The young Italian-Chilean fashion designer, Sofia Mendez Schenone, will present her brand “Sofia” at the premises of the Italian Institute of Culture in Madrid. A resident artist in the IIC’s ‘L’arte che verra’ programme, will talk fashion with Carmen Garijo, assistant manager of the Spanish magazine Glamour. Schenone’s latest collection “Felen” – a word meaning ‘to be so’ in the Mapudungun language of the Mapuches, one of the original peoples of Chile – is the product of the artist’s discoveries and personal quest for freedom. It is punctuated with vibrant motifs from the designer’s native Chile. Returning to her roots, she combines alpaca wool from the Chilean highlands with materials like shearling and vegan leather, not forgetting the lightness of voile and the richness of velvet in an effort to accompany a ‘Sofia’ woman on her journey.