Aelis designer Sofia Crociani collaborated with L’Atelier de Moulage to create wearable art for her spring couture collection.
The Italian designer drew inspiration from Greco-Roman sculpture, particularly Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace (aka Nike), and Myron’s Athena. Silk, tulle and duchesse satin were manipulated to mimic the fluidity of the works, producing a trompe-l’oeil effect that blurred the line between sculpture and garment.
Working with the 230-year-old atelier, founded by the Louvre and now operating under the umbrella of the Grand Palais, which reproduces the museum’s sculpture masterpieces for preservation and study, Crociani dipped the dresses into the plaster to create a shape.
“When you see the draping, it’s like the statue comes alive together with the fabric,” she said. In four key pieces, plaster fragments were integrated directly into the dresses, as a cinch at the waist for example, to create the appearance of sculpted stone.
Yet she kept her materials light and airy, with pieces that floated like clouds around the body. Here she experimented with a technique inspired by avian filoplumes, the microscopic support system for birds’ feathers. She created an interior framework of folds to add volume and movement without stiffness or weight.
It is also the first time she has used such an airy palette, with a lone black dress in the lineup, moving from ivory into pale pastels inspired by the early Renaissance works of Beato Angelico.
Crociani’s aesthetic marries her environmental ethos with design, using only certified or upcycled materials. She incorporated some antique jewelry pieces, as is her signature, as well as found natural pearls and fossilized shells.
One statuesque Grecian-inspired gold gown was made from six meters of duchesse satin, draped and stitched around the body without a cut.
Favoring drape over structure, her delicate, sculptural forms blend fashion and art, offering a conceptually rich vision — though her goddess-worthy creations might be a challenge for mere mortals. Fitting then that she presented the collection at the Musée du Luxembourg, marking the first time a fashion show has been held there.
