Launching his latest clothes collection with the imposing temples of Ħaġar Qim for backdrop, Luke Azzopardi brings together fashion, poetry, dance and music. Anna-Marie Galea interviews the young designer about the concept. Photos by Sean Mallia and Carlton Agius.
If a picture were to speak a thousand words, one can only wonder what the megaliths of Ħagar Qim would say about Luke Azzopardi’s show, If You Ask Me, I’m Yours, which was held at the prehistoric place of worship on August 26.
The first event of its kind, Luke wanted his self-described “largest collection by far” to come to life in the most primitive of locations and felt that it would be a fitting setting for his artisanal creations to be showcased for the very first time.
“I wanted the aesthetic to be completely natural. I was looking for a fertile darkness, which is life-creating and awe inspiring – a progression from dark to light and back to dark again. A marriage of prehistoric and post-human.”
The only new and unique thing that artists can bring to the table is their personal experiences in the purest form possible
In keeping with his wish to be raw, the first specimen of the 40-piece stargazing extravaganza were unstructured and flowing.
“In many ways, I felt that certain pieces of this collection are a prequel to the Gothic fantasies I conjured up in previous collections. In fact, all the fabrics that I used, such as the cotton, hemp and linen, are organic.”
Indeed, concentrating on the mood Luke wished to create was greatly facilitated through the employment of the misty red lights which adorned Ħaġar Qim as well as by the haunting words of poet Maria Theuma. The Naupaca Dance Factory’s writhing, dancing duo and the lingering voice of singer Jorje Bosios, as well as the accompanying live music ensemble certainly took the show to another level. Quasi-mystical in tone, the set-up shrouded the audience in expectation.
Unlike previous collections, Luke wanted to focus on making gallery-worthy couture, rather than simply ready-to-wear pieces. This decision was particularly visible in the brilliant cuts of his jackets, some deconstructed, while others razor sharp.
Luke described his pieces as performative, rather than static and had interesting words to say about the artistic process itself.
“All relevant art in 2015 has to be confessional. I truly feel that everything has already been done and overdone and that the only new and unique thing that artists can bring to the table is their personal experiences in the purest form possible – of course, everyone feels love and sadness, but no love or sadness is the same as another’s.
“Feelings are unique. Thus, every experience is a new one, an introspection manifested outwardly. Ultimately, everything we go through is semi-fictitious, because we colour it with our own thoughts and understandings. We see everything the way we are.”
Luke also wanted to expand his experience beyond the frontiers of our own world and universe and go beyond.
My clothes express a love story which cannot be, taking place in a sequence of impossibilities
“In my last show, my femmes fatales already had this almost otherworldly quality to them and, in the same way, I had married their beautiful fragility with a dark edge. In this collection I wanted to marry the Dionysian aspect of freedom, abandon and rawness with the Apollonian idea of structure and perfection. My clothes express a love story which cannot be, taking place in a sequence of impossibilities.”
The clothes themselves are just this: a collection of Luke’s inner thoughts and turmoil in a sea of unspeakable splendour, made interesting by the fact that he refuses to be bound by the constraints of moving in one direction.
“For me, there is no such thing as a finished state, we continue to grow, to change, to mould, to be all these different people and things, much like the universe itself. I wanted to show this from day to night effect and conversely, the night to day effect. I wanted a twisted dance as turbulent as feelings themselves.”
For Luke, it was extremely important that the collection be as eco-conscious as possible. Another main focus was on keeping everything luxurious while employing painstaking processes in order to get details such as the right kind of paint splatter spot on.
“My collection is a surprisingly colourful one when you look at the pieces together and you can also see an evolution in the techniques used and the pieces themselves. The paint splatter represents the Milky Way. The random beading reminds one of stars and the full beading of an entire constellation. Even the Nasa logos from the 1970s on some of the dresses were digitally put together by hand. We hand-dyed, hand-painted and hand-stitched everything onto those dresses.”
Luke is touchingly philosophical about his creative process and the stunning venue itself.
“I really feel like I have grown a lot through this collection. As an artisan, you have to be truly in love with what you are doing just to keep going every day. This setting is so fitting, because I feel like I have sacrificed myself for my art, in the same place where ritual sacrifices once took place. This collection is not simply about designing and making clothes, but it is also about the giving over of myself completely to my thoughts and allowing my innermost feelings to be manifested. In falling in love with my work, I am offering my love as a human sacrifice.”