Fashion Is Art: Anabella Bergero’s World on Silk
A parking lot in Mexico might seem an unlikely starting point for a work of art. For Anabella Bergero, it offered an image that would become part of La Virgencita, a photographic collage that appeared on dresses and murals and in exhibitions before finding a new home on a silk scarf. Its journey reflects a simple idea behind her practice: creativity begins with looking closely, and art can accompany us far beyond the gallery.
Born in Argentina and raised between Córdoba and Mexico City, Bergero has spent more than a decade bringing together fashion, contemporary art, and cultural storytelling. Her work combines Latin American pop influences, bright colors, and playful compositions. At its heart is collage, a way of bringing photographs, places, and memories together in one image. Whether she is creating clothing, installations, or murals, her belief remains the same: fashion is art.
That belief began in childhood, when she staged fashion shows and imagined a future in fashion. Clothing gave her a way to turn ideas into something she could see, touch, and wear. Later, living and working in Buenos Aires, Mexico, London, New York, and Miami introduced her to new places and ways of seeing. For readers curious about the person behind these colorful compositions, Bergero’s story offers a closer look at the journey that shaped her practice.
Postgraduate studies at Central Saint Martins in London and an MFA at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York helped her develop this approach. Her work has since appeared at Buenos Aires Fashion Week and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week México, in a group exhibition at FIT’s Art and Design Gallery, and in her solo exhibition Heart of Community at the Faena Art Project Room. She has also created commissioned projects for Walmart, Mimaki, and Mastercard, among others.
Each project offers a different way to connect her art with people. At Faena Art, that connection extended beyond something to wear into a space to enter. Readers can explore Heart of Community to see how her visual world took shape as an installation, bringing another dimension to the ideas now carried on silk.
Behind Bergero’s work is a growing archive of thousands of photographs taken during her travels. She captures the things that make her pause: neighborhood altars, markets, flowers, street signs, quinceañera celebrations, and familiar cultural symbols. Each photograph holds a memory of a place or an encounter. Brought together, these images invite viewers and wearers into a world of color, joy, and vitality.
Through collage, these images become part of new stories. A flower photographed on one trip might appear beside an architectural detail discovered years later. By changing their size and placing them in unexpected combinations, Bergero invites us to notice things we might otherwise walk past. What might we discover if we gave our own everyday surroundings that same attention?
La Virgencita brings this process to life. The image from the Mexican parking lot sits alongside photographs of markets, flowers, and street signs. Before becoming her first silk scarf, the collage appeared on printed dresses, buildings, and windows. Each version offers a different way to experience the same artwork.
On silk, the image moves. It folds, drapes, and changes with the person wearing it. A detail visible when the scarf lies flat might disappear into a knot, then reappear as the fabric opens. The wearer becomes part of the artwork’s story, shaping which colors and images come into view.
Measuring 90 × 90 cm and printed on 100% silk, the La Virgencita silk scarf can be worn or framed. On the body, it becomes part of everyday life. On a wall, it offers a chance to take in the full composition. Each scarf comes in a collectible art box designed as part of the piece.
Now based in Florida, Bergero continues to draw inspiration from the places and cultural encounters that have shaped her life. For her, wearable art allows a creative idea to keep growing. A photograph becomes part of a collage. The collage becomes a mural, a dress, or a silk scarf. Its form changes, but the story behind it remains.
That story continues with each person wearing it. To find a piece that speaks to your own sense of color, memory, or place, explore Bergero’s silk scarf collection and imagine how you might make it part of your everyday life.
To learn more, visit www.anabella-bergero.com, follow Anabella Bergero on Instagram at @anibergero, and connect with her on LinkedIn at Anabella Bergero.