An army of Greek soldiers marched onto the stage through a bloodred curtain. Bald, identically dressed in drapes of red cloth, and adorned with metal accessories on bare skin, the soldiers became one muscular form. Student costume designer Filip Jevtic clad the actors in his idea of classic Greek attire mixed with modern couture to make a statement as powerful as any line of dialogue.

A fourth-year design major in the School of Theater, Jevtic began the creation of his “stylized army look” for last spring's production of Iphigenia at Aulis in the library by studying books on Greek mythology as well as tattoos and body piercing. Jevtic created sketches to present to the show's director, who advised him to make the costumes interesting to modern audiences.

“The goal was connecting the old legend with modern fashion,” Jevtic says. “The director and I were attracted to the overall Greek look empowered by urban tribal culture.”

Jevtic chose drapes of red cloth to symbolize power and blood thirst in war. He required the actors to work out all summer and he shaved their heads to make them uniform. The red curtained wall they entered through slowly moved toward the audience throughout the production. The Greeks were on their way to battle the Trojans, as the story goes, when the wind died and they could not sail. They decided to sacrifice the king's daughter, Iphigenia, to regain the gods' blessing and bring back the wind.

In the story, Iphigenia was lured to her death with a promise of marriage. Jevtic dressed her in flowing white robes more commonly associated with Greek tragedies. Ideas for female characters' clothing came from conventional Greek looks and images gleaned from current fashion magazines such as Vogue and In Style. Her father, king Agamemnon, progressed through a series of costumes that ranged in color from white to red to symbolize his own lust for war as Iphigenia's death drew nearer. The story of Iphigenia, her father, and the Greek army's quest was told as much through their outfits as it was through the dialogue.

Referencing the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” Ursula Belden, Jevtic's adviser and head of production design and technology in the School of Theater, explained that costume and set design can build the initial connection to the audience. “The very first thing they are responding to are visuals. How you produce a particular work can change how the audience reacts,” she says, adding that the goal of productions should be to have a contemporary audience respond to the show's theme and emotions in as powerful a way that original audiences may have.

After the production was finished last September, Jevtic showed his work to a second audience, judges at the Southeastern Theater Conference's costume design competition in Arlington, Virginia. He was awarded first place in his division. Previously, he earned third place in this competition for his designs for Caucasian Chalk Circle.

In fall 2003, Jevtic tried his hand at set design for a production of Top Girls.

“Iphigenia and Top Girls are the two biggest shows I have done so far and I got everything I could out of myself,” says Jevtic, who returned to his native Serbia after Top Girls' run in November. Although he never feels as if one design is complete, “I am happiest after opening night if my designs allowed the action to happen and the story to be told in the world that I created.”

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