IN THE "EFFUGIUM" CLOTHING COLLECTION, I COMBINE THREADS RELATED TO MENTAL EXPERIENCES (TRAUMA, DISSOCIATION) WITH MOTIFS TAKEN FROM THE FILM REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. “EFFUGIUM” IS A LATIN WORD THAT MEANS ESCAPE. THE TITLE OF THE COLLECTION REFERS TO A DISSOCIATIVE FUGUE, WHICH IS CAUSED BY TRAUMA AND IS CHARACTERIZED BY TEMPORARY AMNESIA, ESCAPE FROM REALITY AND SETTING OUT ON A LONG JOURNEY, LEAVING BEHIND WHAT IS KNOWN. THE "EFFUGIUM" COLLECTION IS AN ESCAPE FROM ESCAPE, AN ATTEMPT TO CONFRONT PAIN AND THE IMAGE OF WHAT WE HIDE DEEP INSIDE US. THE COLLECTION, CONSISTING OF 12 SILHOUETTES, IS BASED PRIMARILY ON THE IMPRESSION AND EMOTIONAL SIDE OF TRAUMA, ITS FORMATION, EXPERIENCE AND DEFENSE MECHANISMS. I TRIED TO PRESENT THE PROBLEM IN A SUBJECTIVE WAY, TRANSLATING THE EXPERIENCE OF SUFFERING, FEAR AND DISSOCIATION INTO CLOTHES. THE VISUAL PRESENTATION OF AN EMOTIONAL PROBLEM IS INTENDED TO ALLOW THE RECIPIENT TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROCESS OF EXPERIENCING TRAUMA AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. THE HAPTIC ASPECT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THE COLLECTION. NOT ONLY DID I USE THE NATURAL QUALITIES OF FABRICS BY COMBINING SMOOTH, SLIPPERY AND ROUGH MATERIALS, BUT I PROCESSED THE MATERIALS IN MY OWN WAY THANKS TO, AMONG OTHERS, IRONING LATEX AND ECO LEATHER ON GLUING OR COVERING FUR WITH NATURAL LATEX. THE FORM OF SILHOUETTES IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE COLLECTION. THE DESIGN OF THE ASSORTMENTS REFERS TO CLASSIC CUTS, BUT DIFFERS SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THEM. THE AIM OF SUCH A PROCEDURE IS TO CREATE THE IMPRESSION OF CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION OF ORDER WHILE AT THE SAME TIME TRYING TO RETURN TO THE PREVIOUS STATE OF AFFAIRS. THE EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA DESTROYS THE CURRENT WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD, AND THE DECONSTRUCTED ASSORTMENTS ARE AN EXPRESSION OF THIS. NUMEROUS CUTS, PROTRUSIONS AND CRACKS GIVE THE IMPRESSION OF A LACK OF ORDER, WHICH IS FURTHER EMPHASIZED BY THE ASYMMETRY, WHICH IS THE COMMON DENOMINATOR OF THE COLLECTION. THE WHOLE THING IS KEPT IN COLD COLORS WITH AN ACCENT OF RED. THE BLUE GREYS, NAVY BLUES, BLUES, SEA GREEN, SLIGHTLY PURPLE GRAY AND A DROP OF RED ARE TAKEN FROM THE MOVIE REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. AS IN ARONOFSKY'S FILM, THEY ARE INTENDED TO EVOKE A FEELING OF COLDNESS, SADNESS AND LONELINESS, THUS EMPHASIZING THE FACT THAT IN THE END WE ARE ALWAYS ALONE WITH THE PAIN CAUSED BY TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES. THE DARK, GRAY AND GLOOMY COLORS ARE A REFLECTION OF THE TRAUMA ITSELF. THEY STAND IN OPPOSITION TO LIGHT SHADES THAT REFER TO DISSOCIATION AND DETACHMENT OF CONSCIOUSNESS FROM PROBLEMS. "EFFUGIUM" USES CLOTHES TO DISCUSS TOPICS THAT COMBINE HEAVY AND DIFFICULT EMOTIONS RELATED TO EXPERIENCING TRAUMA, WITH MOMENTS OF ESCAPE AND DETACHMENT FROM PROBLEMS DUE TO DISSOCIATION. IN THE COLLECTION, THIS EFFECT WAS ACHIEVED BY CONTRASTS IN THE FORMS, MATERIALS AND SURFACES USED. THICK, TEXTURED ECO LEATHERS, LATEXES, ARTIFICIAL FUR, JACQUARD KNITS AND JEANS WERE COMBINED WITH ETHEREAL, LIGHT AND TRANSPARENT ELEMENTS, REPRESENTED BY TULLES, CHIFFONS AND OPENWORK KNITS, WHICH GIVE THE IMPRESSION OF FOG OR A DREAM, COVERING THE BRUTAL REALITY. THE COLLECTION IS A CONFRONTATION WITH ALL WOUNDS, SUFFERING, FEAR AND REGRET. "EFFUGIUM" AS AN ESCAPE FROM ESCAPE IS AN IMAGE OF THE OPPOSITE PROCESS TO DISSOCIATION. IT BRINGS EACH OF US FACE TO FACE WITH WHAT WE FEAR MOST. IT SHOWS ALL THE DESTRUCTION INSIDE US THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO LOOK AT. BURIED DEEP, THINKING THAT THEY WILL DISAPPEAR ON THEIR OWN. THE COLLECTION BRINGS HOPE AND LEAVES ROOM FOR REFLECTION ON ONE'S OWN, UNRESOLVED TRAUMAS. THE MODERN WORLD CONSIDERS IT A WEAKNESS TO ASK FOR HELP OR EVEN TEARS. WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE OUR BEST IN EVERY FIELD OF LIFE AND SUPPRESS ALL DISTRACTIONS. MOST PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED GREATER OR LESSER HARM IN THEIR LIVES, WHICH INFLUENCE OUR BEHAVIOR AND CAUSE SUFFERING. ADMITTING THAT SOMETHING HAS HURT US IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS HEALING OUR INTERIOR, AND CONFRONTING THE TRAUMA ITSELF IS AN EXPRESSION OF THE GREATEST COURAGE.
