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The ISSIMO Edit: Soledad Twombly 

October 8, 2026

The ISSIMO Edit: Soledad Twombly 

On the stories textiles tell, the people who keep craftsmanship alive and the beauty of being fully present 

Some people collect souvenirs when they travel. Soledad Twombly comes home with textiles, ideas and, quite often, new creative collaborators. 

Born in Argentina, with a career that has taken her from New York to Rome, the fashion and interior designer has spent decades exploring the relationship between material, memory and place. At L'Archivio di Monserrato, her extraordinary Roman atelier, antique fabrics and contemporary creations from around the world come together in a space that feels part boutique, part creative laboratory and part cabinet of curiosities. Established in 2017, the Archivio brings together a lifetime of textile research with Soledad's love of interiors and Italian craftsmanship.  

Her work might begin with an embroidered textile discovered on a journey, but where it ends up is another matter entirely. A garment can take years to come together, a collaboration can connect artisans living at opposite ends of the same country, and a seemingly insignificant piece of fabric can find its way into something entirely new. 

Following her recent trunk show at Hotel Il Pellicano, we caught up with Soledad to talk about the pleasures of travelling with curiosity, why every designer should know how to sew and what it really means to live beautifully. 

You were born in Argentina, lived in New York and have made Rome your home for many years. How have these different places shaped your creative world? 

I have four grandparents from four different countries, so I've been influenced by different cultures since birth! I've also always lived in places connected to the sea. Even Rome is quite close to the water. Many of my ancestors crossed the ocean to reach America, while I crossed it in the opposite direction. That idea of crossing oceans and returning to places by the sea has always been part of my life. 

I've travelled extensively, often returning to places where I've developed relationships with local people, particularly through textiles. That's the foundation of everything I do. 

At L'Archivio, we have a collection of textiles dating from the 16th century to the present day, gathered from many different parts of the world. Some are tiny fragments of things that are almost impossible to find today. Students of fashion and costume design can come and study them, and many of these pieces eventually become the inspiration for new collections. 

Textiles seem to be the starting point for so much of your work. What draws you to a particular fabric? 

For me, textiles tell the history of people. They're full of symbolism and meaning. You might find a particular motif and discover that it represents water, for example. You begin asking why a fabric looks the way it does, why a certain technique developed in one place and how it differs from something similar made elsewhere. 

Take ikat. You can find it in Cambodia and Uzbekistan, but the textiles are completely different because they're made on different looms and come from different traditions.

A textile can tell you an enormous amount about a place. And when you wear something made from it, you're carrying a little of that identity with you. 

When you arrive somewhere new, what are you looking for? 

I make contact with local people and explain that I'm interested in understanding how they dress, or how they used to dress. In many places, those traditions have almost disappeared, but fortunately there are still small communities keeping them alive. I ask a lot of questions. I visit bazaars and places that might be completely unknown to visitors. Sometimes I'll meet the grandmother of someone working in contemporary fashion who still sews or knits using traditional techniques. 

That research has led us to establish small cooperatives in Turkey, Uzbekistan and northwestern Argentina. They don't simply produce something for one collection and then disappear. We continue working together, and the collaborations evolve. 

In Turkey, for example, we work with two cooperatives in different parts of the country. One produces the fabric for a garment, while the other specialises in traditional embroidery. We've introduced them to one another, and now they collaborate. 

I find that fascinating. They speak the same language, and we're the foreigners, but we're the ones who brought them together.  

What happens when all those discoveries finally make their way back to Rome? 

That's one of my favourite parts of the process. We bring together everything we've gathered for a collection, and I work with my wonderful team to create the individual pieces.

All the ideas have already started connecting in my head during the research and the travelling, but it's here in the Roman atelier that everything comes together. 

For our trunk show at Il Pellicano this past summer, for example, we created a collection specifically for the occasion. 

Your designs bring together references from many different places, yet they have a very recognisable identity. Is there a secret to getting that balance right? 

I don't have a formula! The more unusual elements are often used in very small doses. They might appear in a cuff, a button or a necklace. I don't want to dress people in costumes.

You might not immediately be able to identify where a particular detail comes from, but when you look at the finished garment, it's still a completely Italian piece of clothing. 

You've been working with existing textiles and one-of-a-kind pieces since long before sustainability and upcycling became familiar fashion terms. How has that approach evolved? 

When I started, it didn't have a name. What's important to me now is passing knowledge on to the next generation. I work with a very young team, and I want them to understand how a garment is actually constructed. 

You need to know how to cut, sew and press fabric. If you don't understand those processes, it's difficult to explain how something should be made or how a problem can be solved. 

We learn an enormous amount from the tailors we work with. I would build a monument to them! They're extraordinary people with so much experience, and they're passing that knowledge on to younger generations. 

That's something we're actively working towards: making sure Italian craftsmanship continues, and that the next generation can build a sustainable livelihood from it. 

L'Archivio di Monserrato brings fashion, art and interiors together in such a personal way. What does beauty mean to you? 

I also work on many interiors, and when someone asks me to help with a house, I propose what I would do myself. I have to be honest about that: I can't work with too many instructions! For me, beauty is about spaces and the way things are arranged. Where you place one piece of furniture in relation to another, how you use textiles and how much empty space you leave. It's almost like a permanent ikebana. 

But most importantly, a space should represent the person who lives in it, just as clothes should represent the person wearing them. 

I always tell people who visit L'Archivio that they'll find something with their own signature in it. Something that feels like them. To me, that's beauty and style. 

How long does it take for an idea to become a finished piece? 

Everything happens at the same time! Sometimes a project takes two years because I'm developing a relationship with someone or working on a particular textile. We might send samples back and forth many times before getting it right. Other ideas stay in a drawer for a year until I take them out again. We create new pieces roughly every six weeks, so the atelier is constantly changing. Someone can come in one week, return the next and discover something completely different. I follow the fashion calendar loosely, but I'm not bound by its usual deadlines. If I discover something today, I don't necessarily have to wait two years to use it. 

Finally, at ISSIMO we often talk about the Italian art of living well. What are the ingredients of a life well lived, for you? 

I think it has a lot to do with the things we see and the memories we make of them.

I'll give you an example. There's a beautiful sunset, and everyone takes out their phones to photograph it. I stay there without taking a picture. I want to imprint it on my mind.

For me, it's about experiencing a moment of beauty and allowing it to fill your heart and inspire you.

Beauty is around us all the time. We just miss so much of it because we're moving too fast. 

Soledad’s ISSIMO Picks

Amotea Serena One-Piece Swimsuit 

I love one piece bathing suits, and the colour of this one is gorgeous. 

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Borsalino Koko Bucket Hat 

The Borsalino hat is a must as the shape is feminine and easy to bring with you in a carry-on suitcase. 

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Benedetta Bruzziches Venus La Grande Bandana Bag 

This purse is perfect to add color to white dresses in the summer. 

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ISSIMO Small Pochette

This pochette’s colour, size and shape are great to travel with and easy to carry even with just one evening bag. 

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ISSIMO La Posta Vecchia Backgammon

A fantastic family gift to take everywhere. 

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