Stella Jean once again finds herself rewinding the tape of her memories to build her latest collection, reviving a creative process where retrospection and introspection are indispensable tools. Quoting one of her favorite Luigi Pirandello novels for the collection’s title, One, None and One Hundred Thousand Kilometers, she seeks to frame the new Italian multicultural family portrait by intertwining international research with European symbols, both roots of her own existence.
Deciphering the title, ‘one’ represents the designer’s adherence to Made in Italy, which encapsulates the essence of the brand’s origins and foundations. Italian heritage reveals itself through elements of trousseau, bridal dowry, delicate embroideries ,and intricate motifs on table linens and loungewear. “I took them from my mother-in-law’s wedding chest, Donna Mirella’s ’50s treasure,” Jean explained. The homage not only preserves the artisanal savoir-faire of bygone eras but also underscores the pressing necessity of safeguarding Made in Italy craftsmanship, where Jean anchors all of her production and manufacturing.
Moving onto ‘none’, this concept stands for a journey that is now taken inwards. Here Jean is referring back to her father’s tailoring atelier influence, where shirt-making was a staple. “I have developed lots of new clothing categories made of striped poplin cotton this season: dresses, blouses, skirts, and vests all become the pairing passe-partout to prints,” she said.
Lastly, ‘one hundred’ are the kilometers she metaphorically and physically traversed to engage with artisans of other cultures. From Haiti to Mali, with hints of Kenya, Kosovo, and Albania too, meticulously handcrafted objects appear in the collection in the form of exotic narrow cloth strips, colorful beads, interlaced sandals, and turbans folded onto urban hats. “The only way you have to survive a colonization, is not necessarily to resist it but to embrace it in a way that does not suffocate your own culture,” Jean said, bringing this abstract “urban sea”—as she defined it—into her world, even by making her models ironically pose in gray Milan with multicolored inflatables.