Azariah: A Shadow Pantheon

Night holds an antagonistic shadow that can shatter the mask of conformity that we present to the world as our own protection; In the night, we reclaim the omnipotent shadow that lingers tentatively in our wake. On the border of the light and dark of these shadows, Apollo Bual, creative director of Azariah: a shadow pantheon, reveals the essence of recognizing and identifying with these shadows–our true, ominous forms. 

Bual’s conceptual reimagining of Azaraiah: A Shadow Pantheon was conceived within through the interpretation of designs cultivated by designer Bessie Besana’s eveningwear collection. The intrinsic nature of Besana’s collection revealed Bual's own interpretation as the process of the night and the revelation of self from Eventide to Nyx; Bual successfully demonstrates the harmonious way in which fashion is discerned through our own intelligibility and nuanced understanding of the world.

There is an iridescent quality that conveys the recognition of reality: the shrouded walls dim, and we can feel the eerie crawl of encapsulating hands. Elements of vines that scatter themselves meticulously throughout the collection, while spider-like tassels hang engrossing the viewer. Yet, shadow-like figures are not just that of what remains in the cortex of our being; instead, the collection seamlessly explores the contemporaneous authoritarian figures embedded in today's societal system. 

Besana appears to be a flavored connoisseur in manipulating fabrics, textures and spatial awareness for the onlookers. Each piece speaks in a subtle language that subsequently walks the viewer through the quotidian process of the night; from sheer layers of chiffon in palettes of black and white; opulent beads reflecting the light; draped fabrics that either cascade down the pieces or form into flowers mimicking blooming flowers in the pale moonlight.

The looks encapsulate these inhibiting boundaries with tight, rigid structures and rich flowers embroidered within the skirts, blending with the dark velvets that emulate the boundaries that society still stifles with. The process of awakening is silent and semi-transparent, revealing deeper meaning only gradually; one must willingly face the shadows as one faces the collection. 

The stages are unveiled in each piece. Projection reveals itself in twilight through a shady slip encrusted with reflective beads that subtly announce the awakening of the soul.The silhouettes portray seductiveness with deep V-neck, slits down voluptuous fabrics, and transparent corsetry bordered by bands of velvet, but the sensuous eroticism emerges only alongside ownership. As the fabric begins to loosen at its grip, the body remains partially hidden yet increasingly perceptible: the figures beneath are taking shape.

Although each look has its own affirmation of potency, even the simplest of silhouettes manifest individualism: wispy makeup, earning sculpted into flowers, and long braids accompanying each piece in the stone-eyed, medusa-like quality.

Azariah: a shadow pantheon explores the stages of these shadows through the stages of the night, confronting each individual with the brevity of realization–the sombrous realization that we cannot run from the truth. Each stage– recognition, projection, confrontation, ownership– examines the human psyche on both the individual and collective levels. But it is not all horrifying: beneath the deceptive facades there is an ethereal beauty hidden. Once the shadows form in the night, illusions scatter, and the tangible self emerges from the power within.

production: zhudio34 

producer/creative director/wardrobe stylist/casting direction: apollo bual

photographer: alejandro cantoral

designer: bessie besana

make up artist: hannah lauren dela cruz

hair artist: jewel williams

wardrobe assitance: mia rose adao

dresser: storm rosario

production assistance: maliabo diamba

models: tenny zhang, victoria ade

brayden jackson, erla raene