When the clouds wrap the rugged and bare rocks, the marble quarries of Carrara look like a lunar landscape.

Ilaria Soncini’s hats clearly stood out of the white and milky atmosphere of the place.
Because of their strict geometry and the balanced proportions, they seem to have been carved right in the marble. A sort of inner rhythm projects from the architectural brims on the voids of the massive blocks, perfect in their irregular imperfection. Everything is in harmony, as if it was decided in advance by the will of a supernatural entity, while it’s just the result of a series of accidental circumstances. Ilaria started to approach hatmaking few years ago, following the traditional millinery techniques to create handcrafted head-pieces. She imbues with a contemporary and fine taste an antique art crystallized in time, whose secrets are revealed along with the manufactury process. The young designer manually shapes forms carved in wood, and uses special products to give to the felt hats the right level of stiffness to preserve them in time. The whole working process requires the same careful attention and precision of an engraver or a sculptor. Also the inner part is done by hand, using precious silks to make a different lining for each hat, which makes all them unique existing pieces.

The fog clears and some timid sun rays break through the late afternoon sky. Now the marble shines, but the moment has gone. Everything is still beautiful, but has lost its alien charm, becoming more real; more ordinary.