LIBRARY
THE GUIDE MOVES A LITTLE, STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE LIBRARY (BUT NOT LETTING VISITORS IN YET):
You are looking at approximately 9,000 of the nearly 15,000 portfolios received over more than 20 years, in what we believe to be a magical place. Of these, the remaining 6,000 are preserved in another space along with the extra-sized projects.
THE GUIDE ENTERS THE ROOM, THEN GOES TO STAND ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE COUNTER ALLOWING VISITORS TO FLOW IN TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES (LIKE A HOSTESS):
The LIBRARY is a temple of design, a celebration of thought taking shape through infinite possibilities. Each project is housed in a case, and you are literally surrounded by them. A barcode on the case locates the project in our database, which of course includes the precise location of the Portfolio within the library.
But what is a PORTFOLIO?
A Portfolio represents the bridge between the artist's idea and its materialisation. Take a look at the central showcase, where you will find a video detailing how a Portfolio is structured.
Typically, the creation of a Portfolio occurs through 5 phases:
- The IDEA, or CONCEPT: the artist always starts with an idea they want to express. It must be written down to pull it out of the mind and put it on paper.
- The RESEARCH: this represents the process of elaborating and deepening the idea. The artist seeks images, visual references that illustrate the initial source, anything that could be inspired by the concept in order to visualise colours, techniques and shapes.
- The DEVELOPMENT DIARY: all of this collected "creative material" is developed and organised in the way deemed most suitable by the artist: photos, poems, books, images and so on are assembled coherently on an inspiration board.
- The SKETCHES: in this phase, the designer begins to put the pieces together, through drawings (by hand or computer) or through other techniques like collage or draping, which develop the initial idea as it begins to take shape. All these phases are interchangeable, they can intersect and contaminate each other. The creative process has no barriers or limits.
- The MATERIALS and the actual CREATION: the final, more physical part begins, involving the choice of materials and fabrics when the designer begins to understand what the final object will look like and how it will be made. Once completed and produced, it is often contextualised in its own world, in its own imagery, through a photo shoot that completes and enhances its characteristics.
As you can see, a Portfolio is much more than just paper and fabric. A Portfolio is the testament of a journey, of the passion and hard work needed to seek new perspectives on beauty. Some of these creatives have built careers starting from these very projects, translating passion into work.
Look around you, you are literally surrounded by Portfolios. You can find them:
[SHOWING EACH TIME]
- in the niches,
- in the showcases,
- stored in their own cases;
- digitally presented in a one-of-a-kind book!
THE GUIDE MOVES TOWARDS THE DIGITAL BOOK IN ORDER TO START THE NARRATION OVER THE DIGITALISED PORTFOLIOS:
With the entrance behind you, head to the right side to discover this incredible digital book. Try flipping through it on your own and let yourself be carried away by its magic.
We are very proud of this tool because it combines the physical pleasure and sense of anticipation from turning pages with the magic of art coming to life right before your eyes. You can choose between two different Portfolios to explore, digitalised, re-edited and animated in high resolution.
One is the project by Tomohiro Sato, fashion field finalist in 2013. A deeply personal and visionary journey that takes us into a surreal playground. A tribute to Tomohiro's grandfather, who passed away after a long illness that caused him much pain: the playground symbolises Tomohiro's desire to give his grandfather a place in the afterlife where he can finally be happy and forget the pain.
The second Portfolio you can access is by Tom Van der Borght & Shalva Nikvashvili, a duo of finalists in 2015. Once again, a very personal project, telling us the story of two human beings from extremely different cultural backgrounds. They yearn for a life together, struggling to remove everything that stands in their way stopping them.
To switch between them, simply choose which one you want to select from this iPad [THE GUIDE POINTS TO THE TABLET]. I will tell you all about it as we go through it together.
THE GUIDE SELECTS ANY OF THE TWO AND STARTS THE NARRATION, GOING THROUGH THE BOOK BUT SKIPPING SOME PAGES, DESCRIBING ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF THE STORY BEHIND THE PROJECT. WHILE TALKING, THE GUIDE LOOKS OUT FOR THE CLOSING OF A PORTFOLIO ON THE VIDEOMAPPING ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROOM.
2013 Tomohiro Sato
2013 TOMOHIRO SATO
Japan
WEAK MAN'S DREAM
The collection is a deeply personal and visionary journey that takes us to a playground. Here, the soul of Tomohiro's grandfather (who passed away after severe suffering) can finally play in exchange for his pain. All the games in the park are inspired by the grandfather and his personal memories, which Tomohiro has decided to transform into his garments. The designs stem from the unconscious, his memories shaping his style. The clothes draw inspiration from samurai culture and Tyrolean folklore and are made to keep these memories alive.
2015 Tom Van Der Borght & Shalva Nikvashvili
2015 TOM VAN DER BORGHT & SHALVA NIKVASHVILI
Belgium & Georgia
BLAST CURSE BLESS HOME - THE WAR INSIDE OF US
At the time of this collaborative collection, Shalva Nikvashvili and Tom Van der Borght had recently gotten married. Hailing from different cultural backgrounds (Tom from Belgium, Shalva from Georgia), they found themselves having to fight hard to build a life together, emotionally at war with the outside world. The symbolic image of this couture street collection is a man dressed in women's clothing, ready to transform into a rocket capable of destroying everything in its path, cursing anything that tries to hinder it, praising love, and eventually finding a safe place to call home.
WHEN ONE OF THE PORTFOLIOS FROM THE VIDEOMAPPING STARTS CLOSING, THE GUIDE SHIFTS THE VISITORS' FOCUS TOWARDS THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROOM:
Now turn to the other side of the Library: the videomapping you see transports you inside a Portfolio; we flip through them and talk you through the pages to allow you to immerse yourself in the details. Let's get closer.
THE GUIDE, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT IN THE ROOM, RAISES THE VOLUME WITH THE REMOTE NEXT TO THE VIDEOMAPPING, ALLOWING VISITORS TO HEAR PART OF A PORTFOLIO'S PRESENTATION.
At the end of each story, you will see the Portfolio close and magically return to its place on the shelf, while the next one comes out and opens up to tell a new story. Beautiful, is it not?
Before we leave the Library, let's take a closer look at some of the Portfolios on display.
In the first three glass niches near the videomapping, you can see the Portfolio of ITS Contest 2018 finalist Tolu Coker. In addition to the Portfolio, there’s a hat from the collection and the artwork created as a special project for that year. Both the fashion project and the purely artistic one explore people's identities as replicas of their life experiences, recounting environments, struggles and successes. Identity, gender, religion, but above all African-American culture emerge from the illustrative style of the prints, which feature portraits, family photos and important personal memories.
2018 Tolu Coker
2018 TOLU COKER
United Kingdom
YOUR GIFTS WILL MAKE ROOM FOR YOU
Tolu conceives people's identities as replicas of their life experiences, their surroundings, conflicts, successes, and feelings of belonging or not belonging to something. Her perspective delves into the culture of stereotypes, assimilation, and cultural appropriation. Both figuratively and literally, the main themes of the collection are black culture and deconstruction. All of this, combined with identity, gender, race, and religion, emerges in the illustrative style of the prints, where Tolu shows portraits, family photos, and personal memories of herself and the people she portrays.
Now return to the digital book; in the niche to its left, you can view the portfolio of ITS Contest 2015 finalist Kim Shui, now famous for her eponymous brand based in New York, which values women by celebrating independence, freedom of expression, and inclusivity. In this collection, representing a starting point for her brand, she explored the abstraction of the female body, used to reconceptualise the female shape, to remove metaphors and traditional associations related to a patriarchal society and start over from scratch. The video on the iPad shows her Portfolio page by page.
2015 Kim Shui
2015 KIM SHUI
United States
UNTITLED
Kim Shui's collection recontextualizes female forms by exploring the abstraction of the body. As the painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly said, "I believe that if we could turn off the mind and look only with our eyes, eventually everything would become abstract". The body, in its basic and pure form, loses all metaphors and associations, becoming a weightless human form, devoid of freedom of space or perspective.
United States UNTITLED
2015 Kim Shui
Images
The last project we want to tell you about before moving on - but remember that you can delve into each Portfolio by scanning its QR code - is in the first niche on your left as you look towards the entrance door. You will find the portfolio of Nicolas di Felice, ITS Contest 2008 finalist, now Artistic Director of the renowned Maison Courrèges in Paris. In this collection, he introduces us to the culture of music festivals, with speakers literally translated into the clothes of his muse, wrapped in blankets after a few hours of sleep in a tent. A carefree young woman, light-years away from worries or decisions.
2008 Nicolas Di Felice
2008 NICOLAS DI FELICE
Belgium
NOTHING AND NOWHERE ARE GOLDEN
"It doesn't matter anymore. Wrapped by the speakers, bodies become one with the music. The lyrics transcend and enter her skin. She keeps dancing. Dancing alone, nothing else matters. She is well, she is free. Elle est au paradis". With these words, Nicolas presents a collection inspired by the culture of music festivals, which literally brings the shape and aesthetics of speakers into his clothes. The draping of fabrics recalls the sheets thrown over shoulders after a few hours of sleep in a tent. She's a carefree woman, light-years away from worries and decisions.
Belgium NOTHING AND NOWHERE ARE GOLDEN
2008 Nicolas Di Felice
Images
Let's now continue towards the Exhibition Gallery, exiting the Library and proceeding to your right.
2015 Marta Twarowska
Poland
COO COO BANANAS - OUT OF THIS WORLD
2007 Taro Horiuchi
Japan
ANCIENT PLASTIC AIR
2016 Séro Oh
South Korea
UNSOLVED
2018 Veronika Fabian
Hungary
ITS ARTWORK AWARD SPECIAL PROJECT
2020 Clara Chu
Portugal
CHEW BY CHU
2008 Elise Gettliffe
Belgium
BIG BANG BOUM VLAN PAF HIIIIIIIII
2018 Filippo Soffiati
Italy
A SACRED CONVERSATION
2014 Antti Peltoniemi
Finland
PORTAL TO ANOTHER DIMENSION
2020 / 2022 Tatjana Haupt
Germany
THE POWER OF MY HANDS (2020)
ARCHIVING SELF (2022)
2022 Aviram Fima & Dikla Levsky
Israel
IDENTITIES MIXER
2021 Tianan Ding
China
UNTITLED
2022 Brais Albor
Spain
DESCENT OF HUMAN, AND NATURAL SELECTION IN RELATION TO LOVE