Pathos Formulas is the installation that IED presented at the former Teatro dell’Oriuolo in Florence on the occasion of Pitti Uomo 110. A spin-off of the project will be presented at Romaeuropa, designed as a research space where fashion, visual arts, and editorial practices intertw in a shared reflection.
Curated by Francesca Gavin, Editor-in-Chief of EPOCH Review and Visual Arts Director of Murmur, the project brings together the works of 17 male and female students from across IED campuses in Italy and Spain.
At the center of the research lies the concept of Pathosformel developed by Aby Warburg, understood as a principle of transmission and reactivation of expressive forms over time. The project treats history as a non-linear structure, examining how symbols, motifs, and visual forms migrate, layer, and re-emerge in new cultural contexts.
The project takes shape through nine research clusters developed by working groups that connect designers, photographers, stylists, and visual artists. Four of these will be exhibited and presented by their respective creators in the Galleria delle Vasche at La Pelanda from October 22 to 25. Positioned between installation and editorial practice, Pathos Formulas operates as a hybrid device—part archive, collage, and publication.
In line with IED’s educational approach, the focus is placed on the process: collaborations become an integral part of the project, generating imagery in which historical references and speculative visions overlap and transform.
IED Istituto Europeo di Design is an international group and the largest European network of Art and Design schools to have maintained a global outlook paired with a deeply Italian cultural foundation since 1966. It operates across 11 locations in three countries—Italy, Spain, and Brazil—alongside a cultural hub in New York.
In Italy, IED operates through its parent company, which was transformed into a Benefit Corporation (Società Benefit) in 2022 to formalize its positive impact on society and the planet. IED is an inclusive, transdisciplinary school that uses design as a universal language for change. Each year, it launches innovative educational projects across Design, Fashion, Communication and Management, Visual Arts, Cinema, Art, and Restoration, developing new learning models to interpret the future.
Curators: Francesca Gavin
Students: Marisol Arreola, Video Design, Roma, Alexandra Barkova Graphic Design, Barcellona, Elisabetta Boffi, Fashion Design, Firenze, Alessia Boldrini, Fashion Styling and Art Direction, Firenze, Emma Brondi, Illustrazione, Firenze, Maria Chiara Delli Santi, Sound Design, Milano, Luca Dessi’, Fashion Design, Torino, Asia Di Biccari, Fashion Styling and Art Direction, Milano, Alejandro Dominguez, Graphic Design, Madrid, Raffaella Faizulina, Fashion Design, Milano, Martina Giusti, Interior Design, Cagliari, Lara Jagoic, Textile Design, Como, Alberto Michisanti, Fashion Styling and Art Direction, Milano, Matteo Rosadi, Fotografia, Roma, Luca Tomei, Fashion Design, Roma, Geo Vergnano, Fotografia, Torino, Joane Zabala, Fashion Design, Bilbao
Art Direction & Projecr Coordination
Benedetta Lenzi – Director IED Florence
Daria Filardo – Coordinator Arts Florence
Alberto Iacovoni – Head of Postgraduate IED Rom3
Gianluca Danti, Francesca Marchese, Sara Rosati
Photo: Stefano Casati Studio
Video: Fausto Fabbri
Setup: AlterEgo
