"ARTR"
“A Rose to Reminisce” is an attempt at curating a conceptual lifestyle brand that celebrates the richness of Bulgarian cultural heritage, reimagined through the lens of contemporary streetwear.
This project formed the core of my Bachelor’s degree thesis in Design at Minerva Art Academy and was presented as part of a week-long graduation exhibition in Groningen, the Netherlands.
Title & Symbolism
The Bulgarian rose is widely recognized symbol of national identity established during the socialist period in the 20th century due the geographical uniqueness of the Bulgarian rose valleys.
The title references a song by Pasha Hristova in which she gifts the listener a rose to reminisce about Bulgaria, no matter how far abroad they go. With this project I'm esentially igniting that symbol of 'home' to reimagine the past.
Visual Language
The visual langiage of 'ARTR' is anchored in the use of "Rose Ash" as an accent colour, placing the burning rose motif at the heart of the project. The graphic system relies on treshold and halftone textures, directly inspired by retro 'Balkanton' vinyl records to combine elements from both Bulgarian and hip-hop cultures in an intricate collage.
Helvetica as the typography choice, popularized in streetwear by Virgil Abloh's Off-White and championed in the Netherlands by Minerva alumnus Wim Crouwel, serves as abridge between different design legacies. Together, these elements form a language that embodies both memory and modernity, grounding the project in storytelling.
Artistic Position Paper
To communicate the concept of the project to my tutors, I produced an 'artisitc position' paper that expanded on the themes and methodology in the core of 'A Rose to Reminsce'. The text articulates on the ideas and visual outcomes of the project.
This paper was presented as a booklet bound inside a vinyl sleeve, accompanied by a screenprinted disc. This format references the aforementioned Balkanton records that inspire the project's concept and visual language.
Process & Ideation
In the ideation phase, I explored the themes of time and nostalgia by sketching three distinct streetwear silhouettes that reflect the past, present and future of Bulgarian identity.
Through this process, I aimed to merge tradition with innovation, allowing each silhouette to embody its own perspective while showing how cultural identity can evolve across time without losing its roots.
Screenprinting played a central role in the realization of this project. It allowed me to apply the halftone textures I was working with in an analogue graphic design process.
A.I. Experiments
When working with the 'Future' concept, I used primarily artifical inteligence to attempt generating futuristic-looking characters inpired by the Bulgarian 'kukeri' tradition.
The images were generated with DALL-E 4 in 2024, and while newer tools can achieve more refined results today, I was satisfied with the outcomes at the time.
Results & Exhibition Images
The culmination of this project was at the Academy Minerva graduation show, which was set in multiple locations across the city in Groningen.
Also, as an invitation to the exhibition I designed custom cigarette papers and lighter set referencing the burning rose motif of the project.
Expanding on the 'Present' concept I realised a seven-piece collection inspired by contemporary streetwear which sold-out entirely throughout the duration of the graduation show. The collection consisted ot T-shirts, hoodies, work gloves and the cigarette papers.
Image Gallery:
A materialisation of the 'Past' silhouette in the form of a mannequin with face tatoos was a centre-piece at the exhibition. The model featured screenprinted vest resembling a traditional garb.
More details can be seen in the images below including a projection of the AI-generated silhouettes and an authentic 'Resprom' Soviet record player used to present the printed vinyl.
