How to spend it | Clothes
Belluno | Made-to-Measure
Among the lovely people I was lucky enough to meet while prospecting up in the Veneto not long ago was Elisabetta Venturelli, an achingly young but singularly talented fashion designer from Belluno. A recent virtuoso graduate of Milan's Istituto Marangoni, world-class fashion academy which counts ... More
Rome | Brand Aid
Fendi for fountains? Yep, you heard right. It's the catchphrase for a noble gesture announced a couple of weeks ago by the legendary luxury goods brand. Chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari, backed up by Silvia Venturini Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld, has pledged something like €2.5m to fund ... More
Martina Franca | The Sartorialist
Someone recently asked me where I lived. My answer was somewhere between Matera and 1C. That's were I spend most of my time nowadays. Luckily for me, 1A has been occupied by some pretty interesting people lately, turning wasted transit time into constructive ... More
Rome | Mikiway Concept Store
If I happened to have a shop in Rome, it would definitely be a lot like Mikiway. Let me explain. Meet the people: the store is run by Angelo, a Roman gentleman of charm and distinction, and his fabulously creative Romanian wife of many years, Mihaela. ... More
Matera | Elisa&Janna
Here's one of those magical partnerships, a case of - to paraphrase Aristotle - the whole being undeniably greater than the sum of its nevertheless remarkable parts. When I first met Johanna Curti she was quite rightly floundering in Matera, desperately ... More
Venice | Arnoldo & Battois
Last Saturday I was in no mood or condition for shopping. From the waist up I was still wearing part of the outfit I'd put together for a morning conference in Belluno. This was paired with post-conference jeans - but two ... More
Genoa | Cashmere Technology
I met Andrea Moretti quite by chance in Genoa, the home town he loves and where he opened the store which showcases his ingenious cashmere product. Moa is the name of the shop, bang in the centre of town, and Moatech ... More
Verona | Hell’s Kitchen
Marco Lai was fixing a puncture on his bike when he had his eureka moment. It was the inner tube that did it. The young designer with eco-attitude, reluctant to throw the old one in the bin, envisaged a new life for ... More
Milan | G.A.B.
Sourcing and selecting only superlative Italian products, G.A.B. is a new Milanese boutique-showroom for clothing and accessories, leather goods and interior design, with a concept all its own. Patrizia Campagnari and Claudio Alghisi pooled their business experiences and their faith in the ... More
Milan | Pianoprimo
Here's a gorgeous new design store in Milan. No window displays to lure you inside because it's on the first floor, piano primo, but once you know it's there... Design trio Fabio Cocchi, Luigi Rotta (ex Dovetusai studio) and Alessandra Mauri put their heads and ... More
Naples | Unique Umbrellas
In a narrow side street off Via Toledo there's a workshop where Mario Talarico has been making umbrellas all his life, just like his father and his grandfather before him. This is an edifying tale of tradition, of passing on ... More
Milan | Wait and See
The name conveys the concept, one of time and tranquility, tempting you to slow your pace and look around. Wait and See is designer Uberta Zambeletti's own store, cosily housed in a former convent in the old heart of the city. With degrees in ... More
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