IN-EXISTENT
Curated by Clara Tosi Pamphili and Alessio de’ Navasques
Photographer Andrea Buccella
Two symbolic places in Rome, formerly part of the same settlement, now separated as a result of urban
development: Villa Poniatowski restored in the 18th century by Valadier and a cultural association for
contemporary art carved out of the spaces that were once the stables of the villa itself. During these times of
cultural, but also social and economic, redefinition, A.I. Artisanal Intelligence explores dematerialization and
re-invention, the intangible and the insubstantial materialized, to search for traces and new signs aided by
pre-existing artifacts. This explains why the works by the young designers are hosted in this old Villa, alongside
Capucci’s white costumes for Norma and the structures used to support the historic crinoline dress or ‘panier’,
authentic underwear and 18th century cassocks designed by Sartoria Farani as well as costumes by Bussotti
of Sartoria Annamode: to demonstrate the relationship between the new and the artistically enlightened ghosts
of the past. On display at AlbumArte, an indipendent space for contemporay art, a heritage collection
by Albertina, famed throughout the world for her knitwear which was so beautiful that, in the 1980s, twelve
examples of her work became part of the Permanent Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
and the dresses by young couturier Gianluca Saitto, including those designed for Patty Pravo who also appeared
in a video in 1968 with Piero Gherardi, Federico Fellini’s costume maker.
Hence fashion as an apparently ephemeral, non-existent phenomenon, expressed by young designers who
have conducted research on what appears to no longer exist as it did before: wool is no longer wool, fabric is
unrecognizable and carbon has become a raw material for fashion.
Innovation is represented by:
The dresses by Florentina Isac, messengers of a profound sentimental analysis of two worlds, namely the
austerity of the Soviet Union and Moldavian decorative aspects, the graphic research conducted on knitwear
by Elise Perrotta who uses wool as an artistic material by playing with textures and volumes, Maria Cristina
Cerulli on the theme of out of focus and focus and the fusion of opposing concepts in search of a new balance,
Hyun Oh who, through research on knitwear portrays his way of interpreting a relationship, MAD.E by Ginevra
Odescalchi in collaboration with Elica Sartogo for SO, a capsule of clean-cut lines featuring prints inspired
by hollowed-out Conus shells boasting warm animalier shades presented alongside the theatrical masks of Slow
Costume created by costume maker Giovanna Buzzi.
jewelry, from Dome’s diamonds combined with carbon, to the dark, archaic shapes of Voodoo Jewels and the
clean-cut geometries by Design Digest
bags by Tania Marta Pezzuolo for the Monteneri brand which uses carbon fiber paired with vegetable
tanned calfskin to construct futuristic plastic shapes, the clean-cut, precise geometries by Bistrusso inspired
by the courageously contemporary themes of Sardinian landscapes with the experimentation of cork and the
contemporary style of Sara Valente whose bas-relief and plissè detailing on leather create a sense of
elegance and sensuality, blending smoothly with the soft movements of precious skins, with angles and
curves completing the design.
The 77 denari hosiery collection by Sensumlab distinguished by artisanal silk screen printing and hand-woven
designs inspired by the geometries of nature.
A project that uses fashion as a pretext to experience the city from a cultural, ‘touristy’ perspective.