This fashion-inspired collection is born from a gesture of quiet resistance.
Inspired by the figure of the donkey — humble, resilient, and often misunderstood — Stubborn Grace reclaims its image through fashion. Each piece is a wearable reflection on strength without aggression, pride without arrogance.
Created in collaboration with students from l’École des Métiers d’Art Shems’y, the collection features handcrafted accessories that reinterpret donkey ears as symbols of dignity and transformation.
Playful yet profound, these pieces challenge the insults, overturn the stereotypes, and celebrate the beauty of what has long been overlooked. More than fashion, Stubborn Grace is a collective act of reimagining. A call to wear difference with pride, and to walk— stubbornly, gracefully — toward a future without fear.

The process: Wearable Sculptures And Design Labs
Through a series of 10 co-design workshops held at the École des Métiers d’Art Shems’y in Fes, the artist had the opportunity to delve deeper into the themes of the reserch together with a group of highly engaged students and apprentices. Each session became a space for dialogue, experimentation, and shared creativity.
Rather than simply producing accessories, we explored what it means to embody a different perspective—starting from the figure of the donkey and reimagining it through fashion. The result was a series of unique, high-fashion wearable sculptures inspired by donkey ears. Each piece is different, reflecting the individual inclinations, desires, and skills of the students involved.
The process combined traditional Moroccan artisanal knowledge with contemporary design thinking, encouraging personal expression while nurturing collective vision. What is often hidden, mocked, or dismissed became, instead, something to wear with pride—crafted with care, imagination, and dignity.

Fashion collection:
Caterina Moroni, Michela Fanara & students from l’École des Métiers d’Art Shems’y de Fès

Creators:
Abd el Moughit el Maaroufi, Ashraf Elmanssouri, Ayoub Hanine, ECH-charef Othman, Fatima Saidi, Ikram Diouri, Karima Elhafsi, Marouan Ouardi, Michela Fanara, Saidi Khadija, Safae Rifi, Siham Alaoui, Zineb Essabry

Models:
Ana Gonzales, Bianca Biagioli D’Agostino, Gustavo, Lori Wood, Marloes van Raamsdonk, Miranda Raggi
Co-design process led by Caterina Moroni
Poetic contributions by Azzurra D’Agostino
Project developed while in residence at Nawat Fes, the artist residency program of the American Language Center Fes in collaboration with École des Métiers d’Art Shems’y de Fès
With the support of the NURUS 2025/2026 support program by the Interministerial Delegation for the Mediterranean of the French Government