Sylvio Giardina presents haute couture SS23 at Palazzo Farnese in Rome

On January 28, 2023, Palazzo Farnese, the French Embassy in Rome, hosted /gal-le-rì-a/, a site-specific performative intervention curated by Alessio de' Navasques and created by artist and fashion designer Sylvio Giardina for the presentation of his haute couture SS23 collection. The event moved through the Sala dell'Ercole Farnese, the Galleria di Murano, and the Galleria Carracci, establishing a dialogue between contemporary art and métiers d'art that unites Italy and France. Giardina was born in Paris in 1967 to Sicilian origins, studied at the Accademia di Costume e di Moda di Roma, founded the brand Grimaldi Giardina, and later launched his eponymous label. His collection draws inspiration from nature and tradition, featuring garments built through moulage (draping directly on the mannequin) without patterns. Ten embroiderers from the Accademia Koefia of Rome worked on large looms in the Sala d'Ercole and Galleria Carracci, creating suspended embroidery evoking water droplets. Hairstyles included ampoules containing live plants. Giardina describes his creative process as spontaneous and emphasizes the ritual of embroidery as a political and identity tool. He defines himself as a creative who frequently crosses into contemporary art to explore new languages.