SPEAKING TOPICS

Silvana has worked as an Art Director for over a decade, but her greatest masterpieces are the personal canvases on which she’s imprinted her boldness. Born in Brazil, she moved to Chicago 13 years ago and started cutting away the superfluous things in her life that held her back: false narratives fueled by society’s expectations of what she, as a woman, should be. Instead, she focused on being her truest, most extraordinary self.

It started with a simple idea to wear tulle skirts every day for 100 days and document her journey on Instagram.  Stepping into that first skirt—made of layers of beautiful tulle—actually helped her shed the layers of insecurities and fear that had accumulated over the years. As every girl who’s ever worn a tutu or a princess dress knows, being dressed in sparkles, ruffles, and poofy, pretty things makes it feel like EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

The skirt became a symbol of happiness, confidence, assertiveness, and most importantly, freedom.  This experiment in April 2016 caused a shift in Silvana’s perception about who she was, and she began to embrace the vulnerability, emotions, boldness and femininity she once hid away. This newfound freedom opened her up to new experiences, new conversations, new relationships, and a new way of life. And it was contagious. Her experiment sparked a movement, known as The Tulle Project.

Today, Silvana inspires other women by embracing a childlike enthusiasm and zest for life as a woman. Her optimism and clarity about her own true self empowers other women to chip away at their own timidity about who they are.  She thrives in building other women up. Her broad strokes of bold have touched women across the country, who don the symbolic tulle skirts to pursue their own freedom to be themselves. Led by Silvana, The Tulle Project has taken beautiful, sophisticated skirts and transformed them into a symbol of feminine strength—charging women to express themselves, take ownership of their stories and create the life they’ve always wanted.