Memory Is the Last Act of Freedom

There comes a moment when remembering becomes an act of rebellion.

In a world that constantly asks us to move faster, forget sooner and become someone else, POET-LAB chooses the opposite. For Autumn/Winter 2027, Founder and Creative Director Giuseppe Iaciofano presents REMEMBER, a collection that explores memory not as nostalgia, but as the force that protects identity, preserves culture and reminds us of who we truly are.

Photographed in the breathtaking landscapes of Albania, REMEMBER unfolds like a cinematic dream suspended between earth and sky. Endless white horizons become living archives where every footprint, every silhouette and every movement speaks of those who came before us. Against this monumental landscape, the collection questions what remains when everything familiar disappears.

At the centre of this story is Elton Ilirjani, entrepreneur, humanitarian and the official muse of REMEMBER AW27. His presence is more than symbolic it is deeply personal.

Born in Albania and recognised internationally for challenging convention and championing freedom of identity, Ilirjani embodies the emotional core of the collection. Through him, REMEMBER becomes a story about courage: the courage to carry your history with pride, to honour your origins while constantly reinventing yourself, and to prove that authenticity remains the greatest luxury of all.

The campaign also draws inspiration from one of Albania’s most beloved cultural icons, the legendary singer Parashqevi Simaku, whose voice became the soundtrack of a nation. Her songs carried hope, memory and resilience across generations, preserving the soul of a people through music. Just as her voice transcended time, REMEMBER asks whether fashion can preserve emotion in the same way transforming garments into memories that can be worn.

For this collection, memory is not only expressed through clothing but through craftsmanship.

POET-LAB joins forces with Italian design house MAT-B Material Bag, creating an exclusive collaboration that transforms reclaimed industrial materials into sculptural objects of desire. Every bag is conceived as an artefact rather than an accessory a vessel that carries stories, emotions and fragments of identity. The collaboration reflects the shared philosophy of both brands: that beauty is created not by perfection, but by transformation.

Throughout REMEMBER, architectural tailoring meets emotional storytelling. Sculptural silhouettes stand against vast white landscapes where industrial structures emerge like monuments to forgotten histories. Strength and vulnerability exist side by side, creating a visual language that feels both timeless and radically contemporary.

“I have always believed that fashion should leave more than an image,” says Giuseppe Iaciofano. “It should leave a memory. Every collection is a conversation with the people who came before us and with those who will come after us. REMEMBER is about protecting the stories that make us human. Because the moment we forget who we are, we surrender our freedom.”

More than a runway presentation, REMEMBER is an invitation to pause in a world obsessed with speed. It asks us to celebrate heritage instead of erasing it, individuality instead of conformity, and emotion instead of perfection.

Fashion becomes archive.

Craft becomes testimony.

Memory becomes resistance.

With Elton Ilirjani as its muse, the artistic spirit of Parashqevi Simaku echoing throughout its narrative, bringing memory into tangible form, REMEMBER AW27 stands as POET-LAB’s most intimate and ambitious collection to date.

Because in the end, the most revolutionary thing we can do is remember.