Aleksandra Blinova’s MA collection ‘Insomnia’ is an artisanal handmade poem. It tells a story of her personal experience of insomnia, when she found herself isolated during pandemic. The poem consists of five chapters, narrating through the sleepless night. The five chapters are shaped into consecutive outfits: "The Ghost", "The Apple Hearts", "The Canvas", "The Painting" and "The Night".




“ Heartbeat. Another night of insomnia. Another withered attempt to fall asleep. I hear my chest ringing. My heart is palpitating. Every bone is trembling with shivers. Paralysed. I eat an apple in hopes to fall asleep. Another night, another apple. The moon is resting on the stubs of bitten apple hearts. They lay next to my bed, reminding me of the nights before. I am terrified. I see the canvas. Bare as Madonna. Paranoid, I start to paint to calm my mind. I scratch the canvas surface in despair. I rip the bedroom curtain into strips. Heartbeat. Is it a ghost? Is it a dream?”




The looks are approached as paintings. Inspired by expressive works of Edvard Munch, they are assembled from fractured colourful textiles, resembling brush strokes. Cut out apple shapes are treated as paint, layering a garment. The shades of blue night sky satin intertwine with bleach black cotton and translucent shades of cerulean organza. Repeated shapes are gathered by hand and meditatively hand-stitched. Once eaten, dried apple hearts are dipped in resin and form into jewellery earrings and necklace.
This is Aleksandra’s final collection line up. “Insomnia” has inspired her to continue working with recreating poetry and narrate through couture.