I was looking for inspiration, I had been feeling like something was missing for a time. I’d always wanted to participate in an art residency, so I took my pause from design as an opportunity to explore my desire for a creative life and hopefully find myself again.
I spent a month in a small village in Sardinia, Italy with Noce Fresca. I spent my time researching the history of the island and reading their mythology and folklore. It is a land of mystery and fairytales, but ultimately I was drawn to la Dea Madre, the Mother Goddess. Also known as the Winged Goddess, Goddess of Victory, Cunnusa, Aphrodite, Inanna, Venus… She is the goddess of beauty and love, but more than that, of life itself. La Dea Madre takes shape in the form of a cross, representing the womb. Stories told of rebirth and metamorphosis, the 40 days myths, all can be found in many cultures and even in the stars.
I was walking home from my art studio late one evening when I looked up to the sky and saw the crescent moon and a beautifully bright star just below. I stood there for a while stargazing. I took a photo and sent it to the family group chat, to which my sister responded with, ‘Genia that’s not a star, that’s Venus.’ And that’s when it all clicked. Everything was coming up Venus. A few months prior, I got into astrocartography, mapping out your birth chart to see where in the world you are most energetically aligned. Now, as a cosmic joke, most of my planetary lines fall in the ocean. But my Venus crosses through parts of Europe, with the western half of Sardinia where I stayed, just making the cut.
I was following Venus, or maybe she was leading me.
After this, I couldn’t stop noticing the signs. The flowers that grow in Sardinia, from which they make a popular liquor, mirto, is the sacred flower of Aphrodite. The flower she covered herself in after being born of the sea.
Cygnus, the swan constellation, represented by the cross, which I chased down a gravel road to get a glimpse. Swans being a major symbol of Aphrodite, and the cross once again emerging.
I decided to learn more about Venus in all her forms: astrology, mythology and astronomy.
Venus is known both as a Morning Star, seen in the eastern sky before sunrise, and Evening Star, seen in the western sky after sunset. In astrology you are born either under the Morning or Evening Star, to which certain characteristics are placed. Morning Stars are guided by emotions, are hopeless romantics jumping in blind. Spontaneous and free spirited. Evening Stars are slow and deliberate but dreamy. Looking for meaning in everything.
Venus tells the story of growth from one state of being to another. When she rises in the morning she is learning to love herself for who she is. As she rises in the evening, she has hopefully learned the lesson of the morning and now focuses on love for others. Your Venus natal phase will tell you which you were born to master this lifetime. However to fully embrace Venus, one must take both journeys.
Venus rules the signs of Taurus and Libra. Taurus associating with the Morning Star, being materialistic, a physical love shown in raw sensuality. Libra associating with the Evening Star, is delicate, serene, perfection.
And so this SS24 collection is inspired by the Evening Star, to which I am born. It exemplifies simplicity and elegance. In a dreamy colour palette of blue, lavender, white and light brown. In 100% cottons and linens, in silhouettes that make you feel special. Delicate.
I have more to explore within this theme. The dualities of Venus are endless. The next collection I’m working on will look into the opulence of the Morning Star.
From there, who knows, I may just keep chasing Venus.
