in conversation with Ilaria

our womanhood ~ chapter V

As part of our latest campaign, we invited our community to take part in a shoot for womanhood. As with all our images, they remain untouched.

We had a chat with Ilaria about what womanhood means to her and the journey she has been on.

"While a journey implies a destination, I prefer to think of womanhood as an explorative endeavour: of every new life stage with its opportunities and challenges, and of my space of harmony within it.

It’s not been a one-off kind of shift, but rather a series of events that have played together to make me who I am and want to be today and tomorrow: (in no particular order) ironing out some subtle yet deep strife with my mum, having sex for the first time, discovering the types of clothes that fit me best, taking a lot of photos of myself in the mirror with a brand new lingerie set, earning my own money and spending it. In other words, just venturing out and discovering what makes me feel good!

My relationship with my body has gone through highs and lows – and it still does at times. Perfectly natural seasonal fluctuations, periods of satisfaction followed by some of frustration: it’s ok. What’s changed compared to when I was a teenager is my attitude towards my body, which now empowers me to be an active rather than passive inhabitant.

(To this I want to add: being an adolescent in the skinny jeans era wasn’t easy, so a big round of applause to whoever made it out safe!)"