Stella Jean Resort 2022 Collection

After more than a year spent hunched over a laptop in tracksuits, Stella Jean wanted her good posture back. “I felt the need to take up more space around me, to be visible again. It’s not about being an exhibitionist, but rather to hold our place on stage with courage and punch,” she said.

Boasting feisty volumes, flounced circle skirts, and ballooning sleeves, her new resort collection has a joyous sense of self-expression; evocative prints painted by the Umbrian women artisans Jean collaborates with referenced nature and faraway landscapes, contributing to a feel of exuberance. “Wearing a flounced skirt gives you a different attitude,” said Jean. “It gives you presence. When it undulates, there’s a rhythm to the walk, you have to hold your own pace with confidence.” For Jean, this is somehow symbolic of the stance we have to take to confront the future head on.

Expanding shapes and volumes to mark our territory more assertively runs counter to the sentiment of absence and reduction we’ve experienced during the pandemic. It also means, on a more prosaic but impactful level, the use of more fabrics, more embroideries, more hands and eyes working on the collection. Getting artisans creatively involved is a concern that has always been essential to Jean’s ethos. “My work depends on that of many others,” she said. “If I keep reducing and doing less, the entire process will be negatively affected.” Such a choice doesn’t even cross her mind; for resort, a community of women artisans from Madagascar crocheted a few punkish raffia headpieces, which added to the collection’s feel of vitality and fun. Under the circumstances, it wasn’t easy to get them done and shipped on time, but a good challenge seems to be Jean’s energy booster of choice.