Lulu: Her Italian Fashion Story
The New Summer Aesthetics: Directly from the Fashion Academy Photos From July 12 to 27, 2025, at the Octagono Santa Caterina gallery, located right on the “Duomo” square in Cefalù – the pearl of Sicily’s northern coast – the exhibition “Dialogue Between Canvas and Textile” by the Bulgarian artist and designer is taking place. The event presents 21 paintings, each of which serves as inspiration for a unique garment from her artistic fashion brand. The exhibition is organized by the Municipality of Cefalù with the support of local cultural partners and with the participation of Italian artist Mario Taviano, who has created an additional installation. It is not merely present in the hall, but inspired by the Octagono Santa Caterina gallery itself and exists in dialogue with Lulu’s exhibition. The Project The project goes beyond the framework of a traditional exhibition – it is an aesthetic and emotional journey in which each garment is a transformation of a painting, and each painting – the starting point of a form, silhouette, and experience. The harmony between canvas and textile unfolds as a visual dance between image and volume, between intuition and matter. “This is a dialogue between dream and reality, beyond borders, deep inside the soul,” shares the artist and designer Lulu. The exhibition’s themes encompass the universal human experience – time, space, love, loss, aspiration, downfall. They are expressed through saturated colors, organic forms, and garments that not only clothe but also tell stories. Lulu’s collection does not create fashion for shop windows – it creates clothing for the soul. For her, the exhibition in Cefalù is a dream come true. A decade ago, during her first visit to the town, she stood in front of the cathedral and wished that one day she would present her art right there. Today, that dream is a reality. About the Designer After many years of work in costume and design, Lilyana Petrova – Lulu founded her brand in 2022 with a clear idea: to take art outside of galleries and turn it into an accessible, living emotion – into fashion poetry carried by the body and experienced with the soul. Critical Reception Prof. Lyubomir Stoykov describes Lulu’s appearance in Sicily as “a magical symbiosis between art and fashion.” In his foreword to the Italian catalog, Prof. Stoykov writes: “Lulu treads – figuratively speaking – on the global art tradition in fashion, but also on the fashion metamorphoses of art. Consciously or subconsciously, she draws inspiration from such world masters of the needle and thread, of magical tailoring and astonishing silhouette as Elsa Schiaparelli, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Valentino, Gianni Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, who in a brilliant way blend art and fashion design. Van Gogh, Marc Chagall, and Maurits Escher also hold a very special place in her heart and in her creative arsenal. Her favorite themes – cosmos, earth, human, love, passion, and longing – refract through her work in the prism of light and color!
