Fashion designers often make the mistake of looking for inspirations in exotic locations and faraway places without realising that at times the best ideas are maybe nearer than they may think. Croatian-born Matija Čop didn't fall into any kind of exotic trap when he came to designing his collection, but stuck to an architecturally symbolic and magnificent landmark in Šibenik, the Katedrala of Svetog Jakova (Cathedral of St James or St Jacob).
Part of UNESCO's list of world heritage sights, the cathedral brought together some of the finest craftsmen of the Adriatic: Venetian Antonio Dalle Masegne originally built the lower Gothic level of the cathedral, but it was his successor Juraj Dalmatinac, stonemason, architect and representative of the Ornamented Gothic genre, who continued the work, using the limestone from the quarry of Veselje on the island of Brač.
Dalmatinac used innovative techniques he had learnt in Italy to make the roof of the cathedral employing an interlocking sequence of long rectangular stone blocks. He was followed by Nikola Firentinac who finished Dalmatinac's work, built the presbytery with the choir, the massive dome, the galleries and the barrel roof.
For his experimental collection entitled "Object 12-1" that he made as a student project with support from mentor Jasminka Končić, Matija Čop moved from the interlocking technique at the core of the Šibenik cathedral: all the designs included in the collection are made assembling and reassembling not stone slabs, but pieces made of white, grey and electric blue EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate).
One of the most interesting things about the collection is the fact that even the single EVA segments that Čop designed look a bit like the layout of Šibenik's cathedral. By changing their size, the designer formed different silhouettes and structures including a jacket, skirt, dress and headdress all characterised by complex or cocooning shapes that evoke the technical skills of the stone cutters who worked on the cathedral.
Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Matija Čop: I was born in Vinkovci, Croatia, on June 8th 1987. First I studied Croatian Philology at the Faculty of Philosophy. Parallel with that, I started studying Interior Design while preparing for the Fashion Design programme. In 2009, I enrolled in the Fashion Design programme at the Faculty of Textile Design in Zagreb where I finished the (BA) undergraduate programme. I am currently a first year graduate (MA) student of Fashion Design living in Zagreb.
Can you take us through the creation of your collection by briefly explaining us its genesis?
Matija Čop: In the collection Object 12-1, the initial task I set myself was to change the characteristics of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). One of the ways was to cut out small pieces in order to get the necessary flexibility. The smaller pieces needed to be assembled together. During my research, I found that this approach to construction had been used in building the St. James Cathedral in Šibenik, so I started studying it. That kind of construction had been used mostly on wooden structures and is known as the "tongue and groove" montage technique. It took me a long time to find a suitable shape to laser-cut which I had previously constructed in a vector graphics program.
Do you find architecture particularly inspiring and is there an artist/architect you particularly like?
Matija Čop: I perceive fashion as architecture. To me, fashion is a sort of housing which has to provide man with security – both physical and mental. In doing fashion design, I use various disciplines – architecture is one of them. Besides an architectural way of thinking, in my work one can also find sociology, psychology or even philosophy. There isn't just one artist or architect I particularly admire. There are various artists I admire for their work, depending on the problematics I am dealing with and studying at a given moment.
Did you find it hard to use EVA?
Matija Čop: I chose foam (ethylene-vinyl acetate or EVA) for Object 12-1 mostly because of its characteristics, which I had been looking for and needed to create the designs. I tried using various materials, but EVA seemed the most suitable. Considering the fact that the material is atypical when it comes to fashion design, I had to conduct additional research about the material, and do a lot of experimenting as well. In the end, though, I found ways to structure and use EVA for what I needed.
What fascinated you about this material, the fact that you could create through it different elements that you could assemble and reassemble in various ways?
Matija Čop: Among other things, the possibility to assemble and disassemble it. But it was me who added that "feature" after exploring the material. It was most important for the material to be soft, firm, and flexible, which seem like contradictory characteristics at first, but new materials that come with technological advancements are improved in various ways.
Which was the most challenging part of creating this collection?
Matija Čop: The most challenging part was how to make a suit of clothing connect without sewing or gluing it together. The St. James Cathedral in Šibenik served as an adequate construction to base my method on.
Some of your pieces look quite futuristic, would you like to design one day the costumes for a sci-fi film maybe?
Matija Čop: The models look futuristic, and, as I said, it's all done without sewing or gluing together, which is a new way of forming garments. If a film demanded such an approach, I'd be glad to do it, but such a film doesn't necessarily need to have a fine structured surface like Object 12-1. Costumes could be done in various ways.
What plans do you have for the future?
Matija Čop: I'm a first year graduate MA student, so I'm still in the process of completing my education. I'll be spending my summer in Barcelona at the Istituto Europeo di Design, and then in autumn I'll be at the Borås Institute of Technology, after which I'm going to return to Zagreb to graduate. In the meantime, I'm planning of doing fashion shows and exhibitions, and a lot of various interdisciplinary projects.
All images in this post courtesy of Matija Čop.
Photography: Nives Milješić
Model: Petra Pavlić
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