It’s all plain sailing

The exhibition programme for the tenth edition of Artfully Madedesigned by Fabrizio Lava, explores the complex relationship between humankind, time and the surrounding environment. The event reaffirms its status as a key milestone for Italian craftsmanship, transforming manual skill into a profound poetic and ethical reflection on our times through the use of recycled textile fibres.

The focus of this exhibition is the Italian-Iranian artist Elham M. Aghili, a leading figure in the fibre art international and winner of the LVMH Masters of Excellence Special Prize 2025. His monumental installation, entitled It’s all plain sailing, is created by weaving together recycled yarns, industrial waste and iron structures, transforming the exhibition space into a living, pulsating organism. The work depicts a withered flower from which red drips, sap and blood flow, symbolising wounding and rebirth. The small blossoms emerging from the material represent “stubborn defiance”, a powerful metaphor for geopolitical and social resilience, reflecting communities wounded by history.

Alongside the installation, the collection is also on display Toranj, a series of sculptural jewellery pieces inspired by the central medallion of Persian carpets, where the reworking of leather and fabric offcuts gives rise to wearable works that blend cultural heritage with the ethics of sustainability at Biella Piazzo.