JE M'APPELLE MAGDALENA
My artistic journey began early. When I turned 11, I embarked upon the study of visual arts, growing interested in the power of self-expression and self-discovery. Countless hours spent embroidering, painting, or studying art history. The School of Arts - I will always be grateful to my father who noticed, supported and made this talent blossom.
Over the years, I have explored various forms of art, refining my creative skills in poetry, typography, painting, sculpture, photography, and later - fashion and textile design. At first, I did not fully understand my own creative essence, and finding it has been a long ride, which continues to unfold. After completing a bachelor's degree in foreign languages, life once again led me towards arts. I felt a deep need to rediscover myself. And it marked a time of significant change for me.
I have these very clear memories, from our childhood house situated in a small village in the Republic of Moldova, when I was sifting through boxes of my mother's clothes from the '90s and 2000s. These boxes held the history of her style and life trajectory. I have always loved beautiful clothes, but as I pulled the pieces out of the box I found myself profoundly captivated by the romance of vintage garments. In that morment, a sudden but overwhelming sense of clarity struck me - I understood this was the direction in which my work and life were meant to go. The gift of clarity and transformation.
I then found myself at the institut supérieur des arts et du design de Toulouse (isdaT), France. With a historical edifice situated in the old town of Toulouse and a wide opening onto the Garonne banks, it had all the chances to witness my artistic maturity and evolution. I will never forget the hours spent in the sculpture atelier as they favored the quiet reflection while I was watching my fingers sculpting organic forms in clay or earth.
I'VE ALWAYS LOVED WORKING BY HAND. TO FEEL THE FABRICS AND TEXTURES. TO MERGE WITH THEM. ONE WITH NATURE.
In a constant quest of the essence, the core, and the fullness, isdaT was for me an incredible gateway into the world of contemporary art, offering a refreshing vision compared to the Eastern-influenced art education I received in Moldova. I started to marry the conceptual with the concrete, to give my vision a shape, and to avoid translating my inspiration mot à mot onto artworks. I took the opportunity to research and experiment on my own, already adopting the mysterious, the subtle as parts of myself.
I then found my essence in this fresh balance of opposing elements - strength and softness, absence and presence, structure and fluidity, masculine and feminine. Edning with an essential focus on balancing classic sophistication with modern sensibility and carrying the allure of the unknown, the complex, the multi-dimensional.
Achieving a mastery in fashion and textile design through my education in both Romania and France, I furthered my career through European internships within the industry. In 2023, right after my graduation, I gave a name to all my artistic impulses - MAISON MAGDALENA, using myself as an extension of my work.
Arriving at this point, I often draw inspiration from my vibrant life trajectory, my depth, inner sensitivity, my moments of transformation, and the constant emotional struggle to reconcile two opposing worlds of which I am inevitably a part of.
I’M NOT INTERESTED IN THE MANUFACTURED PERFECTION. I LIKE TO FEEL THE IMPERFECTIONS LEFT INVOLUNTARILY BY THE HUMAN HAND DURING THE ACT OF CREATION.
At the intersection of fashion design, textile design, and visual arts, my work reflects immense attention for the know-how techniques, the beauty of handwork imperfection, the strength of simplistic shapes, the exquisite craftsmanship, and the assumed sustainability.
Being fascinated and inspired by the Mediterranean rustic landscapes where I lived for almost two years as a student, my designs aim to harness the calm and the light of this region. A place where a woman can take off any armor - inner or outer - feeling free and relaxed, in harmony with nature, with the simplicity of life, with her own body.
To all women who appreciate MAISON MAGDALENA, I want to offer much more than a new piece for their wardrobe. As an artist and fashion designer, I want to continue to talk about this enigmatic woman who, with a soft breathable allure, in a world where little is concealed, lives free shrouded in mystery and grace. I want to discover her. I want to create for her. I want to be her.
Always remaining open to explore and shed light on the hidden essence of my soul.