The annual appointment with ‘Roma Fotografia’ in an international photographic context is back with its fifth edition, where we see Leica Camera, our partner in the unsettling and reflective theme “Am I what I wear?”- For thousands of years humanity has given clothing an important role defining status, appearance, rebellion, freedom, or conversely, constriction and approval. We are led to believe that what we wear corresponds to the expression of our identity, but are we sure that our style mirrors completely and profoundly? Is following a trend, choosing a colour or an accessory really free from conditioning? And could nudity be an illusion of freedom? The roles we play or which we have been assigned, the need to be seen, accepted and loved, the education we have been given, the dogmas, influence our choices and inevitably build our aesthetic sense both positively and negatively. If we were born in a different nation, in another social context, in a different religious context, in another body we would be inclined to wear other clothes and would be naturally pushed to follow other dictates. Perhaps it is the very alternation of styles and fashion could indicate that we are more prone to be wearers rather than stylists just as the belief that we don’t allow ourselves to be conditioned could reflect something just as important. The question mark recurs more often to open us up, through photography, to a contemporary exploration and individual and choral narration on a multifaceted theme. The desired challenge is a horizon that opens into a natural inclusion and acceptance as well as a conscious awareness to sustainability because what we wear affects our future on the planet Earth.

We are asking professional photographers and amateur photographers to investigate with their photographs today the role that over the millennia humanity has given clothing to define status, belonging, rebellion, freedom, or conversely constraint and homologation.