IED Istituto Europeo di Design — Pathos Formulas

Pathos Formulas is the installation that IED presented at the former Teatro dell’Oriuolo in Florence on the occasion of Pitti Uomo 110. A spin-off of the project will be presented at Romaeuropa, designed as a research space where fashion, visual arts, and editorial practices intertw in a shared reflection.

Curated by Francesca Gavin, Editor-in-Chief of EPOCH Review and Visual Arts Director of Murmur, the project brings together the works of 17 male and female students from across IED campuses in Italy and Spain.

At the center of the research lies the concept of Pathosformel developed by Aby Warburg, understood as a principle of transmission and reactivation of expressive forms over time. The project treats history as a non-linear structure, examining how symbols, motifs, and visual forms migrate, layer, and re-emerge in new cultural contexts.

The project takes shape through nine research clusters developed by working groups that connect designers, photographers, stylists, and visual artists. Four of these will be exhibited and presented by their respective creators in the Galleria delle Vasche at La Pelanda from October 22 to 25. Positioned between installation and editorial practice, Pathos Formulas operates as a hybrid device—part archive, collage, and publication.

In line with IED’s educational approach, the focus is placed on the process: collaborations become an integral part of the project, generating imagery in which historical references and speculative visions overlap and transform.