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SUPPLEMENTO N. 1 AD ARTRIBUNE MAGAZINE N. 82

FOCUS MODA

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The Community Year XIV | Issues 82 January — February 2025 Supplement n. 1

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FOCUS MODA #4 CURATED BY Alessia Caliendo EIC Massimiliano Tonelli

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING & MARKETING Cristiana Margiacchi 393 6586637 Rosa Pittau 339 2882259 Valentina Bartarelli adv@artribune.com EXTRASETTORE downloadPubblicità s.r.l. via Boscovich 17 – Milano via Sardegna 69 – Roma 02 71091866 | 06 42011918 info@downloadadv.it EDITORIAL STAFF | PUBLISHER via Ottavio Gasparri 13/17 Roma redazione@artribune.com ART DIRECTOR Alessandro Naldi

© Marina Mónaco

PRESS CSQ – Centro Stampa Quotidiani via dell’Industria 52 Erbusco (BS) Registered with Tribunale di Roma No. n. 184/2011 del 17/6/ 2011 Closed in editorial office on il 25/2/2025 COLLABORATORS Contributors: Elena Canesso, Margherita Cuccia, Lara Gastaldi, Aurora Mandelli, Alessandro Masetti, Cristina Masturzo Fashion Editor: Giulio Solfrizzi TRANSLATION BY Tommaso Martelli

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n the fourth issue of Artribune Focus Moda, we return to the essence that has guided our editorial line from the very beginning: the community.

This complex theme traces its roots to empathy and a sense of belonging, exploring how local groups and global networks can generate new forms of encounters, production, exchange, and mutual care. This way, fashion, art and visual culture become vectors of relationships, creating innovative and unexpected dynamics.

First, Lucia Buricelli narrates a shattered America at the dawn of Donald Trump’s second term, offering a glimpse into the social dynamics, cultural influences, controversies and aesthetics that mark this historical period. Meanwhile, in the work of the artist Noemi Comi, the community emerges as an ever-changing entity. Her research into reptilian conspiracy theories reveals a universe of virtual connections, in which collective narrative is intertwined with the imagery of the American writer Lovecraft in a conversation with Chanel. The project analyzes digital communities as organisms that can change shape and redefine their coordinates without losing internal consistency.

The Berlin techno scene is another example of a community that shapes its language through aesthetic codes and shared practices.

Our analysis highlights the role of this movement in underground fashion, between stylistic experimentation and identity assertion. Orsola de Castro, on the other hand, redirects attention to the ethical dimension of fashion. As the founder of Fashion Revolution, the movement born after the Rana Plaza tragedy, she continues to advocate for a responsible approach to manufacturing and consumer behavior, demonstrating how sustainability is a collective value that requires individual awareness.

Closing this itinerary, On Common, an exhibition that gathers the work of international photographers, presents a visual investigation into the making of a sense of belonging. The photographs trace an itinerary through rituals, memories, and new forms of aggregation, providing a multi-layered map of contemporary communities.

The stories collected in this issue and the regular columns attest to the fact that community is never a static entity, but rather a constantly redefining balance. In between tradition and innovation, local and global, physical and digital, the connective tissue of relationships expands and mutates, generating new ways of understanding collective identity.

Artribune’s Focus Moda proves to be a tool for mapping routes, identifying trends, gathering insights and testimonials, expanding the editorial narrative, and reaffirming that a sense of community lies at the heart of the future.

■ Alessia Caliendo

American Society

Through the Camera Lens of Lucia Buricelli

L

ucia Buricelli, a New York-based photographer, explores the urban landscape and social dynamics in media outlets such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.

For us, she documented the concept of community in the United States at the dawn of Donald Trump’s second term, focusing on aesthetics, symbolism and collective identity. Through her camera lens, she explored the use of clothing, accessories, and colours as tools of political and social assertion, outlining a complex portrait of a country torn between identity display and visual exuberance.

Have you noticed any recurring elements?

Yes, the baseball cap is undoubtedly the most iconic symbol. The MAGA slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ is ubiquitous—not only at rallies but also in souvenir shops, on the streets of New York, and in smaller towns.

Red has become dominant, along with an almost obsessive display of the flag. But besides these recurring elements, I have noticed more personal details: clutch bags with ‘Trump’ written on them, kippahs with his face printed on them, T-shirts with custom slogans. It is clear how politics has become part of a commercial

Your photographs depict a fragmented America. What are the constant features that emerge?

Since moving to New York in 2018, I have observed how pivotal consumerism is in American culture. Everything is excessive - supermarkets as big as cities, endless parades, malls with ski slopes. American society is built on abundance and constant sensory overstimulation. This can be seen in the photos I take, where the visual chaos narrates the complexity of a country that is always on the move, where the desire to express oneself is achieved through consumerism and the spectacularization of identity.

Colour and flash use define your work. How do they influence the perception of the context?

Colour is a central narrative element.

In the United States, red and blue are not only aesthetic choices, they are symbols of political affiliation. By observing the colours in a photo, one can infer the dynamics of the context even before analysing the content.

The use of flash plays an equally crucial role: it brightens and intensifies

the scenes, enhancing contrasts and giving the pictures an almost hyperreal effect. This technique emphasises the energy of the crowd, the way people look and the dramatic character of certain moments.

How does your approach vary depending on the equipment you use?

I mainly use digital cameras and occasionally shoot film, I hardly ever use a mobile phone. Regardless of the equipment I use, my approach is still the same: I observe without interfering, letting the scene develop spontaneously. Keeping the interaction with the subjects to a bare minimum is key in order not to alter the reality I want to document. Post-production aligns with this approach: I prefer frontal flash as it provides greater freedom of movement and allows me to focus on composition without distractions.

What moments have most impressed you and how do you think America will be portrayed in the coming years?

The element that most impressed me is the aesthetic construction of the sense of community. Crowds, despite having common features, show strong internal contrasts. Political and cultural identity is expressed through one’s outfit, attitude and accessories. It is interesting to observe how different perspectives meet and collide in the same space. Looking ahead, I believe photography will remain an essential tool for documenting US society, though artificial intelligence will play an increasingly prominent role in shaping visual imagery. This does not mean that AI and photography cannot coexist. Artificial intelligence can lead beyond the representation of reality, creating alternative visions that challenge ordinary perception.

INTERVIEWS

Your shots reveal the aesthetic and cultural symbols of Trumpian America in its second term. What details have caught your eye?

The ability to express political ideas and identity through clothing and accessories, often with a mix of patriotism and irony. I have noticed an extensive use of the American flag – on clothes, caps, and even in the smallest details like pins or hair ornaments. There were red ties, garments with star-and-stripe patterns, and baseball caps emblazoned with the word ‘Trump’ in glitter. Even makeup was a means of expression: nails painted in the flag’s colours, bold lipsticks, and vibrant eyeshadows. All these elements reveal an aesthetic that has been developed to communicate belonging and political stance.

system in which everything can be branded and put on sale, turning political identity into a commodity.

■ Alessia Caliendo

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The Social Organism

Noemi Comi Supported by CHANEL

produced by ■ Alessia Caliendo An examination of reptilian conspiracy theories has led young artist Noemi Comi to immerse herself in social groups that share alternative narratives. Her analysis of the material revealed links between the iconography of American writer H.P. Lovecraft and the structure of digital communities. Like the fictional character Cthulhu, the community is an octopus whose tentacles are constantly growing and mutating. It is not a static aggregate of individuals but a fluid entity capable of dividing, multiplying, and reforming in a dynamic balance between identity and collectivity. The project, created for Focus Moda and supported by CHANEL, uses the metaphor of mitosis to explore the nature of human bonds in the digital context, showing that online communities transform without ever losing their essence.

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STORIES

August 2024, Brandenburger Tor. 380,000 people gathered under Berlin’s most famous monument to pay homage to electronic music culture. Brightly coloured hair, crazy sunglasses, fishnet tops: an eclectic madness following DJ boots on 30 floats along Straße des 17. Juni to the tune of the motto “Love is Stronger”, dancing to acid rhythms as far as Ernst Reuter Platz. Rave the Planet is even more of a thrill now that, in March, the German UNESCO Commission announced that Berlin’s Techno Culture has been added to the country’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In the short film Techno Culture in Berlin, Alexander Krüger of the Alte Münze club stated that “a sort of utopia formed in which where you came from, your sexual orientation, the colour of your skin, your religion didn’t matter. People were simply united by music and felt like they were living in a world which was actually the opposite of the capitalist world we live in.” The network of clubs, collectives and events all over Italy generated an independent ecosystem which stood out for inclusiveness. It was a safe community space which valued diversity and encouraged self-expression.

THE BERLIN MUSICAL PANORAMA

While techno certainly shaped the distinctive and recognisable music Berlin is known for, its musical panorama is much wider, encompassing a spectrum of sub-genres ranging from hard techno to house and groove. “When I moved from Mexico City to Berlin I, too, was interested in the quicker techno rhythms but then I discovered downtempo and realised that it was made-to-measure for me”, says R3NATA, an artist from the Mystic Tales collective and co-founder of WOMXN. “Music connects people and Berlin has something for every orientation. Kater Blau, Mensch Meier, Salon zur Wilden Renate, Beate Uwe: these are just some of the clubs I like playing in when I’m here. I’ve found my alternative niche scene where people love my sound without labelling it.”

ONCE UPON A TIME IN BERLIN

2004, between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Friends Norbert Thormann and Michael Teufele made the history of 1990s clubbing in Berlin their own and sublimated it into a venue which will soon be the world’s most iconic techno destination, Berghain.

An abandoned thermal power station built in 1953 located strategically between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain - former areas of West and East Berlin, respectively - the venue perfectly sums up what the rise of techno music meant for the city after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989: a meeting place between different worlds, a counterculture in the making.

Stories are told and legends grow. Famous for its three-day marathons, its sexually explicit

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© Marina Mónaco

Legendary Berlin

Stories of Techno Music and Freedom

Berlin Techno History

Berlin Techno History

1988

1989

The second UK ‘Summer of Loveʼ ushers in a new generation of electronic sounds.

The Berlin Wall falls. The first Love Parade takes place on first July, an iconic Techno event and a forerunner of today's Rave the Planet.

STORIES

© Chris Phillips

character, an absolute ban on photos indoors and strict door selection, a night at Berghain is like a secret deal that the attendee voluntarily accepts and the mystery increases its exclusivity. Its superstar bouncers, like the legendary Sven Marquardt, are famous for keeping a close eye on the behaviour and style of would-be visitors as they queue up and their frequently-impossible-to-explain preference for sober, dark outfits with a laid-back touch to them.

SEXUAL FREEDOM, FROM BERLIN TO THE WORLD

2012, online. The Pornceptual journey began as a digital platform with a desire to bridge the gap between pornography and art and it evolved naturally into a live Berlin experience, a sex party. Its founder Chris Phillips remembers that when he first arrived in Berlin he started going to fetish events whose defining characteristic was their exclusiveness.

“Pornceptual’s approach is a more playful and inclusive one: it targets an international crowd which hasn’t yet explored fetish and wants to celebrate non-judgemental sexuality.” Its erotic nightlife also forged the city’s reputation and aesthetic, with full-blown institutions such as the KitKatClub, Insomnia and Berghain’s Lab-oratory which have generated an important sexual freedom-based

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subculture. It was black leather, bondage accessories, latex, chains and, most of all nudity which shaped the unconventional uniform which became the quintessential Berlin look.

“Clothing (or its absence) became an extension of personal and collective identity. Nudity is a shared vulnerability experience which enables people to make connections which go beyond the surface.”

THE DESIRE REVOLUTION

Stripping away everyday social conventions can foster more profound bonds because it places people more on a par. “Although our goal is to break down hierarchies, we must in any case be aware that social dynamics bound up with body shape, race and age still determine self-image and individual desirability today.” With exhibitions, publications and events in more than 25 different countries, Pornceptual’s inclusive approach has turned it into a global cultural movement. “We want to contribute to a revolution which normalises desire, questions the narrow mainstream porn perspective and fosters ethical, consensual and inclusive representations of sex. For us freedom means generating an intersectional space in which no one needs fear expressing their sexuality, art and individuality to the fullest.”

■ Elena Canesso

1990 The group Underground Resistance is founded in Detroit.

The Berlin-Detroit bridge leaves a strong mark on the German capital city's Techno scene.

1991 After three years in squats the UFO club takes up official residence, founding the historic Tresor club.

1994

2004

2012

2024

The Snax club is set up for men-only events called Pervy Parties, the embryonic form of the future Berghain. The KitKatClub is set up that same year.

The Berghain club is founded at its current location.

Pornceptual is set up as an online platform before evolving into a physical sex party.

The German UNESCO adds Berlin Techno to its national intangible heritage register.

© Marina Mónaco

Orsola de Castro.

The Value of Building Communities

STORIES

M

entor, lecturer, creative director, author of Loved Clothes Last, Orsola de Castro is one of the most inspiring activists in the fashion world. She laid the foundation for responsible fashion and is now a contemporary inspiration icon. Through fashion, clothing and personal style, she reaches the areas of politics, society, community, social economy, and change. Thread, crochet and needles are some of her tools along with her courage, imagination and authoritative voice. She has been a pioneer of upcycling, transforming luxury garment scraps with her multi-award-winning brand From Somewhere (founded in 1997) and developing upcycling collections for Topshop and Speedo, among others. In 2006, she co-founded Estethica, which started as the first ethical showcasing initiative at London Fashion Week.

Estethica was born as a collective of experts working across all fashion sectors which soon evolved into a creative consultancy, mentoring and a pre-and post-consumer waste solution agency of which Orsola de Castro is creative director.

The tragedy of the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 was the catalyst that prompted her to start a movement, which has now evolved into a community, sharing values and practices. A peaceful yet determined and relentless revolution, Fashion Revolution now spans 90 countries.

A space for community activism that operates on a micro level, touching us all, and has grown into a macro force, becoming one of the leading advocacy movements, pushing the European Commission to consider new legislation in the name of workers’ rights.

You are not just part of one or more communities, you are community. What or who do you think has inspired in your life the sense of community?

It’s interesting because I’m not by nature a community person. Mine are not necessarily close communities. They’re often distance communities I can dip in and out of, which I can both learn from and give to. I think my sense of community comes from having a family and I have always had an instinctive need to communicate. Clearly communicators do not communicate alone and so my instinct is to speak and therefore to learn. While I crochet I reflect on various stages of human development, politics, philosophy and poetry and this leads me to make community. Because it prompts me to need to know more and when you need to know more you must expand.

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Through textile language you talk about courage and weakness, building up and destroying for rebirth. What is the importance of the social networking community for you? It feels like an integral part of your way of being.

To some extent it is, although this is another contradiction. I don’t like being centre-stage, I certainly didn’t used to like it. I have no idea how I became a public speaker. If someone had told me when I was 15 years old that I would be speaking on stage in front of audiences ranging from 12 to thousands of people, I would have said ‘impossible’. But life teach-

es you unexpected things. It doesn’t frighten me. Quite the opposite, it calms me down.

I look at people’s faces, their expressions and understand whether what I’m saying is important or otherwise, who it is important to, I see what other people are feeling, sometimes with respect to my words but other times with respect to my knowledge, there I am a vehicle to reach these people.

Is it the same online?

It’s similar online. I think I’ve realized that I want to dedicate my future to writing and social media is linked to it. I wrote diaries for

Photo by Dvora.Photography

years and the Instagram channel is a little like a diary for me. Though different obviously because other people read what you write but it’s great fun putting the right words together and , also, I like having boundaries. I’m an upcyclist you know!

By which you mean?

I like working within limits. And this limit is the word count. It’s also being careful not to offend, not to say inaccurate things, finding the right word capable of explaining a particular feeling. I really appreciate people knocking on my door and exchanging

munity. Take me, for example, there are things I do very well, but the vast majority of things I do not. If I think about what I truly learned from crochet as a child, it was making mistakes. But above all, I understood that I needed others. Because on my own, I am worth nothing. Like everyone. And that’s what makes it truly beautiful.

STORIES

thoughts. There’s nothing in me which is hesitant about this sort of contact and relationship. I give and take, take and give. And I appreciate it.

Once you’ve said that ‘Losing an artisan is like risking the extinction of a protected species.’ Are you confident that a return to artisanship is happening?

Yes 100%. I can say this with my hand on my heart. It’s a true step forward and it’s happened. The most banal, the smallest, the most stigmatised and yet the most instinctive thing is repairing things. In the moment in which we did, we repaired.

None of the young emerging designers I work with around the world - and I work with lots - tell me ‘I want to be the new Prada’. Quite the opposite. It’s all about artisan vision: a small business, a small studio, a mini collection, reworking other people’s clothing, giving their own clothes a second life. It’s a completely different design system.

Then clearly there are also those who will end up playing this ridiculous game that the big brands are playing. Artisanship comes from the earth, from people and from purpose. We are definitely losing crafts all over the world, but what interests me is the fact that there is a return and a desire to invent a new kind of Artisanship.

Is the concept of taking care linked to that of community?

Taking care is inherently tied to community. The discovery of the Neanderthal man known as the La Chapelle-aux-Saints man is an example.

It is the moment in which we take care of one another that we have truly reached the peak of our civilization. It’s not architecture, it’s not agriculture, it’s care. Taking care is at the core of any civilization; in the moment you come together, if you don’t have care, you don’t have civilization, you don’t have community, you don’t have relationships.

What are the best ingredients for building a community?

There are important rules for building com-

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So what’s the formula?

I would say to always choose something that isn’t entirely easy for you, because if you choose things where you excel, you risk getting a bit full of yourself. You don’t need inputs

Photo by Dvora.Photography

from others. Instead if you choose something that’s a bit difficult for you to do, you begin a path where unexpected things may happen.

You’re not the ‘star of the show,’ the person with all the answers. You will find people who have the answers you don’t have. People who teach you to use the needle in ways you don’t know. People who have an opposite, parallel or different way of thinking than yours. Find something difficult. Pursue it. Make mistakes. Start again. And ask for help.

So what obstacles are stopping fashion from evolving?

They took away a passion and a skill from us.

Passion needs to be reintroduced because we don’t dress just to dress: we need to buy things that are worthwhile, clothes that fit both our physical size and our inner size, able to reflect our principles and values.

■ Margherita Cuccia

SPAZIO ESPOSITIVO

On Common: A Visual Exploration of Belonging

Carmelo Plumari

Shahram Saadat

Nicolò Rinaldi

Alessandro Iovino

Mauricio Holc

Francois Prost

Sergi Planas

curated by ■ Alessia Caliendo On Common encourages visual thinking on the dynamics of belonging, identity and sharing via photography.

In it, the photographs of eight international artists speak of the complexities of human relationships, highlighting both spontaneous connections and habitual practices, ways of doing things, and customs while also examining the social tensions inherent in collective settings. Ranging from depictions of rituals and traditions to inquiries into contemporary forms of gathering, and reworkings of personal and collective memories, the work exhibited offers a stratified interpretation of the concept of community.

Through a variety of visual lexicons, including documentary and conceptual On Common poses questions relating to how feelings of belonging shape, transform and express themselves over time and space.

Camilla Piana

WHO IS WHO CARMELO PLUMARI

SHAHRAM SAADAT

is a British- Iranian photographer whose work focuses on observing everyday life and the reality construction it involves. After beginning with documentary photography he translated this into controlled settings, developing an eclectic aesthetic. An interest in human differences and eccentricities is a feature of his art.

NICOLÒ RINALDI

is an Italian photographer and founder of the LUCID DREAMS creative studio. After a first interest in landscape photography, he focused on documentary photography, in personal projects and to commission. He has documented the overtourism phenomenon with a narrative approach which encompasses humour and the grotesque.

In 2024 his W.E.I.R.D project won a PHOTOGRAPHY STRATEGY bursary sponsored by the Italian Department of Culture’s General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity. He also works in the fashion industry on advertising campaigns and special projects.

ALESSANDRO IOVINO

uses photography as a tool for personal exploration and the pursuit of truth. Having grown up in a complex family environment his strong bond with the photographic medium developed as a way of documenting his own life and analysing his experiences. His work demonstrates profound honesty and constant reflection on the concept of home, identity and memory. He lives and works in Italy and South Africa.

FRANCOIS PROST

is a Paris-based photographer and art director.

Working in the publishing and commercial sectors, he balances personal photographic experimentation with collaborations with international brands and publications. His photography concentrates on documenting urban environments and architecture with a specific interest in places illuminating cultural and social facets. His bestknown work includes photo series on French nightlife venue façades, US gun shops, and the similarities between European cities and their replicas in China. His rigorous visual language and detailed formal experimentation highlights the peculiarities and contradictions inherent in contemporary urban landscapes. His photographs have been published in the international press and shown in a great many exhibitions.

SERGI PLANAS

is a Costa Brava-born director and photographer who grew up in the south of Spain. After studying at Milan’s Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera he took up a creative career in the fashion industry, later specialising in directing luxury and beauty sector films. His work combines aesthetic sensibilities and technical rigour, melding visual and narrative elements in a dynamic and engaging style. He produces the image for Artribune Focus Moda, launching his ongoing project Chorus, a longterm multidisciplinary artistic exploration around the concepts of collectiveness and ideological diversity in the context of an increasingly algorithm-driven society.

SPAZIO ESPOSITIVO

is a Sicilian photographer whose experimentation is influenced by nostalgia and the transition from childhood to adolescence. Via film and analogue techniques he explores the theme of holidays as a space of social suspension and individual freedom. After graduating in languages, he moved to Turin where he began working in the advertising communication sector. His career then continued in Rome and Milan, working with fashion houses and developing an interest in street photography and what is known as Beach Photography, through which he analyses leisure time in a nostalgic and timeless vein.

MAURICIO HOLC

is an Argentine photographer and filmmaker specializing in analogue photography. He holds a degree in Photography and Audiovisual Media from Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNAM) but is primarily self-taught, personally overseeing the entire process of developing, scanning, and printing his photos. Interweaving fashion and documentary photography, his work explores themes related to identity, territory, the body, and community. He has exhibited internationally in solo and collective exhibitions and was a finalist at the 2023 Latin American Fashion Awards in the Emerging Fashion Photographer of the Year category.

CAMILLA PIANA

is an Italian photographer. Since 2015, she has worked exclusively with film, using natural light to create large-format images. Her creative process uses a lengthy elaboration time frame in which the materiality of the outside world interweaves with the inner world. Her first work in Italy and Eritrea dealt with grief and physical suffering. After moving to Portugal her experimentation moved in the direction of popular religiosity and surviving traces of ancient religious rites. She has exhibited at the Milan Triennial (2021) and Rome’s Scuderie del Quirinale (2023).

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The Creative Communities of Fashion

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n fashion show reviews, journalistic narratives often celebrate individual genius, turning creative directors into mythical figures, with “King” Armani, “Kaiser” Karl, and “La Signora” Prada being prime examples.

Yet, some brands have built their identity on a sense of shared belonging to such an extent that the press refers to them as clans.

This reference evokes not only family ties and creative dynasties but also recognisable aesthetic codes, much like Scottish tartans identify the ancient families of the Highlands.

Following the theme of the fourth print issue of Artribune Focus Moda, dedicated to community, our Wunderkammer column explores the collective dynamics of fashion through stories and images.

Solitary Designers and Their Muses

The Invisible Atelier: The Community Behind Creation

If there is one place where community manifests itself in a tangible way, it is the haute couture atelier.

Here, behind the designer’s name, lies a collective of skilled hands, seamstresses and premières d’atelier who bring ideas to life.

The Clans of Italian Fashion

One sector where fashion structures itself like Scottish clans is that of family-run fashion houses.

Italian prêt-à-porter has built its identity around this model, where blood ties become both a stylistic code and a production method.

Among the many possible examples, we highlight two dynasties that have passed down their vision through generations, standing out for using color and graphic motifs.

The first is Etro, the brand founded by Girolamo Etro in 1968 and renowned for its paisley pattern, which he discovered in India and reinterpreted into a sophisticated, dandy aesthetic.

We then conclude with a tribute to the late Rosita Missoni.

Alongside her husband Ottavio, she founded the brand in 1953, making it famous for its kaleidoscopic zigzag knitwear.

For the Missonis, family itself is at the heart of everything.

Their past advertising campaigns, often featuring children and grandchildren, narrate fashion’s most intimate sphere, offered as a joyful lens through which to view the world.

WUNDERKAMMER

While the media often portrays fashion designers as isolated artists, creativity thrives on relationships.

One of the most emblematic examples is Yves Saint Laurent, a solitary genius surrounded by a close circle of friends, including Paloma Picasso, Catherine Deneuve and Marisa Berenson.

Then, behind the closed doors of his Parisian studio at 5 Avenue Marceau, he relied on his muses, Loulou de la Falaise and Betty Catroux.

Companions who transcended mere inspiration, acting as confidantes, collaborators, and living embodiments of his creative lexicon.

In the 1970s, Halston similarly cultivated his community: the Halstonettes.

Women like Pat Cleveland, Anjelica Huston, and Elsa Peretti were not just models but also ambassadors of his lifestyle, turning every appearance at New York’s Studio 54 into an aesthetic manifesto.

Recently, some creative directors have made this hidden microcosm visible.

During his solo tenure at Valentino (20162024), Pierpaolo Piccioli often shared the runway with his atelier team at the end of the shows, a symbolic gesture acknowledging the collective work behind each collection.

Frédéric Tcheng’s documentary Dior and I (2014) chronicles Raf Simons’ arrival at the helm of the French maison (2012–2015), revealing the essential role of the premières d’atelier, some of whom had been working there for decades, passing down knowledge and technical expertise.

Scenes of seamstresses sewing beads until dawn on the day of the show demonstrate that there is a resilient community behind every dream dress.

■ Alessandro Masetti

Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux, Marrakech, circa 1970. © All rights reserved. Courtesy Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris Missoni, Spring Summer 1993. Ph. Alfa Castaldi. Courtesy Archivio Missoni Ottavio Missoni, sketch, 1974. Courtesy Archivio Missoni

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The Future of Young Italians in a Perfume Bottle

T

he fine perfume brand Jijide tells two different life stories with its new Dialoghi III collection. And it is doing so with the help of two emerging perfume noses, Mattia Sorrentino and Edda Salvadori, and the ability of two fragrances, Dentro and Oltre to stimulate our olfactory senses.

OBSERVATORY

DENTRO - WITHIN - ITALY

The first of these conjures up the sensations of those who decide to stay in Italy and put down roots, like Sorrentino, its inventor. This 1996-born talent chose to live in Italy and pursue his career here: “Dentro was born from my desire to celebrate the beauty of little things, simple and profound acts which bind us to the people we love. Coffee, the perfume’s beating heart, is the symbol of these roots,” he says, while expressing his image of “an everyday ritual which smells of home, of warmth, of nearness. The inspiration for it was a memory of my grandmother who lovingly made coffee for all of us as a sharing moment.” For Sorrentino the decision to remain in Italy was dictated by his attachment to relationships, shared acts and emotions: “Italy is an interweaving of stories which speak to the heart and it is precisely this emotional fabric, rather than any place, which nurtures my creativity and breathes life into my fragrances.” A celebration of Italianness, then, in all its nuances, melding cocoa, tobacco and incense Dentro a bottle which brings out the aroma of coffee.

OLTRE - BEYOND - ITALY

The second fragrance in the new Jijide collection, Oltre, is the converse and complement to this dialogue. It tells of the lives, sensations and choices of those who decide to move abroad, just like its inventor Edda Salvadori. Born in 2001 she left Italy for Paris and her perfume is redolent of her feelings of transition, discovery and nostalgia for what she left behind. Oltre opens up with a marked metallic note which shouts out electrically and is packed with tension. It embodies the fear of change but also the proactive charge change and departure gives us,” says this nose. “Its talcy, soft quality is our memory baggage, like a comfortingly melancholic awareness that what we are leaving behind is not lost to us but will remain with us for ever. I hope to leave the imprint of a now far-off hug made up of ancient gestures on the skin, just like the talc our grannies used.”

Salvadori’s approach to perfumery is experimental, a creative process made up of intuitive exploration experimenting with new combinations. “Oltre tells of a journey and how we change over time. Anyone who has, at least once in their lives, experienced metamorphosis will identify with the initial tension, the proactive urge and then the comforting nostalgia of a new reality.” Because it takes great sensitivity to conceive and narrate a fragrance which is not simply a matter of stimulating our sense of smell but also reverberates in our souls, conjuring up potent, intimate and profoundly human details.

■ Lara Gastaldi

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Carmela Rizzuti: Timeless Photography

C

OBSERVATORY

armela Rizzuti was born in Palermo and has been drawing her favourite characters since she was a child, discovering in these the love of art she explored at high school and university. Hers is a hyper-realist style which uses experimental supports such as plexiglass to achieve a ‘quasi-photographic’ effect. From 2018 onwards she began printing her photos onto hahnemühle fine art paper, focusing on digital photography and selfies as opportunities for experimentation, understanding and externalisation of sensations and ideas.

What does expressing yourself via photography mean to you? While evoking your painting training in composition...

It is an alternative medium by which to express art in which the subject is a tool for artistic expression. The creative process is more instantaneous.

I get a preview of the outcome of my work and can recreate other images with the necessary corrections.

Why did you choose selfies as an experimentation method?

They allow me to understand and transform ideas and sensations into images, to free up my mind. I tackle a range of themes starting from the female figure which is my communication linchpin, in its relationship with life, in its power, in its being an allegory of nature and life itself, also revealing the contemporary’s various conflicts.

One of the most appealing aspects of your work is your very theatrical use of clothing and sets. What symbolic value do these have?

They are turned into apparitions, symbols and reading and communication keys; verging on surrealism and with echoes of magical realism they make selfies unique and authentic ‘visual tales’.

For example?

In some of my black and white work two very different facets of the female figure are shown. Transformed by large white petals which frame them

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like evening dresses, they represent our bond with nature, while the wind is emblematic of the fleeting nature of beauty. The quasi-transparent veils conjure up Renaissance madonnas interwoven with the cultural roots of the ‘chaste bride’ image whose boundaries are transcended with embroidery. The woman with umbrella whose interior lights up her face and lets poppies fall like light rain is emblematic, a poetic representation protected and illuminated by art.

What are you working on at the moment?

A new photographic project entitled

Sinergie multidimensionali (Multidimensional Synergies) which I will be presenting at Centro Culturale di Milano during Fuorisalone 2025, an event in which the language of art and design language transcend the boundary separating discipline and experience. It is an invitation to look beyond the visible, explore hidden connections and think about how art forms can build bridges between different, interconnected worlds.

■ Aurora Mandelli

photo © Carmela Rizzuti

Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian: The Appeal of Italian Art in Paris, According to Christie’s

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(1960) sold for over €15 million. Fontana was also the star in 2023, with his 1961 Concetto spaziale selling for €7.9 million, together with Domenico Gnoli and a new auction record for Tancredi. And it was ‘white gloves’ for Italian artists at the last AvantGarde(s) including Thinking Italian in 2024, with new French records for Piero Manzoni and Arnaldo Pomodoro and with Lucio Fontana, Manzoni,

once again, and Domenico Gnoli on the podium. This new not-to-be-missed event won over a new collecting audience. Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian is now looking to its next calendar event in Paris on 24 October 2025.

■ Cristina Masturzo Lot 129, Domenico Gnoli, La Robe Rouge

The Hilton Hotel’s Ra e Beauties

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levating lifestyle concept to a rarefied and one-of-a-kind level: this is the Hilton philosophy behind its decision to open up its most extraordinary Italian hotels to lifestyle professionals and organisers.

This is how Ra e was born, an exclusive initiative targeting those needing

exceptional spaces for prestigious events with a focus on the principal lifestyle sectors, including accessories, jewellery and cosmetics. It is a veritable cross-Italy journey from north to south, taking in sophisticated suites, spas and wellness spaces as well as top class culinary delights, expressions of the Hilton’s focus on this world. From the enchanting panoramas of Hilton Lake Como to the charm of Hilton Molino Stucky Venice by way of the most iconic Roman hotels, Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Aleph Rome Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, Hilton Rome EUR La Lama and the Mediterranean elegance of Hilton Sorrento Palace and Sulià House Porto Rotondo, these hotels are for those looking for - and needing - beauty.

OBSERVATORY

ontana, Boetti, Gnoli. These are just some of the artists taking centre stage at the Paris Christie’s auction, after its traditional international auction focusing on Italian art, inaugurated in London in 2000, was moved here in 2022. In its new French incarnation, AvantGarde(s) including Thinking Italian, this wholly Italian segment confirms the appeal of our most famous artists at Ville Lumière too, where the new Art Basel outpost opened in the middle of October 2022. From Futurist Experimentation to post-war classics, and through times of great market uncertainty, Italian art is triumphing north of the Alps. And that this French venue was ready and waiting to welcome it is testified to by its first edition, when a Mappa with a pink background by Alighiero Boetti (1979), offered up for sale for the first time, broke the artist’s own record by raising €5.6 million. And that same evening Lucio Fontana broke a new record when Concetto spaziale

■ Giulio Solfrizzi

Art Gallery of Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel

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1980s NEW YORK NIGHTLIFE IN POLAROID FORM Aurora Mandelli ■ Sharon Smith worked as a photographer in New York’s wildest and most vibrant clubs from 1980 to 1988, taking Polaroids of ‘night people’ dancing, drinking, flirting and, sometimes, falling in love.

Madonna, Andy Warhol, Grace Jones, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry and fabulous unknown faces with red, green and blue hair captured in all their no-limits glory. Collected into the book Camera Girl, published

by Bill Shapiro for IDEA with a preface by Honey Dijon, these previously unpublished photos are a close-up view of the decade’s countercultural hedonism and experimentation.

OBSERVATORY

THE V&A MUSEUM EXPLORES THE ROLE OF DISABILITY IN DESIGN

Lara Gastaldi ■ The V&A Museum in London hosts Design and Disability from 7 June 2025 to 15 February 2026. The exhibition showcases the work of people with disabilities - such as deafness and neurodivergence - in relation to design history and contemporary culture, from 1940 to now. It will show how these designers and artists have designed everyday objects through their own experience and expertise. The purpose of this is to promote a fairer, more accessible and social justiceoriented design in art, architecture, fashion and photography.

BLACK DANDY STYLE ON SHOW AT NEW YORK’S COSTUME INSTITUTE

Aurora Mandelli ■ The Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition is opening at the Metropolitan Museum of New York’s Costume Institute from 10 May to 26 October, on the occa-

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GRAZIA INSERILLO’S FIBER ART ARRIVES IN MILAN Lara Gastaldi ■ Grazia Inserillo’s solo exhibition Un seme profondo - A Deep Seed - is going on show at Milan’s Studio Masiero from 4 March to 30 April.

In it this Sicilian artist explores fiber art, using threads and fabrics to enquire into the natural Studio Masiero world. Curated by Gianna via E. Villoresi n° 28 Milano monicamasiero.it Panicola this exhibition presents five cycles of work including Linum and Organismi, which reinterpret plant elements such as linen, hemp and papyrus via embroidery and traditional techniques. Embroidery is an ancestral, profoundly feminine art which Inserillo accords anthropological value in her work. In Un seme profondo, Grazia alludes to a self exploration and transformation process, immersing herself in the depths of the earth in order to bring plant microcosms ready to proliferate or fossilise over time to light.

sion of its annual charity gala. The exhibition focuses on the emblematic Black Dandy style as an aesthetic and political construct. It is inspired

by Monica L. Miller’s book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity (2009) and examines the stylists who best embody African-American culture, with clothing, accessories, designs, prints, collectibles and film excerpts beginning in the 18th century and continuing to today.

THE BOND BETWEEN FASHION AND INTERIOR DESIGN IN AN EXHIBITION (AND BOOK) AT ANTWERP’S MOMU

Alessia Caliendo ■ Antwerp’s MoMu presents the exhibition PRACTICAL. Fashion & Interiors. A Gendered Affair, from 29 March to 3 August 2025.

The exhibition analyses the fashioninterior design bond from the 19th century to today. From feminine

home aesthetics to the influence of the modernists and the work of stylists Margiela, Demeulemeester and Chalayan, the exhibition reflects on body-space bonds. The exhibition catalogue explores its themes in texts and images curated by Romy Cockx, with the support of Van Den Weghe, Dedar and Vitra Partner Store Antwerp.

TOMORROW’S WARDROBE: THE FUTURE OF FASHION AT THE DESIGN MUSEUM

Lara Gastaldi ■ At the London Design Museum, Future Observatory: Tomorrow’s Wardrobe will be exploring the future of sustainable fash-

JEWELLERY TO COLLECT AS WORKS OF ART

THE 5 RICHEST ART COLLECTORS IN THE WORLD (and Two of Them Are from the World of Fashion and Luxury) Bernard Arnault Net worth: USD 221.5 billion Art collection value: n.a.

Carlos Slim Net worth: USD 102.9 billion Art collection value: Approximately USD 100 million

Giulio Solfrizzi ■ Jewellery equates to

AN AMBITIOUS RETURN TO GRAND PAL AIS FOR THE ART PARIS FAIR

Francois Pinault Net worth: USD 31.6 billion Art collection value: Approximately USD 1.4 billion Steve Cohen Net worth: USD 19.8 billion Art collection value: Approximately USD 1 billion Roman Abramovich Net worth: USD 9.7 billion Art collection value: Approximately USD 1 billion

THE NEW HOCKERTY AND SUMISSURA TAILORING TRADITION Aurora Mandelli ■ Opting for a garment tailored to our own bodies is still

an alternative to mass production: a perfect fit combined with the topquality materials Swiss brand Hockerty uses for its formal and informal clothing, exclusively to order, leaving room for total design control. Design with its innovative 3D Configurator means all details can be personalised, from fabric to finishings and encompassing its embroidered monograms, offering a hyper-realistic preview of the end result in real time and from all angles. Tailoring is traditionally associated with men’s clothing but Sumissura’s focus is on women’s clothing, too, with its Signature Collection of tailored items designed to ensure style, comfort and versatility thanks to a combination of structure and flexibility. Each single thread tells a unique no-compromise story taken to the Florentine stage by Pitti Donna 2025 as a symbol of empowerment and to add its own chapter to the style annals.

OBSERVATORY

ion until August. The most emblematic garments on show include the Ahluwalia recycled polo shirt and Salomon shoes designed to be easy to take apart and recycle. A multidisciplinary approach curated by George Kafka with consultancy by Kate Goldsworthy (UAL), Jalaj Hora (Nike) and Susan Postlethwaite (Manchester Metropolitan University), the exhibition displays fabrics, technologies and prototypes which rethink clothing.

miniature works of collectible art.

This is what Milan auction house Art-Rite believes, having extended its horizons with an exclusive valuable accessory section. After lengthy and productive experiences bound up with ancient, modern and contemporary art, its goal is to offer its collectors one-off items to show off and pass on to future generations. These include a tiara-necklace from French haute jewellery brand Chaumet in white gold and diamonds made at its Paris workshop, estimated to sell for €35,000 to 65,000.

Giulio Solfrizzi ■ From 3 to 6 April 2025 Art Paris’s spring modern and contemporary art event will be back at Grand Palais, whose nave and balconies will be hosting 70 exhibitors from 25 different countries (34 more than in 2024). This edition’s programme includes a range of exhibition visits and tours exclusively for art collectors and professionals and will be even more ambitious, with new themes, exhibitions, awards and roundtables.

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Immortal

A Focus on Figurative Painting in France

Out of Bounds

03—06 April 2025 Grand Palais OFFICIAL PREMIUM PARTNER

Discover the list of 170 exhibitors of Art Paris 2025

Our “Duties”:

The Fashion System and Trump’s Tariffs

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uropean luxury fashion, and more specifically all products in the luxury segment, are at risk. Ever since he took office in the White House, Trump has been threatening to tax even what comes from the Old Continent because, quoting his own words, ‘we take from them and they don’t take from us’.

The US President was mainly referring to pharmaceuticals and automotives; in fact, as of 2 April, a 10% tariff should be introduced on car imports from abroad, including Italy. It is, however, the fashion system that is most concerned about the unscrupulous desire to exercise an old new way of being in the world, as the European Union tends to be exporting overseas rather than importing.

More specifically in the case of Italian women’s fashion, the Confindustria Moda Economic Studies Office reported a +2.4% growth in exports during the first ten months of 2024, reaching a total value of EUR 10.2 billion. Not to mention men’s and children’s fashions, whose figures are not yet available. At the top of the list of countries buying Made in Italy clothing is France, followed closely by Germany and the United States. The latter are among the main luxury customers all round, as witnessed by the major push by Americans in sales of designer clothing and accessories after the economic crisis in China, which also had an impact on fashion.

The fashion system is the most impacted sector current tariff value – value 2023 (in millions of US dollars)

VOICES

Fashion system

639,9 299,9

Agri-food

241,7

Chemical intermediates Mechanics

192

Other manufacturing industries

176,2

Cars and motorbikes

172,2

Electronics and electrical engineering Other transport means

50,2 13,5

Pharmaceuticals

12,5

Consumer chemicals

3,0

Furniture

0,3 Source: Prometeia

This is why the current Trumpian conservatism frightens European big brands.

And while the EU is raising its voice by claiming it wants to respond in kind, CEOs are targeting new markets (such as India) by prioritising high-potential regions in the Global South. “If tariffs hit European fashion goods, there’s no doubt prices would go up in the U.S. market. But let’s be real— America is a massive player in luxury fashion, arguably the biggest. Personal luxury goods alone are expected to bring in around $83.3 billion in revenue in 2025 (Statista backs this up)” says 10 Magazine USA’s Editor-in-Chief, Dora Fung. “The strongest brands like Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton etc. will probably be ok. Their desirability is so high that price hikes won’t necessarily stop their customers from buying —they have already been steadily increasing their prices yearly and their fans are still spending”. The alternative to an unarmed fight in the system? “Doubling down on what makes American fashion great—working more with their media partners on storytelling, innovation, and cultural influence. U.S. brands are leading in sustainability, inclusivity, and tech-driven fashion. Rather than protectionist measures, a better strategy would be pushing international collaborations, fashion diplomacy, and government-backed initiatives to showcase U.S. talent on the world stage”.

■ Giulio Solfrizzi

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ART-RITE AUCTION HOUSE DIPARTIMENTO DI GIOIELLI

Il dipartimento di Gioielli di Art-Rite, la casa d’aste di Kruso Kapital, mette a disposizione di tutti coloro che desiderano vendere e acquistare gioielli, la sua professionalità e conoscenza del mercato.

Gli esperti del dipartimento sono sempre disponibili a visionare e valutare, in via gratuita non vincolante, i singoli oggetti

LE ASTE DI GIOIELLI DI ART-RITE DEL 2025 SI SVOLGERANNO IL 15 MAGGIO E L’11 DICEMBRE.

TIARA, COLLANA E PENDENTE IN ORO 18 KT E DIAMANTI Chaumet, collezione Joséphine, 2013 Stima € 35.000 - 65.000

PER INFORMAZIONI: Email: jewelry@art-rite.it Tel.: +39.02.87215920 Whatsapp: +39.324.7884892

© Adagp, Paris, 2025 | © Fondation Lucio Fontana, Milano / by SIAE / Adagp, Paris, 2025 | Photo: © Anna Buklovska

Your artworks.

Our expertise.

CONTACTS Mariolina Bassetti mbassetti@christies.com +39 348 341 8454 Renato Pennisi rpennisi@christies.com +39 338 136 0306

PIERO MANZONI (1933 - 1963) Achrome, 1958 - 1959 Sold for: €2,944,000 Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian, Paris, 18 October 2024

LUCIO FONTANA (1899 - 1968) Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1968 Sold for: €3,670,000 Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian, Paris, 18 October 2024

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