STRATEAS CARLUCCI presents FANTÔME

Melbourne Fashion Festival 2022

State Library of Victoria

10th October 2022

Event Production – Moth Design

Deriving from the French word Fantôme (ghost or spirit), STRATEAS CARLUCCI investigate the idea of the missing, and the magnetic pull and yearning we have to people or places. Whether a distant memory or strong attraction, the feeling of longing and mourning is primal, and the desire for closure keeps the pursuit alive.

The theme connects us all, of ancestry, of buried secrets and of history, written by those who tell it.

STRATEAS CARLUCCI explore this concept of mourning and missing, through redaction and subtraction of details in garments, which may be subtlety overlooked, and in by doing so, forcing us to look in another direction with a new perspective.

Fantôme also explores the concept of conformity vs identity, as the designers search through their own migrant family history, connecting the past and present to find their place. The installation features ‘ghost’ garments sprawled across desks in the ‘family history reading room’, waiting to be found, whilst others search around them oblivious to their existence. Microfiche machines are portals to the past, revealing stories which are not too dissimilar of stories from the present.

The past connects us in a deep cultural and significant way, however also can separate and alienate us from the world around us. The fear of the other and the fear of acceptance. While we search for the ghosts of our past, we hope that this will fill the void that disconnects us.