HESO

Helen Sotropa acknowledges the desire for familiarity within the fragility of communities. With a strong Romanian upbringing in the states, preservation of tradition coincides with assimilation through evolution, and this contrast is ingrained deep within garments. Traditional Romanian embroidery and beading are explored to create a collection of texture, yet proposed in unorthodox materialities. She achieves a new way of looking by combining tradition into knitwear and metal steel, emphasizing the integrity of the origin in unknown contexts. Genderless silhouettes serve as a solution for unexpectedness, allowing the subconscious and intuitions to guide. She believes that while the future is unstable, the familiar stabilizes us, and invitations for foreign experiences become willingly welcomed.

Helen is the founder of HESO and is a 2022, 2023 Fashion Scholarship Fund recipient and a 2022 CFDA Scholar.