Nineteen-year-old student Ana Neves from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Lisbon developed in her project “A Maestrina” the vision of a female orchestra conductor of the future.
In this imaginary future, Portugal has been submerged by rising sea levels, and the protagonist witnesses her homeland becoming part of Spanish territory.
Drawing on the optimism of the retrofuturistic movement, “A Maestrina” forces herself to understand the chaotic changes as progress and to face her new reality and culture with confidence.
This feeling is expressed through the exaggerated romanticism of her clothing, which combines elements of formal evening wear (white tie) with traditional Spanish flamenco garments.
The designs are reinterpretations of classic clothing forms – such as blouses and long skirts – combined with the vibrant colors and dynamic movement of flamenco fashion. The blouse features a custom print, while the skirt is made of hand-dyed silk adorned with a laser-cut lace pattern – a play between surface and depth, between control and expression.
The accessories combine knitting technology and laser engraving as a printing technique.
The outfit particularly emphasizes arm movements, inspired by the gestures of a conductor and the rhythmic movements of flamenco. This combination of traditional craftsmanship and digital technology symbolizes the central theme of the work – the fusion of past and future, of craft and innovation.
“With this work, I wanted to find optimism in bringing together the codes of the past – and to understand change as a hopeful future.”
