W: Wendy James
Norma Morel’s 2025 Master’s collection, "Madeleine", is a poignant exploration of memory, heritage, and the evolution of self. Presented at HEAD – Genève, the collection serves as a creative dialogue between the designer's modern identity and the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere of her grandmother’s attic. Morel draws from the "cabinet of curiosities" aesthetic of her childhood memories—a dark, three-story house frozen in time, where a sewing room filled with lace, corsets, and antique fabrics became her primary source of inspiration.
The collection is built on the striking contrast between historical delicacy and contemporary streetwear. Morel captures the specific moment she stood in her grandmother's atelier as a sixteen-year-old wearing an oversized hoodie and sneakers, facing a wooden mannequin dressed in intricate, hand-embroidered black silk. This tension is translated into garments that blend the codes of formal, history-laden dress with the functional ease of modern wardrobes. The result is a series of silhouettes that play with structure and softness, using lingerie-inflected tailoring to address themes of intimacy and protection.
Technically, "Madeleine" showcases a sophisticated approach to materiality and construction. Morel utilizes a diverse textile palette, combining traditional lace, silk, and tartan with utilitarian fabrics like fleece and nylon. The collection features extensive hand-built reinforcements rather than industrial interlinings, maintaining a sense of artisanal integrity. Silhouettes are further defined by techniques such as layering, transparency, and textile aging processes, which give the new garments the depth and "relic-like" quality of the antique pieces that inspired them.
Beyond the aesthetics, the collection represents a sustainable and community-focused vision for the future of fashion. Morel’s approach aligns domestic craft with modern circularity, a philosophy she intends to carry forward into an independent brand and a boutique in Geneva. By treating clothing as a "site of repair" and a vessel for memory, Morel successfully transforms personal nostalgia into a powerful manifesto on how we carry our history with us into the contemporary world.