I will close my coverage of the Academy’s final year collections with Vladimir Lazarevic’s “Ambrosia Field”. This collection is his vision of the Bacchanalia as seen through Baroque-colored lenses. “You can immediately associate with the Bacchanalian mood, but I wanted a more romantic approach so I used a sensuous Baroque view on the subject to achieve a bohemian mood. So my complete concept is built up on the centaurs’ looks, behavior and their presentation in Baroque art.” Lazarevic not only demonstrates a balanced silhouette combining man and beast but also a balance in his work between calculated craftsmanship and intuitive design.

Vladimir Lazarevic “Ambrosia Field” www.antwerp-fashion.be

The notion of balance between human and animal: rationality struggling against intuition. The psyche is out of balance when the “animal” is ignored for too long. It reacts, retreating back into the woods. Such were the ancient frenzies of Dionysus in the woods, hippie revelry at Woodstock in the Sixties and latter-day Bacchanalia in the form of weekend binges. The ancient Roman ban on the Dionysian rites failed to snuff out this reaction back then, just as it was equally impossible to snuff it out during Prohibition.

atmosphere images from Vladimir Lazarevic’s “Ambrosia Field” www.antwerp-fashion.be

With models as centaurs, Lazarevic clearly separates the silhouette between upper and lower body, bringing the ensemble together with cloven hoof boots. For the upper body, Lazarevic blends raw power amplified by shapes that mimic muscle definition and the classic (romantic) poet’s shirt: “Because there is a mix of nature between man and horse, the shirt patterns contain shapes of muscles and proportions of the horse. To show the celebration of Bacchus and the lustrous, rich, bohemian living, garments are richly embroidered with silver yarn. To make it more poetic and fresh all shirts are made from very fine silk fabric.”

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

For the lower body, Lazarevic joins classic tailoring and Turkish wrestlers’ pants. “From the waist down is black, strong and masculine, which represents the beast or creature. As I continued my research I found that centaurs are mostly pictured in wrestling positions, so I used the idea and details of Turkish oil wrestlers’ pants to integrate into classical tailoring patterns.”

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

To round off the chosen effect, Lazarevic included inventive footwear, which I suspect will be a universal hit among the goth crowd. “…They are very important to make my image very clear and of course give the right impact to my silhouette.” The icing on the cake is his knitwear: “It is silver knitwear and crochet. I use silver yarn and mirrors to bring more illusion and dreamy effect as centaurs are as well.”

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Vladimir Lazarevic www.antwerp-fashion.be

Whether he is offering up libations to Dionysus or not, Lazarevic’s final year collection seems divinely inspired.