Luke Azzopardi has launched his latest collection with a catwalk without an audience, doing away with the usual drama and theatricality of his shows, but claiming the pandemic has been a “good refresh” for many, instilling interest in changing their ways.

Inspired by Luke Azzopardi's interest in insects.

The Phoenicia Hotel gardens formed the lonely runway to his 11th womenswear collection, the mythology-inspired Psychopomps, which was, this time, filmed and sent directly to people’s inboxes.

The designer decided to opt for the virtual version from the get-go this season after having to cancel last year’s Bir Miftuħ show – complete with complex 3D mapping of its deconstructed late mediaeval frescoes – at the 11th hour.

“I decided not to risk it by trying to find a slot for a fashion show in COVID-19, only to have to call it off at the last minute,” Azzopardi said.

Instead, he created a “more personal project”, without the usual major intervention on a location, which is part of the inspiration.

In this case, the gardens of the Valletta hotel, with their indigenous species, provided a neutral outside space for his first fashion show to be filmed during the day.

In keeping with the setting, the collection features beaded pressed-flower motifs on fabrics, and prints created out of these.

The garden also lent itself to the theme of moths and butterfly lifecycles and Azzopardi’s keen interest in insects, their textures and exoskeletons.

The designer is aware that the intricate detail of his dresses may have been lost on the ‘missing’ audience that has migrated online in COVID-19, but he said their own interpretation of the pieces was interesting.

His ‘cocoon’ garment, for example, is made of see-through tulle, hardened and shaped like the body through a series of external pieces of boning, like a ribcage, with deconstructed lace stretched over the buttress.

You lose something, but you also gain by having set parameters

Behind the scenes.

While creating the collection, Azzopardi had to check how the “experimental” dresses would look on screen and was constantly photographing details on his phone to view them through the lens as the audience would.

The video, directed and edited by Anthony Mizzi of Blank Canvas, starts with behind-the-scenes footage of Azzo-pardi commenting on the phone about the bizarreness that it was “a catwalk show without a catwalk; a presentation without an audience” due to an “unpredictable” year.

“Perhaps it is fitting to experience the collection like this – in an abstract way,” he says to the person on the other end of the line.

The uncut comment defines the collection, Azzopardi said.

This time, it was about hitting the “refresh” button; about rebirth and renewal.

“You lose something, but you also gain by having set parameters. Designers and architects come up with beautiful things if they have strict constraints. Working around them leads to more exciting projects.”

In Azzopardi’s case, it has led to an exploration of fine jewellery, and a project involving digitising heirlooms and 3D printing is next up.

Moving away from the fast fashion movement with his timeless pieces, Azzopardi has been able to take ‘slow’ to a whole new level.

The harmony of his collaboration with other creatives has been perfect, Azzopardi said, with no deadline to complete the collection, no event and worries about how it would be perceived.

The ‘cocoon dress’.

“It was just about creatives working together... art for art’s sake,” he said.

What Azzopardi does best is design for the stage.

“I do not create minimalist pieces. It is about big performances and creating the dramatic momentum of a pre-sentation. So, taking that away from me felt like cutting off my right arm,” he conceded.

But on the plus side, he admitted, the fashion show without an audience took away some of the anxiety that can take over.

“With no live element, nothing could go wrong!”

Having said that, Azzopardi looks forward to his next fashion show, whenever that may be.

“I believe people will start attending events with a new-found energy and I want to see how they will react,” he said.

The pandemic experience has also taught the designer that, from a financial perspective, dedicating energy to perfecting the product instead of having an event works and benefits the business.

“I have also learned not to be an omniscient narrator – a puppet master,” he said, allowing his creations to come to life and guide him, and throwing ego to the wind.

“Maybe what the fashion industry is doing is not right and we needed to reassess what we should be doing.”