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A Serbian Designer: Euthanasia, Salvation, and Socialism

Non-evil-looking clothes for the apocalypse and a history lesson, all courtesy of Sabak mastermind, Sasa Kovacevic.
Jamie Clifton
London, GB

Weirdly, spending all day trawling through fashion blogs and seeing lookbook upon lookbook of shitty, vacuous clothes lauded as something meaningful because 'this time the designer took a huge risk and decided to use silk rather than wool', or whatever, can get mind-numbingly dull. I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that, in essence, most designers are basically just ripping off other designers, so once you've seen one Oxford shirt, you've kinda seen them all. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across photos of a collection called Apocalypse by a brand called Sadak, which looked like style-conscious demons had catapulted fabrics through the parameters of time at models with face tattoos. Just to clarify, I was pretty fucking happy. Sadak's founder and sole designer is Sasa Kovacevic, which, incidentally, is a name he shares with both a Serbian popstar and a Serbian footballer. Unsurprisingly, he too is from Serbia, but is now based in Berlin, where he pumps out an army's worth of designs all by himself.

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Apocalypse SS11

VICE: You say the Sadak concept is based on 'tradition, ethnography, anthropology, history, and clothing.' What the hell does that mean?
Sasa Kovacevic: Well, all of my ideas come from my cultural background and my research for new collections is based on ethnography and history books. Playing with the ambiguity of patterns, shapes, and aesthetic references, while maintaining roots in a specific historical, social, and traditional context, defines my creative vision.

Look, I love the clothes, but can you break it down a bit more simply for me, please?
For example, I'm A Good Socialist was my graduation project which began with research about socialism in the former Yugoslavia. I applied the ideas that I learned from that to the creation of my own fictional micro-nation, named Ex-Land. The constitution of this 'new nation' is described entirely through its fashion. The 'laws' of Ex-Land are communicated through statements and 'socialist' symbols created on the clothes.

Apocalypse SS11

Wow, heavy. Give me some more examples, these are amazing.
Um, well, Lapot is more about mythical cultural traditions based on the Serbian tradition of killing the elder family members once they get so old that they become a burden to their family. Everyone in the house that it took place in, including the person set to die, would wear their best clothes. I feel like the collection embodies all of that while still retaining a fashion-forward approach with glossy, textured fabrics, a tailored finish, etc.

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That is kind of mind-blowing and jokes at the same time. What else?
Klephtis was based on the story of the Klephtic rebellions. The Klephts were nationalistic bandits and war-like mountain folk who lived in the Greek countryside and fought against the occupation of Greece when the country was a part of the Ottoman Empire. Most Klephts participated, in some capacity, in the Greek War of Independence. So, in order to derive a new perspective from this particular story, I researched the political situation in the region at the time and searched for the corresponding traditional Greek costumes from the early 19th-century.

OK, I totally get your mission statement now.
Yeah? Basically, all of my ideas are specific to The Balkans and ex-Yugoslavia region, which is where I'm from. Then, other than that, my collections are recognizable for their color scheme and distinct patterns.

Klephtis
 
Yeah, the first time I came across your work was from the Apocalypse SS12 Daniel Bollinger lookbook, which was definitely different. What was the inspiration for that collection?
It came from the story of the apocalypse from the Book of Revelation, the last book in the New Testament. I took some ideas from the story of revelation and incorporated my digital textile design, as you can see from those photos. I called it Robes of Salvation, Garments of Joy, because the whole collection represents the way apocalypse and rapture are so closely related. The designs are meant as a surreal evocation of both salvation and transcendence and also represent a mix of age-old belief systems and post-modern science fiction. Strangely enough, I was invited to show the clothes at Tokyo fashion week in March 2011, but, as we all know, the beginnings of a real apocalypse—the tsunami and earthquake—happened, so I never went.

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That's a bit spooky. Talking of the apocalypse, have you looked in to 2012 and the Mayan calender and all that?
No, not really. I don't know nearly as much about Mayan history as I do about Byzantine history, so I stick to that.

Is the Byzantine influence what made the Apocalypse collection look kind of evil?
It's not supposed to look evil at all. It's meant to represent tranquility and spiritual joy.

Klephtis

Oh, sorry. OK, well where did the Byzantine influence come in with that collection?
Well, I researched Byzantine clothing, but also the clothing of Eastern Orthodox monks. Orthodox monks lead very strict lives and it's their overriding purpose to pray for the world and the salvation of all mankind. In the Eastern Orthodoxy, the inner robe—the isorassa—and the soft monastic hat—a skoufos—are the first part of the Orthodox monastic habit, of which there is only one general style. So the idea was to incorporate black isorassa robes together with a digital print of an apocalypse.

Wow, it all makes sense now, but it is incredibly conceptual, so forgive me for getting confused.
Yes, it is conceptual, but fashion is a sign of creative self-expression. It shouldn't just be a series of garments or accessories haphazardly put together, so I always work with a concept. For me, fashion is art, not just a product made only to be sold.

I'm A Good Socialist

So art was originally why you started the label? 
Yes, definitely. I was in the middle of my studies, but I started Sadak in 2007 because I wanted to create a label that could work as art and theater as well as fashion.

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Oh yeah, I saw all the on stage photos on your site. Do you usually design the clothes and base the production around them? Or the other way round?
Well, the productions are all very different, so the costumes are designed specially around each one. For example, the last production I did was with the choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and the piece was called TeZukA,because it was based on the manga and comic book characters created by the godfather of anime and creator of Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka, but brought to life by contemporary dance involving all sorts of suspended sets and live art-pieces and stuff, so I made all of the costumes to fit in with that theme.

You made all of them?
Yes.

I'm A Good Socialist

That's insane. You seem to be hugely prolific. Is it just you doing all of the design work for every aspect of Sadak? 
Yes, but I am starting my own small production outfit this year.

Wow. So that includes everything from the black, red, and gold labels. What's the difference between each label?
The only difference in the black, red, and gold labels is the price range. All three of them belong to one collection and one concept, but fashion is expensive so I like finding a way to stick to the concept while still offering a cheaper range of clothes.

How noble of you. You have accessories coming soon too, right?
Yes, I'm working on my website and online store, so in January 2012 I'll have new concepts for all of the online stuff and the accessories collection.

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Apocalypse SS11

Can you tell me what that concept is?
No, I'm afraid I can't tell you more about it until I see it finished. All I can say is that I'm working with a friend of mine who's young and super-talented.

Cool. Lastly, what's the logo about? It reminds me a bit of the Freemasons or some sort or ancient, secret organization and, after talking to you, it really wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. 
Ha ha. No, the Sadak logo is actually a stylized version of an ancient flower, which was hand-embroidered on the sleeveless jackets worn as a sort of national costume in ex-Yugoslavia and Sadak is the ancient name of those jackets.

PHOTOS: DANIEL BOLLIGER-SAMO