A Matter of Freedom.

Madonna has never seemed particularly concerned with fitting in. From the very beginning, she did things her own way, even when that meant challenging what was expected of a woman or an artist.

Her career is full of unexpected turns. Image, music, aesthetics, discourse. But behind all of them lies the same attitude: refusing to accept limits easily, and even less so, conventional expectations.

She spoke about sex, desire, religion, power and independence when doing so was far from popular. She played with her own image and used provocation as a tool to convey her messages. That ability to make people uncomfortable is one of the reasons she has become part of our culture.

Her influence goes far beyond music. Madonna is part of the visual culture of several generations, as well as fashion, photography, film and a different understanding of the role of women in the public eye.

More than four decades later, Madonna remains recognisable anywhere in the world. She opened doors that many other women would later be able to walk through.

And that is where her legacy lies: in the determination to decide for herself who she wants to be.

Being an icon does not mean remaining the same. Madonna has done precisely the opposite: changing as many times as she has wanted, without allowing others to decide when she should. She has turned transformation into a tool and provocation into a form of expression.

Icons manage to make their way of doing, thinking or being continue to make sense when everything else has changed.

And that also has a lot to do with design.

Some pieces become references because they introduce a different perspective. Not necessarily because they are extravagant, but because someone dared to propose another solution, another form, another use or simply another way of looking at what already existed.

Creativity needs room to question. And also a certain freedom to make mistakes, change your mind and start again.

Madonna has spent her entire life doing exactly that.

Perhaps that is why, more than an icon, she is a reference.