An impressive Impressionist view

It all started from this picture posted by a friend while having breakfast in my quasi hometown and everyone’s dream Florence. 

An ocean in between and six hours later I was having breakfast and saw the picture. And it was a call. Love at first sight. 

What is it that the color of the sky or the roofs take you back to your youth? I could smell my Christmas holidays when we were wearing Clarks and corduroy and fight with snowballs, girls vs boys. 

You may know, or not, it doesn’t matter, but this picture is taken ‘Oltrarno' which means from the other side of the Arno, the river. Who decides what’s this or the other side of the river? 

I Medici and their aristocratic and egocentric way of thinking: this is where they lived and the other was where the rest lived. 

L’Oltrarno is our Rive Gauche this winter. 

Just think Musee d’Orsay, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria d’arte moderna, some Renoir, Degas, Monet and our Macchiaioli the Tuscan, or better Italian version of the French Impressionists, such as Gioli or Fattori. 

(image from www.FirenzemadeinTuscany.com)

Add the magic of Firenze as the picture frame and les jeux son faits.

This is just not because I need to brag more about my home country, since we are born with that and it’s in our pores and genes. 

Ars cogitandi

The most wonderful time of the year in Miami Beach is frenzy and flamboyant Art Basel Miami Beach. It’s the equivalent of a kid’s excitement while opening the gifts on Christmas day. Magic. 

The best of the best of the art world at our feet for a week. 

The glory of a hell of a lot of good looking people coming from allover Europe and the US and the world. 

Some of the highlights & my own personal wish list.

Vernissage … say what?

You hear that word in Miami just for Art Basel, so chic and aristocratic, and French and imported. It’s a word with a life span of a couple of days a year and its local definition is: that ‘by invitation only’ event attended by everyone who goes to be seen and get that flute of champagne. There are always exceptions who the majority of the cases end up visiting the VIP opening (6 hours prior).

Night Court

(photo by Alexa Karolinski)

Los Angeles- based artist Ry Rocklen promises a blend of art, music and conviviality. A pop-up art bar that will be a pod of art, a venue for music and a showroom for his furniture line “Trophy Modern”. 

Art Basel Miami Beach

250 leading galleries from allover the world and 4,000 artists. Is it there anything else to be added?

Design Miami

Have you ever imagined an entire pavilion with collectible and museum-worthy historical and contemporary furniture and objects d’art? Louis Vuitton and Cassina collaborated in the authentic to-scale reproduction of the 1934 La Maison au Bord de l’Eau by Charlotte Perriand.

PAMM

Ai WeiWei overwhelming installation of Chinese bicycles, vertical gardens, a ‘backyard’ with Adirondack chairs from which to admire the bay or ponder on the art you just admired, hop on the peoplemover from Brickell, breathtaking views from the galleries and just a serious round of last minute gifts totaling about $8 millions and 102 pieces of art from museum trustee Craig Robins

'Social Animals'

(photo - www.artbasel.com)

Iconic Collins Park is transformed into a gigantic outdoor museum. A space that everyone can access. Some 30 large scale installations and the rest is all to be discovered. What a marvelous way of exposing children to art without constricting them to walk into a museum. 

Rubell, Margulies and de la Cruz and it’s love at first sight 

This year the Rubells are sharing their Contemporary Chinese Art and the Margulies show off their de Kooning, Miro, Segal among some. You know where to meet.

Miami Design District

(photo from PAMM media release)

It wouldn’t be me without fashion. Visionaire and art collector Craig Robins is da man here. We are talking about urban design, art and fashion all in one crevice of Miami. A selection from The Warhol Museum, Berluti and Maarten Baas, Cassina and Charlotte Perriand are music for my ears. 

Wynwood Walls 

The Goldmans and their murals and graffiti, we have them all year round, but during Art Basel they have this unique flavor. Miami has never been the same since. 

Curiosity

(photo www.audemarspiguet.com)

Audemars Piguet, an associated partner of Art Basel, with Galerie Perrotin present 'Curiosity' a giant floating Swiss chalet in front of ghostly Miami Marine Museum ideated by Kolkoz. 

Black Friday flashback: that time of Isabel Marant pour H&M

I did it.

I stumbled upon the store on Lincoln Road exactly at the right time. Actually, kinda late. I had no clue the collection was debuting that morning. Early. That early that campers started lining up at 6 a.m. with a determined grin.

I had an invitation to a ‘preview’ for the previous day, but unlucky me, it was in Toronto, Canada. So, since I had no hopes of going and landing my hands on the most coveted fringed black suede boots, aka “THE” boots, I removed it from my head.

Does your mind go fast when you give it the “clear go” to thinking?

Mine does and I had no problem forgetting.

Last time I passed by the store that early in the morning, it was on my way to unpleasant knee therapy because doctor was in an awesome Art Deco building across the street.

So, what a coincidence. 

Now my colleague is at the coffee shop already waiting for me for an early meeting before a meeting. Work stuff.

Approaching the coffee shop is when I start seeing these fabulous huge cloth bags walking on Lincoln Road filled at capacity.

Emergency, this is the point of no return. There is no time to loose. 

I drag her without explanation (and God knows how painful it is to be at the coffee shop, smell all the goodies and not being able to enjoy, sorry honey) into the rabbit hole of insanity.

To her dismay, people were pulling garments, boxes, threads and hangers from each other’s hands. It wasn’t exactly the way I had planned to introduce her to my fashion world.

How can you confute ‘The Devils Wear Prada’ theory when you catapult someone into a Coliseum infested by demons trying to buy Isabel Marant pour H&M and get away with it seeming sane?

The worst is yet to come. 

I start picking something, but the frenzy is uncontrollable. So I end up with a pair of sweat pants from the kids collection ('size 12 will work for both of us' poor me tried to comfort myself for only landing on leftovers) and a pretty box that I think contains one bohemian necklace. 

Ready to leave with my two-item prey, one associate is coming back with a harmful of left out garments from the changing rooms and I eye a white t-shirt. THE white short sleeves tee, the one that Emanuelle Alt wears to PFW. 

I grab (not without asking the woman if I could, bien sur) and go to the register careless of what size that tee would even be. 

Dear Ms. Marant,

we are really, much, beaucoup, more than a lot, very happy, glad, joyeux, content, proud, heureux, pleased, crazy bananas to be wearing your collection specially created pour H&M

Yours truly

For all of you braving the masses shopping today .. 

P.S. the box contained 2 bracelets NOT the necklace I thought of buying.