Textiles, Memory, and Where I Come From

My relationship with fashion is deeply connected to my personal history.

In 2009 I began my academic journey at a technological college where students could follow two distinct educational paths within the same institution. One focused on the scientific and technical aspects of textiles — manufacturing processes, chemistry, material construction. The other focused on creative fashion practices — drawing, patternmaking, garment construction, and visual design.

Through these studies I realised that I was carrying two different worlds within me.

On one side there was science: calculations, chemical reactions, and the physical behaviour of fibres. On the other side there was artistic exploration: colour, form, and expression.

Fashion exists precisely where these two worlds meet.

Reflecting on textiles themselves reveals something fascinating. The words “text” and “textile” share the same Latin root, texere, meaning “to weave.” This connection highlights the deep relationship between language and material. As scholar Catherine Dormor explains in A Philosophy of Textile, both texts and textiles function as mediums of communication.

Threads, like words, form narratives.

Textiles are therefore not just materials; they are carriers of meaning.

For me, this connection became personal because I grew up in the textile district between Florence and Prato. These cities contain centuries of textile knowledge and craftsmanship. In Prato, wool production and textile manufacturing remain central to the region’s economy and identity.

Thousands of companies operate there, producing everything from yarns and knitwear to industrial textiles.

But beyond statistics and industry, what shaped me most was the sense of heritage embedded in those places. Textile traditions are not simply technical processes; they are cultural memories passed through generations.

As I continued my studies — first in Italy and later in the United Kingdom — textiles gradually became more than a design medium. They became a form of expression.

If textiles are words, fashion becomes the voice that speaks them.