STUDIO GRES is the brainchild of Nora Gres — a creative hub and a design space for Nora's hand-sewn textile art, collages, and sampling experiments. Collaborations with artists, galleries, exhibitions and brands flourish here, all to birth tangible narratives.

Imagine a creative vision at the cutting edge of design. It's here that Nora takes the cast-offs of high fashion – the surplus fabrics, the discarded textiles, even secondhand clothes and packaging – and breathes new life into them. It's a powerful "no waste" philosophy in action.

Think about it: She's not just hiding the flaws in old, damaged materials. Instead, she celebrates them, visibly repairing them with the gentle art of slow stitching and the intricate patterns of Sashiko. Then, she juxtaposes this with the precision of "high fashion stitching" – the unparalleled craftsmanship, the artistry – to create vibrant new collage sculptures. It's a fascinating dialogue between the old and the new, the imperfect and the refined.

And there's more. Every scrap of fabric holds a story, doesn't it? Nora understands this. She incorporates vintage and historical textiles to enrich her narratives, transforming, for instance, something as utilitarian as military fabric into an object of peace and beauty. Textile storytelling at its finest.

Consider the intimacy of wearing clothes, the simple act of touch. Nora's artworks invite this same exploration. They beckon you to reach out, to feel. And why stop there? Why not wear these artworks, carry them with you, and turn the everyday world into a gallery? Imagine transforming the wearer into a walking, breathing canvas of street art. Think of it as a 'creative funhouse' where a modern nomad's imagination runs wild. STUDIO GRES spins amazing stories with fabric - collages that pop, sculptures that move, and textiles so unique, they practically have their own personalities. It's about bringing art off the wall and into our lives.

Here a lace border, there a bit of organza and to top it off, a little bow. Nora Gres will sew for days and often nights on end to finish a dress. She also sews shoes or bags. But when the things are finished, you cannot put them on or even hang them around your neck or over a shoulder. Nor should you. They are to look at, like a painting, a collage by Robert Rauschenberg or a photograph. Except that she needs neither brush nor camera for her work, but needle, thread and lots of fabric. For Nora Gres sews pictures.

Nora Gres first draws her motifs on transparent paper. This can be a single figure or, as in the production for the German magazine Stern, a scene of a model luxuriating in the sand at a beach in Rio de Janeiro. She transfers every single bit of the original – a palm, a strand of hair – onto a piece of cloth, cuts it out and sews it on base materials of different sizes. Sometimes Nora Gres only pins the cloth down, lays it in folds or drapes it loosely. This is very fiddly handiwork requiring an unconditional love of detail, right down to fingernails made of tiny pieces of patent leather individually glued on. Various fabrics and other materials, such as pearls, sequins or curtain rings are used in the pictures. She gets these from textile wholesalers, flea markets, Turkish bazaars and sometimes even from the street: she once took the keys from a defective Blackberry someone had left lying in the Underground and used them for the windows of a skyscraper.

Text: Christine Mortag in Stern Magazine

FIORI CHIARI – FIORI OSCURI – Light Flowers – Dark Flowers. These aren't just poetic names; they're the identities of two well-known streets in Milan's Brera district. And they lend their essence to a unique space: two rooms that flow into one another, symbolizing the interplay of light and dark, those ever-present, juxtaposed forces. But this isn't your typical sterile gallery. Instead, it's a setting designed to feel like a home, an intimate interior where art sparks conversation and stories unfold.

This is FCFO, the new location of STUDIO GRES, its window to the world. Here, you'll find Nora Gres´ signature murals, sculptures, and uniquely dressed furniture. But there's more – a carefully curated selection of furniture, design pieces, and art, all presented within that cozy, inviting atmosphere. These elements are woven into captivating settings, becoming three-dimensional narratives themselves.

Born from the spirit of Milan's 'Fuorisalone,' FCFO also functions as a dynamic pop-up art space, offering temporary exhibition opportunities for other creative voices across different disciplines and genres, fostering exciting dialogues."