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Black Puffy Dress
Made from 100% organic cotton fabric sourced from factories that work with deadstock
textiles.
This garment remains a symbol of inner darkness and emotional grief.
This garment is created by Eulalia Mateos a fashion designer, artisan, art historian, and professor at ESI Higher School of Design in Valladolid and at the Castile and León Crafts Center. Her brand is built on the belief that each piece deserves careful reflection and its own identity — where modernity, pattern making, and craftsmanship tradition converge. She is committed to conscious, accessible, and transparent fashion, working exclusively with local suppliers and honoring the textile knowledge of her region. The piece “Black Puffy Dress” is a voluminous, deliberately heavy dress crafted in 100% organic deadstock cotton, its exaggerated, distorted silhouette painted by hand by the project’s participants — a process described as the most delicate and complex stage of its making. The alteration of the natural body line is entirely intentional, as is the physical weight of the garment itself. The dress is a symbol of inner darkness and emotional grief made tangible. Its puffiness represents emotional excess — feelings that grow until they occupy too much space. The distorted silhouette evokes a loss of self, while the weight of the fabric embodies the mental burden of anxiety, persistent thoughts, and the difficulty of moving forward. Every step taken in the garment becomes a struggle, mirroring the experience of emotional gravity — not merely existing in darkness, but carrying its full weight. Part of the experimental fashion project From Darkness to Light, developed with users of the INTRAS Foundation, where design functions as a tool for therapeutic support and social inclusion. Rooted in the cultural heritage of Castile and León, the project draws a parallel between personal journeys through mental illness and the region’s broader history of overcoming adversity — connecting the symbolic transition from darkness to light with the contemporary rebirth of local tradition.
It’s made entirely from certified deadstock cotton and reclaimed materials, with zero or minimal waste cutting, local and ethical production, and a fully conscious manufacturing process.
In this part of the experimental fashion project “From Darkness to Light,” developed by users of the INTRAS Foundation, we have used design as a therapeutic and social inclusion tool, deeply connecting it with the local cultural heritage of Castile and León.
The project not only creates garments but also establishes a dialogue with the region’s identity through the symbolism of transition, evoking processes of overcoming adversity that are reflected in local history. It links this transition between the shadows of mental
illness and the light of social inclusion, similar to the rebirth of traditions in modernity.
Made with sustainable and reused materials: 100% certificated cotton headstock. All the garments were made using reclaimed materials (deadstock), instead of manufacturing with new fabric. We used certified fabrics with trust seals and upcycled discarded textiles.
When cutting the pieces for each garment, I aimed for zero or minimal waste to avoid creating any unnecessary items. I implemented a conscious production process, making each garment locally and ethically.
The process
The most complicated part was the design process, sketching to convey the intended sense of darkness. Once the design was finalized, we moved on to creating the pattern on a table with the corresponding measurements, followed by its construction. We located the appropriate fabric and finally adapted the pattern to the silhouette, making the necessary alterations. Painting it by the users was the most delicate part of the process;
they did a fantastic job, as the finished garment made the process more complex.
Our Team
The whole is much more than the sum of it’s part. Meet our team!
Users Participating in the project
Participants from a day center
Eulalia Mateos
SUPERVISOR
Fashion designer, artisan, art historian, and professor at ESI Higher School of Design in Valladolid and at the Castile and León Crafts Center. She has her own brand, a brand identified by a unique concept based on contemporary design where each piece is born from careful reflection, seeking its own identity.
We respect the art of craftsmanship, where, by combining modernity, pattern making, lines, tradi-tion, and skill, each piece achieves value.
We are committed to creating fashion consciously—fashion that is accessible, transparent, and responsible. That’s why we work with local suppliers, valuing the knowledge and tradition of the textile sector in our region.
With the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
