Crafting a Realm of Textured Dreams with Pipenco Lorena
It was during her pursuit of a fashion degree that Lorena learned from her mother that clothing design was a closely-guarded secret of her matrilineal heritage. Lorena's grandmother had been a seamstress in Romania — her creative spirit sewing together dreams from the fabric of life. Her grandmother and mother didn’t want to make Lorena feel pressured to make their own dreams a reality, but this revelation marked a turning point for her. With each stitch and design, she sought to honor her family’s lived experiences of post-communist times and to bring forth a celebration of her Romanian identity that had long been repressed. The garments she crafts, dream-like and otherworldly, invoke a sense of heritage that runs through her work.
Partially drawing inspiration from Romanian cinematography of the 1970s, particularly the 1972 film Veronica, Lorena's designs carry a thread of nostalgia, tinged with a hint of the supernatural. The film, one she watched repeatedly in her youth, presented an idealized view of orphanages in Romania. As an adult, she realized the stark contrast between the film's depiction and the harsh reality of Romanian orphanages. This dissonance left a lasting impact on her, inspiring her to create fashion that provokes thought and challenges preconceptions. Her designs often feature a mixture of techniques and materials, including crochet, hand embroidery, and layering. Each piece is a unique creation, reflecting the emotions and feelings of the moment in which it was crafted. It's a departure from the pursuit of perfection, embracing the imperfections that make each piece one-of-a-kind.
For those eager to immerse themselves in Pipenco Lorena’s eerily fluttering world, Lorena will be unveiling her first full collection at Brooklyn Museum on September 11th, 2023 as part of Parson’s graduate MFA Fashion Design and Society program. The collection represents not just a fashion statement, but a culmination of her journey, her heritage, and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of design.
