There is a touching way Irene Rasetti adds natural elements to natural textiles.  In her humble disposition it is not readily apparent that she comes from a background of working with Gianfranco Ferre or Gianni Versace.  

Instead, you might notice her love for her work - the delicate touch she lays into each of her hand dyed garments, the artistic expression she draws from the very plant life adorning her neighbourhood, and the raw beauty she develops from each work of cloth that crosses her path.   

 The final products she cultivates are garments of a stunning quality that possess a visual and tactile nature capable of drawing you right into the natural environment they were inspired by.  

 Irene is a beautiful genius in the textile world.   

 “I've done a lot of different things,” said Rasetti.    

 “I’ve been in fashion design and I've owned my own store and we used to carry    

locally made and Canadian fashion.  

 “But it wasn't until I started taking some workshops and courses about the natural dye process that it really resonated for me.  

 “Not just as a medium to colour fabric, but also it resonated as almost a way of life. 

 “Like finding the beauty in decay and being able to somehow map that onto textile. 

 “It was almost like a personal finding for me.” 

  As each piece embodies that personal finding for Irene, they also strive to develop a personal connection with those who wear them.   

 “It became a passion for me. Because it was almost a way of connecting to nature and grounding myself, and also like healing.  

 “When you're ruminating on your life or certain subjects or things that have happened in your life, if you find a creative outlet that can kind of pull you out of it and ground you, it’s like you find a sense of place, you find a sense of home.  

 “So, when I'm doing natural dyes, when I'm working with nature, when I'm working with plants and flowers, I just find that I'm the vessel for it.  

 “It's not me, it's not calculated, it's very organic and it just kind of happens. It's very free flow. 

 “It's bringing me home to myself. I feel very connected and grounded to it.” 

From a background working in design in Milan, to running her own shop in Calgary, Irene has been through the necessary steps for her to appreciate the point in which she has landed with her craft.  

She creates in a way that resonates with her own desires, and in turn her work serves a purpose to unite with others.  

 “I think in today's society and today's day and age and how we're inundated with information, there's this pressure of perfection go a degree.  

 “Like, trying to be the perfect mother, the perfect spouse, the perfect worker, the perfect ... there's a lot of pressure I guess.  

 “So, when you're connecting to nature, or when I'm connecting to nature, it's like you see that perfection doesn't exist and there's beauty in that.” 

October 18, 2017