with you through seaside mornings and city evenings.

Amore ka’ more

A local phrase that means “love like the sea.” Deep, endless, inspiring. We love that it carries a mix of Italian romance and Montenegrin soul. It’s also how we see our relationship with Boka Bay: constant, vast, always giving us new depths to explore.

Why words matter to us

These expressions might sound like simple phrases, but they carry the DNA of a place and its people. By weaving them into our designs, our packaging, and even our shop walls, we’re sharing fragments of home with everyone who walks through the door.

Because in the end, language is culture. And culture is what keeps us rooted — even when our pieces travel far from Montenegro.

So next time you hear someone say nije preša or lagano, know that it’s more than small talk. It’s an invitation to live the Montenegrin way: slowly, sweetly, with a little more gušt in every moment.