Valériane Venance, the mastermind designer behind Indépendantes de Cœur, has made it her quest to sculpt and protect. The strength of the women of the world before hers adds to the durability of the force fuelling her collection CIXI, which advocates ancestral female rage as being the sharpest tool in the lady box. By acknowledging the archival romance of sisterhood, the past glitters and guides the models and wearers to feel grounded in confidence within the dystopian spaces Venance creates. To shape this outfit, the designer repurposed a  Victorian linen robe, cutting it into squares, reassembling its new form to emulate natural rock formation. The linen itself has grounding properties, with natural fabrics reacting gently to skin: the wearer feels stronger still in being held by the kind hands of ancestors. With fire in every step she takes, Valériane Venance has imbued all her wearers with the strength of mothers' many battles.  Indépendantes de Coeur weaves material histories to speak of and to the collective experience of danger as she gilds the past for justice to prevail in the present. Through portrayals of femininity at all angles we are reminded that strength is made more powerful in softness. Particularly when we’re allowed to display a sophisticated sense of fashion as protection. Amen.