National Costumes Rental Workshop was founded on August 1st, 1948, and successfully operates since then, for 64 years. The intensive development of amateur folk-dance groups in the city of Zagreb and the growing need for costumes dictated the establishment of specialized institutions that will systematically collect clothes and rent them to the cultural and artistic societies in Zagreb and other customers in the Republic of Croatia, and on the whole territory of former Yugoslavia. The founders were PhD. Marijana Gušić, director of the Ethnographic Museum, Professor Zvonimir Ljevaković, director of the Ensemble Lado and dr Vlado Skreblin, artistic director of SKUD "Ivan Goran Kovacic". The first director was Mrs. Katarina Turkalj.

The Rental Office operated at first as a part of the Drama Theatre, and then for years with within the City Union Council, on a certain level of independence. In the year of 1957 it became a part of the Workers' Cultural and Educational Community. The Community was later renamed the Union of Cultural Societies, which was registered in 1985 as a Community of Cultural and Artistic Associations of Zagreb. By extending its activities to the making and the reconstruction of the costumes, the institution changed its name the same year to National Costumes Rental Workshop. Since year 1995 the Workshop has a branch office status within the International Centre for Cultural Services. The institution was located at Gajeva and Radićeva streets, for many years in at 9 Dežmanov prolaz, and since 1990 it is located at it's present address at 1 Baron Trenk street.

PHOTO:The first director of the Workshop Mrs. Katarina Turkalj