Isabella Stefanelli / Season XVI
The garments of Isabella Stefanelli are not merely designed objects, but works born from the landscapes, memories and experiences that have shaped her life.
She begins by selecting the yarns, weaving them by hand, and carefully considering their structure.
Rather than removing the irregularities, distortions, frayed edges and subtle fluctuations that emerge through this process, she preserves them within the cloth as traces of time.
Season XVI is a collection inspired by four remarkable figures: James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Jack Kerouac and Isadora Duncan.
What they share is a willingness to question the conventions and established forms of their time, creating new paths through their own unique modes of expression.
Stefanelli, in turn, expresses this spirit not only through garments themselves, but also through the very structure of the weave.
Released warp threads.
Interrupted constructions.
Uneven surfaces.
Deliberately preserved traces.
These are not mere decorative elements.
They evoke the traces of thought, the passage of time, and a quiet sense of freedom.
Each piece feels less like a garment and more like a poem, a book, or the record of a long journey.
It is not completed when worn; rather, its story continues to unfold through years of wear.
That, to me, is what an Isabella Stefanelli garment is.
