Earlier on this week it was announced that the M191 SUAVE weeks-long deep-sea expedition, conducted on board the German vessel METEOR, discovered three underwater volcanoes off the south-west coast of Sicily.
The expedition involved researchers from various universities worldwide, including the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany; the University of Malta; MBARI, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA; Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; and the universities of Birmingham, Oxford and Edinburgh, in the UK, and of Kiel, in Germany.
With width of at least 6 kilometers, the volcanoes rise more than 150 meters above the surrounding seabed. They are part of a series of volcanic cones located in thee area between Mazara del Vallo and Sciacca, which were previously discovered in 2019 by the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics.
Although hydrothermal activity was observed in the area, the researchers are uncertain if these newly discovered volcanoes are active. Further analysis of rock samples and seismic profiles is necessary to determine their activity (to this end the expedition collected rock samples including lava deposits for future analysis). While data suggests they are unlikely to be active, this cannot be definitively ruled out.
In addition to the volcano discoveries, a shipwreck was found during the expedition, located at a depth of 110 meters on the Nameless Bank (Banco Senza Nome) between the island of Linosa and Sicily. The wreck's origins and age remain uncertain.
Submarine volcanoes in that particular area experienced eruptions that led to the formation of small islands. Some of these islands emerged from the water temporarily: in July 1831, a short distance from the recent discovery, a volcanic island emerged on the surface of the Mediterranean, around 30 miles off the town of Sciacca. A row ensued between the British, that placed there their flag, and the King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, who dispatched a warship to replace it. However, by December 1831, the island known to Sicilians as Isola Ferdinandea, in honor of Ferdinand II, had disappeared once again.
There are enough inspirations in the results from this expedition to create rather unique fashion narratives involving submerged volcanoes (the 2014 Pixar Animation Studios animated short "Lava" directed and written by James Ford Murphy comes to mind with its romantic story of a lonely volcano and a submarine volcano...), emerging and disappearing islands, lava and rocks.
But there is obviously another inspiration here – Sicily. The Italian region has been codified and partially fossilized in fashion by Dolce & Gabbana that often interpreted literally its artisanal heritage, using as prints for their collections motifs borrowed from Sicilian carts or images from the Opera dei Pupi.
Yet such inspirations can be turned around as proved recently by Antonio Romano (@antoniosydromano), a student from the MA in knitwear course at the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) in Paris.
The fashion institution recently launched a collaboration with Maison Alaïa: IFM's students re-elaborated some iconic pieces by the late designer working with selected yarn manufacturers in Italy. For his collection Romano moved from the Opera dei Pupi.
The traditional marionette theater showcasing Frankish romantic poems in Sicily has been recognized as part of UNESCO's List of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since 2001. This theatrical practice, which dates back to the early 19th century was originally popular among the middle and lower classes.
Puppeteers, known as "pupari," manipulate the puppets using threads and metal rods to portray serialized episodes from epic-chivalric literature of medieval origin, notably from the Carolingian cycle and, to a lesser extent, the Arthurian novels.
These narratives were included in "The History of the Paladins of France," written by Giusto Lo Dico, a compilation of Italian chivalric poems of the Renaissance that freely adapted French medieval literature.
The puppets' appearances and actions follow a complex iconographic code and align with the 19th-century romantic representation of the Middle Ages. Characters include Christian and Saracen heroes, each distinguished by their features, attire, chestplates and armor decorations.
Despite being made of wood, the puppets are adorned with intricately decorated and chiseled armor, adhering to the romantic fashion of the time.
Originally, artisans crafted the puppets and puppeteers aimed to outdo one another in their shows and held considerable influence over their audience.
Puppeteers are the bearers of an extensive oral heritage encompassing the stories presented, performance codes, puppet construction techniques, and scene painting.
In a unique connection, Romano, drew inspiration from the motifs of the puppets' armors for his collection entitled "The Body as Armor."
He translated the embossed elements on the puppets' armors into three-dimensional motifs on body-hugging dresses in rusty or vivid red tones, shades evoking the colour of the armor and of blood as well.
While Romano retained the silhouette of Alaïa's designs, he carried out an extensive engineering knit research to reproduce the details on the armor of Sicilian Knights.
The yarns for the collection were provided by Filpucci, a company originally founded in 1967 in Prato, Italy, but now operative also in China and known for its creative and fantasy yarns for quality knitwear.
The Opera dei Pupi actually provides us with an interesting connection between the puppeteer and the fashion designer: both are artisans and creators, embodying the spirit of craftsmanships.
Both weave narratives aided by characters (puppets on the stage and models on the runways) clad in unique costumes and designs (heroes wear their family's respective emblems on their helmets in the Opera dei Pupi; but designers employ logos and brands...) and both contribute to the rich tapestry of cultural expression through their storytelling.
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