Following her journey through the canyons at midnight, Gilda Midani sets her sights out to sea.
The skies above her native Rio darken to blue and black as evening falls – a stellar tapestry that washes into an ocean just as serene. In dye baths replete with indigo and cerulean, she dips her pieces by hand to reveal a depth of intense color.
The core design for this collection, Blue Row, is an ode to blue in all its forms. Striking and organic, a succession of lapis, azure and periwinkle surges against the others like tides on white sand.
The unseen beauty of Gilda’s works lies in her keen eye for drape. The way her fabrics – often linen, cotton and silky velvet – flow against the form is just as important as the way her colors and patterns meld in her compositions.
Floating amongst the currents of Gilda’s Blue Row is a feeling of vastness – not unlike the inspiration found in Darren Almond’s moon-exposed photography. The pattern sweeps in two directions, revealing space in the middle of the garment – simultaneously a wink and a dismissal of nature’s symmetry. We are awed not only by how incredibly difficult these dyes are to perfect, or how soft the textiles feel against skin… but by how a wash of blue across cotton can immediately transport us to a shore after dusk. The ability to do all these things, with such clear pleasure in doing so… therein lies the power of Gilda and her work.
“Limitless and immortal, the waters are the beginning and end of all things on earth.”
— Heinrich Zimmer
