REGALIA
Designer
Thomas-Armin Mathes
Country
Germany
category
Portrait
Prize
Official Selection 2026
Short Description
REGALIA explores the visual language of power, status, and identity.
Throughout history, symbols of prestige have shaped the way individuals present themselves to the world. Crowns, uniforms, jewelry, hairstyles, and ceremonial garments function not merely as decoration, but as signs of belonging, authority, and aspiration.
This series reimagines those traditions through contemporary portraiture. The figures appear familiar yet undefined, existing somewhere between fashion image, historical reference, and imagined character.
Created through AI-based image generation, REGALIA investigates how identity is constructed through visual codes. The portraits invite viewers to consider how appearance communicates power and how beauty itself can become a form of symbolism.
The work does not document individuals. Instead, it presents archetypes—fictional presences shaped by collective ideas of elegance, status, and cultural memory.
Prompt Logic
The project began with research into historical portraiture, fashion photography, ceremonial dress, and cultural symbols of status.
Rather than recreating specific historical references, I was interested in identifying recurring visual patterns that appear across different periods and cultures. Hairstyles, proportions, accessories, and facial expressions were gradually simplified and refined into archetypal forms.
The creative process involved extensive experimentation through iterative prompting, image selection, and visual refinement. One of the main challenges was maintaining a balance between realism and fiction. The figures needed to feel believable as portraits while remaining detached from any specific person, place, or historical narrative.
The final series emerged through a continuous process of reduction and selection, focusing on images that conveyed presence, dignity, and ambiguity in equal measure.
The inspiration for REGALIA came from the observation that every culture develops its own symbols of prestige and admiration.
Whether through clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, ceremonial objects, or social rituals, people continually create visual systems that communicate significance and belonging.
I became interested in the idea that many of these symbols remain recognizable even when removed from their original cultural context. A particular silhouette, a hairstyle, or an ornament can immediately suggest authority, beauty, or status without requiring explanation.
REGALIA explores these universal visual codes. The portraits combine historical references, contemporary fashion imagery, and fictional elements to create figures that feel simultaneously timeless and unfamiliar.