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Today I'm telling you about a fashion conference I attended here in Spain, which some of you may have seen featured on my Instagram stories. On February 27th, I had the opportunity to attend the "Meet Fashion Focus" conference in Murcia (a region in southern Spain, for those who don't know), which focused on "La moda en movimiento:valor invisible y nuevos lenguajes." The meeting brought together emerging talents in the industry, students, and professionals, and included plenty of opportunities for art and networking. But before I tell you all about the event, let me explain what Meet Fashion Region de Murcia is. It's an innovative initiative aimed at growing the fashion industry in the Region of Murcia. Its goal is to raise awareness of industry issues and, above all, to find, support, and develop new regional talent through a calendar of events. It's aimed not only at designers, but also photographers, marketing experts, models, and artisans. Another goal is to create a strong networking network , promoting the idea that talent shouldn't just look to Madrid or Barcelona to succeed. Meet Fashion Murcia was launched by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports in 2023, and recently joined by the support of the Association of Fashion Designers of Spain ( ACME ). Now, I can tell you a little about what I had the pleasure of witnessing: Not that I understand or speak Spanish well enough yet, so as you can imagine, I caught a few things but not everything, but fortunately the event was also rich in artistic interventions, vision and entertainment. The primary goal of this first 2026 event was to create a dialogue that would inspire emerging creatives and renew the vision of professionals. The event began with a speech by Luis Sala , a very young fashion analyst at just 23, practically much younger than me. After a long study program, he has written three books on the industry, the first of which was "Vestir es sonar," and has collaborated with several Spanish magazines. I found his speech very interesting, and I was particularly struck by the phrase "If fashion doesn't exist, it's no longer fashion." With this succinct phrase, she urged us not to view fashion as a frivolous phenomenon consisting solely of beautiful objects to buy, but as a vehicle for personal, cultural, and emotional narratives that are part of the narrative and symbolic fabric of today's society. An interesting example of someone who has made it, and an inspiration for us young people who aspire to this industry. Subsequently, we attended the speech by Paul Garcia, creative director of OTEYZA , a famous Spanish menswear brand founded in 2011 in Madrid and which in the past made itself known by participating in the 2019 " Who's on Next" organized by Vogue Italia, has exhibited several times at Pitti in Florence and after a few years was selected by the Féderation de la Haute Couture in Paris, where he showed for 10 seasons. OTEYZA now also deals with womenswear and has returned to the fashion show calendar of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Madrid (which will be held from 17 to 23 March 2026). The brand, characterized by a style that starts from classic 19th-century Spanish styles revisited in a contemporary but not conceptual key, favors textile experimentation and the richness of Merino wool, a type of animal that in past centuries lived first in Spain, before spreading elsewhere. The end of Paul Garcia's speech was accompanied by a wonderful dance performance by Carlos Romero, 'Oteyza - LíneaX Materia' , which integrated Oteyza's artistic direction, costume design, musical composition and audiovisual production (I saved some tracks on Spotify). Finally, we attended a talk by creative director Isabelita Virtual , who explained how all her art was inspired by the buttons her mother used to make and how the smallest details can create great narratives. Isabelita Virtual started from a simple Instagram profile in 2011, experimenting with images. A few years later, she was contacted by Sozzani to collaborate with Vogue Italia, and then went on to work on advertising campaigns for brands such as Hermés, Versace, Tiffany, but also Apple, and recently she established an important collaboration with NASA. His art is characterized by a great aesthetic sense and a delicacy that shines through emotional photography full of beauty, details, shapes and dreamlike worlds. That I was enchanted is an understatement. The conference ended with a long dialogue between the three personalities and Beatriz Salazar , curator of the event. Here in Spain, there are small but significant organizations that still plan and invest in emerging talent and celebrate the region. Above all, they also aim to raise awareness of issues related to art, culture, and fashion. We are regular spectators and daily consumers, but we don't think about them concretely as an essential, ever-changing part of the society we live in, as well as of ourselves. Fashion isn't just fashion; it's much more.

There you hear the sounds of Rebetiko , the smell of spices and souvlaki in the air, the sun reflecting on the ancient marbles and the blinding white of the houses slipping between the bougainvillea? Athens welcomes you like this: with an open heart, a slow pace and a style that doesn't need fashion shows to get noticed. It is not a fashion capital in the most traditional sense of the term: it does not have the fashion shows of Milan, nor the impalpable charm of Rome or Paris; and yet, walking through its alleys, metro stations and neighborhoods can reveal many interesting gems. In this article I will not tell you which trends to follow, but I will try to give you a way of feeling fashion that I have grasped while traveling among ancient ruins , folk costumes , markets and lively neighborhoods . I will suggest how to dress in Athens , yes - but how to do it consciously, especially if you intend to climb one of its 7 hills - and with that sense of slow time that you can breathe everywhere here. Because Athens does not dictate style rules, but inspires a lifestyle . Athens knows how to inspire those who have eyes to hear Walking through the streets of Athens, you perceive something that it has in common with other Mediterranean cities and that makes them unique in terms of habits and customs: a fashion that does not want to be noticed, but understood . The daily life and above all the history of this ancient city are told through women at the market wearing leather sandals , men sitting in cafes wearing light, lived-in shirts and tourists who slowly seem to absorb the spirit of the place , like this sweet tourist who had her photograph taken by me during her visit to the Panathenaic Stadium , in a layered but minimal look, whose protagonist is the Ralph Lauren linen shirt. Foto scattata da me ad una turista che si è prestata per Dialoghi di Stile su richiesta Plus: Did you know that in 2021 Dior showed at the Panathenaic Stadium for its Cruise 2022 collection, with a collection that reinterpreted the Dior codes in a Greek mythological key? How to Dress in Athens: Shopping Between Ancient Style and Modernity And it is certainly the ancient style and mythology that still inspire part of Greek fashion today: ancient temples, theaters, symbols of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns are reflected in the linen dresses inspired by the peplos and chitòn that can be found in the lively markets of Monastiraki, very attractive for tourists. You will find them in all colors and shapes : long or short, from classic white to burgundy, from purple to lapis lazuli blue, like the one I chose, with the detail of being one-shoulder. Accessories made of simple gold metal (definitely cheaper) such as olive leaf-shaped hairbands and clips, armillae (the special bracelets to be worn on the forearm) and collars can be found practically everywhere, but you can also find refined ones made of bronze , certainly more durable, in the alleys of the historic centre and in the Kolonaki area, the luxury district of Athens : here you can also find boutiques of the most renowned brands and Made in Greece craft brands that make custom-made leather sandals . In Athens, past and present also dialogue through clothing. Archaeology, theatrical and popular costume Before my visit to the most famous archaeological sites, at the Syntagma metro station, I was lucky enough to see a small exhibition of theatrical costumes from the National Theatre : stage forms inspired by the ancient but also by the medieval era, but with lively contemporary materials and cuts. A little further on, I witnessed the changing of the guard with the Euzoni , in traditional dress: white foustanella , pleated skirt and pom-poms on their shoes. A powerful image that tells the identity through the folk costume. My visit to the Acropolis left me speechless: all the beauty of what still today continues to enchant and spread myths and legends about Greek deities, which from the top of that immense hill characterized by a path of olive and laurel trees still enchants today. Only one rule: sneakers or shoes with non-slip soles here: I have seen tourists in sandals who almost slipped! Did you know that Christian Dior had one of the first photo shoots for his clothes done here? It was 1951 In an age where street fashion often clashes, Athens whispers and those with trained eyes will be able to grasp the strength of this apparent aesthetic silence: an authentic elegance, not constructed, that comes from the climate and culture . It is here, in this disarming simplicity, that the city reveals its true potential! I hope I have been helpful if you are planning a trip to Athens! If the answer is yes, let me know with a comment here I'm waiting. It's worth it

Have you ever heard of the Yin and Yang stylistic method ? Or perhaps you are more familiar with the term "Kibbe method" ? Instagram and Tik Tok are seeing a surge in videos in which image consultants and enthusiasts talk about the "Kibbe method", a style analysis technique that is following the media wave of color harmony analysis , which has been riding high for a few years now. I am Valentina Maugeri, pseudo fashion blogger, fashion design student and passionate about style and communication A little over a year ago I founded Dialoghi di Stile with the aim of making my vision of the world of fashion, of the development of personal style and of making these complex concepts more accessible to all of you. But what is it? What is it for? And how is it applied? Some of you may be wondering what Chinese Taoism has to do with personal style now? Well, it has a lot to do with it! I had initially prepared this article focused mostly on the topic of chromatic harmony , but since the topic has become too "trendy" on social media and also since I have been filling your ears and eyes for some time with the topic and with my beloved light deep autumn seasoning (from the 16x4 method by Giulia Quaranta ), I decided to go further, talking to you about a more "empathetic" part of the style, still little applied in Italy. How did the Yin & Yang essence method come about? It was introduced around 1930 by Belle Northup , a style teacher at Columbia University, and concerned the study of aesthetic identity, which sees the intertwining of feminine and masculine energies in every single individual. It coins the geometries of the body to those of the aura (with which we can mean the energy or allure of a person). These two components represent the starting point for understanding the type of "innate" style that some people possess and the type of often unconscious message that their image communicates to the world. The above method was then studied and applied by David Kibbe between the 70s and 80s, who in his book Metamorphosis identifies the Yang (masculine) values in characteristics such as long and vertical lines, angles, width, solidity, grandeur, strength, regality, formality and the Yin (feminine) values which instead are the expression of round, soft, graceful shapes, radiance and sweetness. Unlike the now famous bodyshape analysis, this method goes beyond the study of the proportions of the body, evaluates the individual as a whole and aims to precisely identify the essence of his style in a more intrinsic and subjective way, uniting psyche and character. The study of the shapes of the face and body, as well as a little analysis of colour , they are disciplines that we can understand as partly objective: they are there, with very precise rules and concepts (even if, based on the currents of thought, this may be a little less valid for the analysis of chromatic harmony). In short, we can define the Yin and Yang stylistic method as one of the most complete and precise, capable of uniting body, mind and style in a single nucleus . The aim of this technique is not to pigeonhole people into categories but to enhance their individuality . David Kibbe identifies 13 typologies which are divided into 5 main style essences and 8 combinations of them . His method initially summarizes 5 archetypal images , which are: Dramatic (yang characteristics); Natural (bordering yang); Classic (perfect balance between Yin and Yang); Gamine (yin bordering yang); Romantic (yin characteristics); Each essence, according to the Kibbe method, has a certain percentage of Yin and Yang . The Dramatic essence is completely Yang , the Natural essence is Soft Yang , the Classic essence is the balance between Yin and Yang, the Romantic essence is Yin with a touch of Yang , the Gamine essence is the mix between Yin and Yang with a prevalence of the latter. The other 8 are nothing more than combinations, or perhaps better to say "bordering", which you can read and understand in the images below. image © gariellearruda.com It was then in 1963, Harriet McJimsey who after the publication of her book entitled Art in Clothing Selection , codified for the first time a sixth archetype: the Ingenue . Some time after Kitchener , a famous personal stylist from Atlanta discovered an additional essence: Angelic (also called Ethereal ). So in total we have 7 main style essences . Each person is a mix of 2 or more essences, never just one. A bit similar to the chromatic analysis, a person can not only be spring, but a bright spring, perhaps bordering on its preceding season, that is, bright winter, and perhaps essentially turn out to be a PB Cool in the 16x4 method of the aforementioned image consultant Giulia Quaranta . In addition to studying the natural lines of the face and body, this method aims to study the stylistic essence , the personality of an individual. Our lines influence in some way our charm, part of our character and our interiority; this is also why with some looks we appear "coherent", our image appears credible, harmonious compared to other types of looks. "Body and mind are one. The physical influences the character and the personality influences the body. This mix is called essence" Michela Scacchi , a consultant whose articles I have read several times to understand this complex analysis method as much as possible, claims in her blog. Pinterest.com It's a part of the personal style that is born with us Some people, perhaps those who pay most attention to their image, know very well who they are and consequently they quickly learn to enhance their most authentic self also through fashion, harmonizing interiority with exteriority . It is our personality that speaks even when we are silent, it is our personality that gives life to the clothes we choose to wear . Finding the clothes that best identify us is a great challenge in this immense jungle that is fashion, which often limits or confuses a little the choices of its customers, because perhaps in the boutiques there is not a wide choice of sizes, textures and styles or because sometimes there is even too much choice, so much so that we get lost in those labyrinths called shops, and in other cases because the prices that fashion offers are not accessible to all of us. Listening to ourselves, observing ourselves carefully, experimenting with different looks in front of the mirror, making targeted purchasing choices, can turn out to be small but valid exercises to activate daily to bring out our essence. And it is also for these reasons that a counseling path with a professional can prove useful to discover and bring out our true self, making the most of what we want to communicate to the world around us. We will continue to explore the Yin and Yang style Essences method in the near future, integrating it with the topic of chromatic analysis. I'm also just getting interested in this topic, so we'll talk about it in more depth in future articles. If you are immediately curious to know more, I recommend you read the blog of the aforementioned image consultants Michela Scacchi and Giulia Quaranta . I will continue to illustrate this topic in the next articles and on my social channels with in-depth carousels. And had you ever heard of this stylistic method? And above all, have you ever felt uncomfortable with a new look or outfit? Write it to me in the comments!

I promised you that we would continue to talk about essences of style… and then, silence! Since I started talking about Yin and Yang style essences on this blog, I have felt a growing responsibility within me; I have seen you participate, become curious, enthusiastically respond to surveys, write to me privately, tell me about your relationship with style and with your self-image . I'm not (yet) a certified image consultant and I thought it was right to say it openly. I began this journey as a passionate and scholar: I read, observed, followed those who do this work with competence and seriousness and I do not want to be yet another superficial voice on a topic that requires delicacy, study and respect. The Essences of Style are a powerful tool that combines psychology and image , allowing you to know yourself better, to feel more authentic in the way you take care of yourself and show yourself . In this article, perhaps with a slightly philosophical flavour, we will briefly review the function of the Style Essence Method , as well as Chromatic Harmony , I will suggest some image consultants to contact for consultancy services and finally we will think about the dialogue that is established between dress-body-soul . If you want an in-depth view of what the Yin & Yang style Essences method is, I'll tell you about them in this article . I am Valentina Maugeri, pseudo fashion blogger, fashion design student and passionate about style and communication A little over a year ago I founded Dialoghi di Stile with the aim of making my vision of the world of fashion, of the development of personal style and of making these complex concepts more accessible to all of you. ENERGIES AND VISUAL MESSAGE: IT'S NOT JUST PHYSICALITY Yin and Yang in personal style are complementary forces that coexist in each of us. Yin is the feminine energy of softness and sensuality, while Yang is the masculine energy of decision, of strong and defined presence. In the wardrobe, these energies translate into lines, materials, volumes, details, but also and above all into the way we move inside those clothes , into the way we interpret them . This is why two people with similar traits can appear profoundly different: it is not just a question of physicality, but of perception and therefore of energy . The body as background, style as narration? In my Instagram stories, I asked you if you ever see someone dressed in a bold style that doesn't really enhance their body: most of you said yes and that it "immediately catches the eye" . This is where the real question arises, the one I asked you before: is it more important to enhance physicality - which also concerns our natural colors - or to tell who we are? In some cases, a look may not follow the classic “rules” of enhancement, but perfectly communicate the essence of the wearer, other times the opposite happens, because the protagonist remains the body, it is the body that "inhabits the dress" . As we have said many times, our physical characteristics reflect our Yin & Yang essences and our inner energies give them greater power . How then can we be free from the body? The answer is that it is not possible . Rather, it is a balance achieved through years of introspection and self-awareness , which does not imply giving up what we like, but learning to integrate and harmonize every aspect of our life in the most coherent way. The same ritual also concerns the study of chromatic harmony and therefore of one's own season , which goes well beyond a "fixed palette". In relation to the essences of style , colour becomes part of the aesthetic message : cold or warm tones, soft or vibrant, Yin or Yang, reinforce our visual story , which is why talking about chromatic harmony without talking about essences of style is like designing a dress and forgetting the fabric . Read also this article where I explain better what the Yin & Yang stylistic method studies and an example to understand it better Foto presa da Pinterest Style is never static The way we walk, move, express ourselves is part of our style . An essence is never just “to hang in the closet”: it lives, changes with us, expresses itself over time, this is because "inside us" a mix of essences coexist. This dance between form and movement is the true key to personal style. Understanding our essences also means accepting that we are dynamic beings and that the wardrobe is a space to inhabit, but not to be swallowed up by, nor a cage to fill! Many image consultants who have been dealing with the method of Style Essences and Chromatic Harmony for years are of this opinion, including: Giulia Quaranta , Giusy de Gori and Irene Grisolia . THE BODY INHABITS THE DRESS, BUT FIRST WE INHABITE THE BODY There is a step that is often overlooked when talking about style: even before the body that "inhabits the dress" , there is our soul that inhabits our body , and it is always the soul that chooses what to wear and how to wear it. The dress is not a shell to wear, but an extension of our interiority, which with our energy allows us to tell our story. From this vision, the body is not just a form to be “enhanced” but a living bridge between what we are inside and what we decide to show outside. I've been saying it for years now and I will always stand by it: clothes make the man , it's wrong to say the opposite! Many people build their outfits starting from physicality : an understandable and often useful strategy. We are naturally led to want to feel beautiful, comfortable, in harmony with the image reflected in the mirror. But only in a second moment do we ask ourselves: " Does this dress really speak about me?" or "By choosing this fabric or this model, what do I want to say?" Finding this answer requires time and awareness, and also a certain amount of confidence to be gained. It does not mean giving up aesthetic enhancement, but combining it with an internal dialogue , where the body and soul join hands. Because, after all, when we truly learn to dress, we are not just dressing our bodies — we are telling a story about our lives, and when style and interiority align, something rare and powerful happens: we no longer just wear clothes, we truly inhabit them . Ps. Try to exempt yourself from being a fashion victim , it's no longer in fashion in 2025!