19 May The Fabric of a Nation
As ŻfinMalta prepares to premiere NATION, a new work by Artistic Director Matthew William Robinson premiering as part of UNFOLD this week, costume designer Luke Azzopardi offers insight into the creative collaboration behind the production’s striking visual world.
Known for his couture practice and ongoing exploration of Maltese identity, folklore, and dress, Azzopardi reflects on designing for dance, working collaboratively with performers, and reimagining the Maltese folk costume through the lens of contemporary performance. In this conversation, he discusses the dialogue between fashion and choreography, the role of collaboration in artistic creation, and the ways in which NATION invites both artists and audiences to reconsider ideas of identity, heritage, and belonging.
“Sometimes we learn more about ourselves as Maltese people by trying to understand how we’re looked at, as opposed to trying to look at ourselves.”
Where did the artistic dialogue behind NATION begin?
The design for the costumes actually started from a conversation that I had with Matthew (William Robinson) about my publication, ‘Għonella, Deconstructing the Garment,’ which explores the folk realities surrounding the għonnella – now regarded as Malta’s national costume. It’s also about reconstructing the past and inserting new creations and new visual proposals into the black holes and the lacunae that there are surrounding the garment; there’s a lot of data which has been lost. I think everything started from there, and we ended up with a set of costumes which are almost ghost-like. Is their presence really there or is it not? They’re see-through and work in a sort of deconstructionist manner. Pieces are missing, embroideries are missing, but then they’re layered onto each other, so there’s this superimposition of textiles and materials which generally aren’t used in dance costumes.
Through multidisciplinary collaboration, we actually start coming up with ideas that perhaps have not been hinted at yet.
What makes designing for dance distinct from your couture practice?
Working with ŻfinMalta is always a really lovely thing for me to go through because unlike most other design projects, and unlike the usual work we produce here at the studio, it’s a collaborative effort. It ties in with my methodology of how the future of design is really within collaboration. I think as designers and as artists, we’ve managed to say everything that there is to say, but through collaboration and multidimensional, multidisciplinary collaboration, we actually start coming up with ideas that perhaps have not been hinted at yet.
“The future of design is really within collaboration.”
There’s a novelty in working in working synergistically, with both Matthew as a choreographer and the artistic director, but also having the input of the dancers themselves. With my usual couture work, I don’t get much feedback from the models, whereas with dancers, just because there is a technical aspect that we need to fulfil, there needs to be that dialogue which is ongoing until performance night. I think it’s a wonderful experience.
I also love getting to know each and every group of dancers. It’s also always really wonderful to work with an exciting group of professionals, within a professional setting.
What has it been like collaborating with Matthew William Robinson?
It’s my first time working with Matthew Robinson, and it’s been great. Matthew gives a lot of creative freedom to the people he’s working with, and there’s a lot of trust, which I think is important, especially as ultimately, we have also started looking at contemporary dance pieces as aesthetic pieces.
The flexibility that he has surrounding a piece and how he approaches making work—his method is so innovative. I find to be extremely inspiring to me; for the first time in my career, I’m working with somebody like Matthew, who is looking at the Maltese folk identity and the folk costume from an outsider’s point of view.
What does it mean to look at Maltese culture through someone else’s eyes?
Writing Għonella, Deconstructing the Garment, and being exposed to post-colonial and colonialist realities of having the outsider’s gaze interpreting and assigning meaning to what it is to be Maltese — especially from a sartorial point of view — is really interesting because I’m now getting to experience it with Matthew from an artistic point of view. I’m looking at the folk costume, this idea of identity, identity-making, and Maltese-ness, through his eyes. Sometimes we learn more about ourselves as Maltese people by trying to understand how we’re looked at, as opposed to trying to look at ourselves.
Since independence in the sixties, I believe we’ve been trying to build an aesthetic of sorts surrounding this idea of Maltese-ness. What does it mean to be Maltese? What does it look like to be Maltese? And sometimes having an outsider, very respectfully, interpreting what that might mean is a totally different ball game. It propels us forward to really start understanding the beauty and the intricacies of our culture, our identity, and most of all our folk costume.
At a time when questions of identity, belonging, and human connection feel more urgent than ever, ŻfinMalta National Dance Company’s latest double bill, UNFOLD, arrives at Teatru Manoel this May with striking relevance. Bringing together two distinct choreographic voices, the evening offers not just a showcase of contemporary dance, but a layered reflection on who we are, individually and collectively.
Tickets selling fast: Experience ŻfinMalta National Dance Company for three evenings only in UNFOLD, on May 22nd, 23rd, 24th May, at Teatru Manoel. Book tickets now via teatrumanoel.mt/event/unfold/