The collection of Virginia Sieni, a student at Istituto Modartech, was born from a personal and family experience, a complex path that in recent years has transformed the author’s outlook and her understanding of fashion design.
In 2020, Virginia’s sister Matilde experienced her first psychotic crisis: a sudden detachment from reality that left a deep wound that became part of everyday life with subsequent crises. Drug therapies helped to contain the decompensation, but at the same time they dampened, at times, her creative capacity-a precious part of herself that, despite everything, continues to resurface.
During her crises, Matilde always drew and wrote with a seemingly confused, chaotic, almost uncontrollable stroke. Yet in that confusion, Virginia recognized the strength and authentic quality of her art.
It is from this awareness that the collection takes shape: from the desire to transform a private pain into a visual language, giving value to what often manifests itself in the margins, in unintentional gestures, in broken words.
The silhouettes are soft, enveloping, characterized by large volumes that embody a fluid and emotional dimension. The color palette is extracted directly from a drawing by Matilde, which became the visual matrix for the choice of fabrics and the overall atmosphere of the collection.
The main feature of the collection is the digital printing of some of the drawings and writings, one print intentionally chaotic and colorful, while the other more minimal with scribbles and fragmented thoughts. Some garments are enriched with textile appliqués hand-painted by Virginia and Matilde together, in a shared gesture that restores to the material the value of relationship, care, and presence.
“I contorni del mio caos” is thus a creative act but also an affective act: a collection that does not seek to order disorder, but to recognize it, inhabit it, and transform it into form.
A project that tells how, even within fragility, a powerful aesthetic can be born that can restore identity not only to those who create, but also to those who inspire.
The project, along with all the finalist works from the “Normal is Extraordinary” international contest , will be on display at the MAXXI Corner from Dec. 5 to 8 (free admission).
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