second semester - foundation

the second semester of Foundation at Polimoda, which lasted between 2 and 3 months, was all about self expression. we were asked to make a doll that represented ourselves. i made two dolls:

one doll had a guitar as her body (showing the importance of music in my life), the head had two giant ears, long brown hair like dreadlocks to give my doll the headbanger style and arms and legs made of electric cables. all in black. the other doll was a cage of steel, in the shape of a russian doll. i chose to work with a russian doll because i wanted the idea of having one doll inside another. just like myself, i have many personalities inside of me, many different interests - really contraditory between them. people are so worried to judge you when they first meet you, that they don't take the time to actually know you. when people look at me, here in italy, they see a sweet girl, always smiling, quite shy. these people would never think that i'm listening to Trivium on my ipod, for example. people who KNOW me, know i listen to Korn as well as Barry White, and enjoy both of them equally. this characteristic also reflects on my fashion taste: i love the innovative and conceptual work of viktor and rolf, but i also die for a traditional valentino dress. the cage represents the way i see myself (a little fat), the way people see me and judge me for, and also the thing that is keeping the little black headbanger guitar girl from freedom of self-expression. the white stripes in the cage were a way of highlighting that the guitar doll is trapt inside of it, mad and trying desperately to release herself from the cage. the cage had also electric cables on its top, as a hat (fot the cage doll) and as a blindfold hat for the guitar doll, referring to the fact that she can't see the world because the world can't see her. to top it all off, there was a dark fabric covering her head and sides, to give it a darker and mysterious look.

we had to design a skirt based on the same concept of the doll. my skirt was in black leather with electric cables on it, coming 3 from one side and 3 from another, reminding of the guitar structure.

i also designed a leather sleeveless jacket for the cage, that fits the small doll and me (see pictures).

my book with the inspirational pictures was all about rock, concerts, fat people and music waves.

one friend of mine, Gioconda Rafanelli (http://www.flickr.com/photos/45804470@N03/), helped me with the photoshoot. we created a aggressive and rock'n'roll environment and everything was working well: the make-up, the clothes, the dolls, the lights, the mood... it was my favorite part of the project. again, really happy with the results!