Sommersemester 2010, Schneiderei Mode-Design , Projektarchiv Mode

I am a good Socialist-FW 2010

SADAK's current collection, "I'm a good socialist" began with research about Socialism in Former-Yugoslavia during the 1960s, the ideas from which

Sasa Kovacevic applied to the creation of his own fictional "micro-nation", named "Ex-Land". The constitution of "this brave new" nation is described entirely through its fashion. The fashion of "Ex-Land" is a combination of traditional costume patterns from rural Serbia, optical illusion prints created in the "Western Block" in the 1960s, and socialist symbols and statements used as propaganda after WWII. Although SADAK clothes can be worn unisex, "I'm a good socialist" features both a Men's and Women's line. For the Men's Line, Kovacevic emphasized "Nationalism" and "Militarism" using a color pallet of Blacks, Grays and Metallic Golds to design and create intricate knitwear and optical illusion printed jackets, pants, and bodysuits; with the Gold colors referring directly to the look and feel of Medallions worn by WWII Veterans. For the Women's Line, the beige trench coats reference the typical costumes worn by the members of Yugoslavia's "National Security" (who were actually Government-hired spies in the 1960s), while the "blue-collar color" symbolizes the working class citizens (especially the laboring women) of the Nation.

"I'm a good socialist" began in 1960s Ex-Yugoslavia but has developed both thematically and aesthetically into the future. Influenced by Kovacevic's various cultural experiences, he is able to abstract and meld elements of past, present and future. "I'm a good socialist" illustrates SADAK's fascination with mysticism, fantasy and science fiction. The clothes are cinematic. The use of sharp metallic colors, transformable jackets, and geometrical shapes allude to the future while the use and eventual restructuring of traditional costume patterns alludes to the past. Although SADAK is concerned with both the past and the future, the clothes always return to the present through the natural poetry and shape of the body. There is movement in both the clothes themselves and the bodies that inhabit them. The various and ever-changing layers of the clothes lend themselves to both movement as well as sculpture. SADAK always offers elements of surprise and the idea of illusion is an overarching theme in "I'm a good socialist". Playing with ambiguity of pattern, shape, and aesthetic reference while maintaining roots in a specific historical, social, and traditional context defines the creative vision of SADAK.