vincent giarrano

street scenes of manhattan have never before come alive quite like this..

amore

nobody does food, wine, and family quite like the italians.  throw fashion into the mix and it could only mean one thing- missoni.  


their spring 2010 campaign, shot by juergen teller, is like stepping into lunch at grandma's-  meant to "highlight [their] reality and lifestyle" (for spring 2011, they packed up their extended family and flew to london to shoot at the  "museum of everything").  both aesthetics are like being surrounded by the best pickings from the best consignment shops around the world. random treasures and memorabilia are the perfect backdrop to the missoni signature style of wild zigzags and loud patterns. 


daughter of founders rosita and ottavio, angela, took over as creative director while her brothers, luca and vittorio oversee the business side of things.  angela's daughter, margherita (pictured here with rosita), is the brand's ambassador and a personal fav of mine.  


missoni represents the spirit of family and generations of good taste that, like a good bottle of red wine, keeps getting better with age.

doors of rajasthan

there is a very competitive market for exporting doors from the state of rajasthan to sell internationally.  during my time in the "heart of india', i fell in love with door designs over and over again.  from restored palaces, to city palaces, and every dwelling in between, doors of india exude such a casual and effortless existence, that it made me want them even more. 

around the world designer platform

how cool would it be to help recruit designers and photographers to create the new "around the world" collection at urban outfitters?  traveling through asia i found colors and fabrics that you just can't get your hands on in the states.  i even met a few street vendors who made their own lines and sold them for pennies on the dollar to the few european foreigners who could appreciate it, but mostly to local women.  

with nowhere to look for inspiration other than the (relatively) small world in which they live, the strong influence of trends and fads so prominent in the west is a non issue.  also, many of these designers are keeping it old school and hand crafting their work with a needle, thread, and dye.  

i love that "around the world" is giving designers like these an opportunity to showcase their work as they broaden the horizons (or at least fashion sense) of the everyday american consumer.  i see one less hipster in line at urban already...

www.urbanoutfitters.com

testino and lara stone in tuscany

"life's simple pleasures- wonderful food, hikes in the hills, massages from a master..."

                                                                                                              

 

vogue, january 2011

more images from castello di vicarello...