Roksanda Ilinčić on designing the showstopping costumes for Marina Abramović’s ‘Balkan Erotic Epic’

The Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović, who, over the course of her career has pushed herself and her body to extremes, calls her latest work – Balkan Erotic Epic – her most ambitious yet. Part of this is due to its scale: eschewing the intimacy of her previous works, the performance, which was premiered at Manchester’s Aviva Studios this month (October 2025) and will tour internationally in 2026, features a 70-strong cast and unfolds over a sprawling four hours.

But it also draws her back to her childhood in Belgrade, Serbia, a period she has described as one of ‘communism mixed with mysticism’ (then, the city was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Her strict parents were installed in the country’s Communist government (she has previously called them members of the ‘red bourgeoisie’), while her religious grandmother – who brought up Abramović until she was six – engaged in spiritual and healing rituals, a dichotomy that has no doubt influenced the artist’s oeuvre.

As such, Balkan Erotic Epic begins with the funeral procession of Josip Broz Tito, former president of Yugoslavia, led by a swaddled figure evoking her mother, Danica (played by Maria Stamenković Herranz, she appears throughout). From there, unfolding over 13 acts – through which guests are encouraged to wander and congregate – Abramović weaves personal memory with collective history, enlivened by bold, erotically charged reimaginings of Balkan folklore and ancestral traditions (acts include ‘Fertility Rite’, ‘Massaging the Breast’ and ‘In Scaring the Gods’, the last seeing performers expose their bodies to banish storms).

London-based fashion designer Roksanda Ilinčić – who, with her eponymous label Roksanda has long forged connections with the art world – felt like a natural collaborator on the project. She also hails from Belgrade, Serbia, and her expressive clothing has often drawn on the traditional dress codes of the region (for S/S 2024, she looked towards the 4th-century Gračanica monastery and the rich decorative history of such Orthodox landmarks).

‘Marina has such a natural intuition when it comes to choosing the right people to work with. When the first talks about this project started in Manchester, she reached out and asked if I would like to join the team,’ Ilinčić tells Wallpaper*, having first met Abramović during her 2014 ‘512 Hours’ exhibition at London’s Serpentine Galleries.

‘We’re both from [the same place], and we share a deep connection to the same traditions and stories that shaped us. This piece was inspired by Balkan customs and myths, and it immediately felt close to my heart. I said yes immediately.’

Drawing on ‘old, pagan rituals and beliefs’, the costumes present a contemporary slant on folk costume – from a monastic taffeta gown (so long it pools on the floor around the performer) to white tasselled dresses evoking traditional Serbian folk costume. For Abramović herself, she created a simple bias-cut gown in black silk – a riff on the artist’s typically monochrome uniform. ‘All costumes have strong folk influences, but I wanted to present them as modern versions, seen through the lens of our times and – above all – Marina’s own incredible vision,’ says Ilinčić.

It is not the first time that the designer has created costumes for the stage: in 2022, she collaborated with the Royal Ballet to design the costumes for Valentino Zucchetti's Prima, part of the company’s A Diamond Celebration. ‘I like to maintain the same visual language that I have built through the years, but it’s also important to align with the artist’s vision and needs of performers,’ she says of working on these multidisciplinary projects. ‘Longevity of the costumes and ease of movement are also important to consider.’

Seeing the performance in Manchester, Ilinčić says, was ‘truly incredible’. ‘I am a huge admirer of Marina’s work and to be able to observe the process and contribute in some way is such a tremendous highlight for me and my team,’ she says.

Commissioned by Factory International, ‘Balkan Erotic Epic’ was premiered at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, before it goes on tour in 2026. Starting in Barcelona in January 2026, it will head to the piece’s co-commissioners, Gran Teatre del Liceu (24-30 January 2026), Berliner Festspiele, Park Avenue Armory and WestK.