ARQUISTE by Carlos Huber or why any olfactive experience you have ever had until now sucked

I first met Carlos Huber at his personal appearance at Babalu in Lincoln Road on a Saturday afternoon and the relationship that I thought I had with my own perfume, Patchouli from Reminiscence, is never been the same.

His genuine passion, presence, exquisite manners are contagious. Go ahead and read the interview and watch it: you will end up recognizing yourself in one of those characters that inspired his fragrances. 

And this is totally fine: the Italian way.   

Name

Carlos Huber

Occupation

Fragrance developer, architect and historic preservationist.

I live in

New York City

But I am from

Mexico City

FB - You were drawn into art and architecture and graduated with honors in Historic Preservation (congratulations!): do you think it’s never too early to be exposed to art and history?

CH - Absolutely- never too early and never enough (for me at least). I think learning about art and history makes us more appreciative of the world we live in, its beauty, its value and the hard work that people put into it make it better.

FB - Is a fragrance an olfactory reference that defines one’s style?

CH - Well said. Fragrance is THE olfactive reference that defines your style. It’s your conscious choice to define your style through scent.

FB - Is there an age when you become the owner of your own fragrance?

I don’t think it’s the same for everyone. But I think as you live and start accumulating memories, you start gathering scents that ‘belong’ to you. You can own a perfume bottle, but your heart owns what’s inside.

FB - What’s an absolute no in choosing a fragrance?

CH - Worrying too much if other people will like it. Fragrance is first and foremost for YOU. It’s NOT always about seducing others, it’s about pleasing you. Sometimes we can be our biggest critics- we look for validation in others and forget to be kind to ourselves. 

FB - Does a fragrance define a woman?

I don’t think a woman is defined solely by one aspect of her style. Fragrance is part of it, but it would be simplistic to define every nuance and shade of your personality with one perfume, however complex it may be, you cannot compare a human life to that. I think that’s why a fragrance wardrobe sounds more inclusive. In any case…fragrance DOES help define that which is shapeless but essential in a person. It helps express who you are inside.


ON FASHION

FB - Fashion and trends are two opposite pulling forces: right or wrong? Which to follow?

CH -I prefer being loyal to style more than to fashion or trends…

FB - Do you think that the democratization of luxury has brought more elegance and chic in the streets?

CH - Yes, I think there are more ways for people to develop their own sense of style through what is available out there.  

ON THE ITALIAN WAY

FB - I am compiling the first Dictionary of Italian Style and I am asking everyone for a one word definition. No pressure here, but you will be mentioned: what is that noun, adjective, mood, person or scent that says Italian to you?

CH - “THEATER”

FB - Finally, do you follow rules when it comes to dressing or you just go with the flow like a jazz ensemble? 

CH - I follow certain rules, but I also like breaking them once in a while. I think it’s a little bit absurd to be that ‘religious’ about certain things in life.

FB - Where do you think Italian women are different, if so?

Italian women know how to be extremely stylish and sexy while being warm and down to earth.

PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL

FB - Morning coffee or run?

CH - Both!!!

FB - If you had the chance to live in another decade, which one would that be?

CH - I love ‘time traveling’ through books, movies and visiting historic sites or museums. I certainly do fetishize certain eras for their art, aesthetics or specific stories of interest…but the more I learn about history the more I am content to live in the present. That’s why I enjoy it so much – it grounds me and makes me excited for the future.

FB - When I grow up I want to be …

CH - Wise.

FB - I never travel without …

CH - My camera.

warning: do not read if you don't wear a pajama shirt and jeans, icecream on one hand and a cappuccino on the other

Would you ever expect Camilla and Alessandra as 'human version' of a website called Ordinary Seaman?

I mean, the 'ordinary seaman' (OS), in Italian 'il mozzo', is the lowest rank in a merchant ship and honestly the least figure to associate to fashion, elegance, chic, jewelry, perfumes, heels and all that jazz we always swoon over.

Never judge a book by its cover?

Sometimes it is the people that no one imagines anything of, who do the things that no one can imagine.

If you have watched 'The Imitation Game' you have been impressed by the quote, and not because of Benedict Cumberbatch (yeah right), but because in a conservative England of Churchill's tenure, a woman or a homosexual couldn't possibly occupy a position and have a role that, indeed, a woman and a homosexual did.

 

Same with the OS: they tell you what they think about normcore and why if you don't account Iris Apfel as your muse you shouldn't even be reading their blog posts.  You'll learn to love discovering young fashion designers, you will start wearing pink a lot, not only on Wednesdays, and you will end up adding quirky butterfly stickers to you MacAir. 

And because I love my nightime job as a writer of all-things 'the Italian way' I had a blast interviewing them. 

Why did I decide to feature them in this page? 

You be the judge. 

FB - I really think that Ordinary Seaman is the Italian version of The Man Repeller: what is the secret to your style that keeps you unique no matter what?

OS - Well, wow! Thank you so much, but we think The Man Repeller is über alles! We love to be funny, colored and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. If fashion is a circus, why can’t be our life too? Our style is a mix of John Huges' movie 'Pretty In Pink' and a cup of cornflakes. We’ve a milkshake style.

FB - Can you still be sensual and feminine without wearing heels and bandage dresses?

OS - Yes, we must do it! We need just a red lipstick, a good perfume and the perfect haircut! No matter what you wear, if you feel sexy no one can tell you otherwise. Any example? Our favourite pajama shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. what else? Oh, yes! A cornetto in a hand and a cappuccino-to-go in another.

Trends and good taste: clash or follow the same path?

Clash! Trends don’t always mean good taste! This is the game: no rules except one. It’s funny to wear prints all over and skip a monochrome dress, but what’s the limit? Unfortunately, the limit is ourselves and not everyone was born with a good taste.

[A NOTE: I have warned you that there's a point where Italians do it better]

What makes you drift away from preppy and matchy matchy and still be cool and feminine wearing ‘pink on Wednesdays’? 

Our adventurous spirit , our curiosity, our personality. Sometimes you can't feel yourself in a pair of paint shoes, even your friends do it. Sometimes, you are fascinated by something new, sometimes, by something old but in a new way. Sometimes, you want be yourself so..just do it!

What’s an absolute NO in the Italian way of dressing?

White terry socks. Hey babe, it doesn't matter if you are walking in a new pair of Prada flats because if you wear terry socks, you suck.

Head over to the comment section whether or not you wear white terry socks, my alter-ego Edna Mode and www.OrdinarySeaman.com will forgive you too.

 

Marianna Cimini, where common sense, courage and recklessness meet

It all begun when I saw this picture on the Sartorialist while doing a research on how to wear chic black in the summer. 

READ THE FULL STORY HERE 

That dress was love at first sight and I needed to dsicover whom was it from, besides, that girl looked "so Italian she doesn't even know how much". 

Comes out the designer herself, Marianna Cimini, was wearing the dress, I was able to track her down and the conversation that is unfolding is the result of my  "stalking" her on Instagram.

And then we liked each other. We have yet to meet, though, since she lives in Italy and me in the U.S.

Here'e what we've talked about.

FB - From being an intern at Max Mara to be chosen by Marion Cotillard: what drives you?

MC- Common sense, courage and recklessness in equal proportions.

FB - What happened when you saw yourself in the Sartorialist? [You know that is where I have discovered you frist?]

MC - I have always followed The Sartorialist. So when by coincidence I bumped into Scott Schuman in Milan and then saw myself published, it was indeed fun and exciting. Coincidence wanted that the dress I was wearing when he photographed me, was one of the ones I am the closest to, the “Ballerina Dress”, which then became a basic iin every season.

NOTE TO SELF: Gotta have it on my closet, remember Santa’s list.

FB - What’s the first piece you have ever designed?

MC - I adore outerwear, it's my refuge in the winter, my passepartout when I travel, so the first piece I have ever designed and fully hand-made  was a coat made of 21 inlays of tweed and a navy woolen double crepe. Matching everything to perfection was what I can call now that little big dare!

FB - How much of your personal style is in your collections?

MC - I never design anything that I wouldn’t wear. I am always trying to create pieces that can be recognized, but without a cumbersome and overburdening personality. I structure the collection with different layers of interpretation, so that each client has freedom to personalize it  according to their style and physique.

FB - What’s the mood board of the Fall ’14 range?

MC - A longing for separation, a newfound femininity, and the acute awareness of a new beginning are the key ideas for the F | W 2014-2015 Collection. The focus is on the heart, both figuratively and visually: an intersection of graphic lines that becomes allegory but also protection and shield. The lines are soft and rounded, becoming especially generous in outerwear pieces. Skinny tailored trousers and skirts add an element of sharpness as a contrast. Iconic piece of this collection is the “Goodbye Coat”. The print, a symbol of lost and fragmented memories, was inspired by incomplete mosaics by renown Ital­ian architect Giò Ponti. The embroidery is a metaphoric, feeble link to the past: a series of small drops to retrace old steps. The color palette is bright and luminous, an injection of energy balanced by softer hues.The collection plays with traditional pieces trying to re-create them in a new light, and giving them a second life.This is reflected also in the small accessories offering: a seagull flying into the horizon is the ultimate message of freedom and carefree elegance.

“A long for separation, a newfound femininity, and the acute awareness of a new beginning”
— Marianna Cimini on the inspiration for F|W 2014-2015

FB - What was the catalyst that started it all?

MC - A profound devotion for this profession and a good dose of determination – without those two elements surviving and growing from one season to the other becomes impossible, since difficulties and obstacles that an emerging brand encounters are never-ending.

FB - The quest for the little black dress is boring or a challenge?

MC - A marvelous challenge! The black dress is timeless, every woman should own at least one LBD in her wardrobe perfectly tailored and of impeccable fit. I haven’t chosen the path of confrontation with the classics of fashion history; let’s just think for a second of the magnificent dress designed by Givenchy that Audrey Hepburn wore in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. I have tried to draw a new route, all mine, in which I have tried to combine practicality with elegance defying the element of time. That’s how the “Ballerina” dress was born.

FB - There’s rigor and powerful femininity in your collections: what do you attribute that to?

MC - Cleanness and minimalism is how I reach the essence of femininity, with no make-up or tricks!

FB - You have been a finalist at “Who's on next” sponsored by Vogue Italia and Alta Roma and crowned among the 2014 Vogue Talents, so, first, congratulations. What is next for the Marianna Cimini brand? 

MC - The one goal we are working towards my brother Andrea and I is to reinforce and grow our distribution net.

Now Marianna, some quirky question for the Marianna Cimini herself.

FB - You sit on a bench in the park and …

MC -  Reading a book, drinking a cold beer and smoking a cigarette

FB - Is sexy in the heel or a pair of brogues will do, if played well?

MC -  Brogues all my life, maybe to pair with a pristine white man shirt. It's is not like me being sexy in an expected way.

FB - Marianna goes to the museum or loves street graffiti? .

MC -  I am curious by nature and adore exploring, especially during my trips. I’d say first  museum, then street graffiti followed by  a good dinner.

FB - You know that fall has begun when … 

MC - When I start craving for the traditional Christmas sweets. 

Thank you Marianna for your time and such a positive disposition. I can't wait to finally meet you in Italy and put my hands of that Ballerina dress. Meanwhile, you guys, head over her website www.MariannaCimini.it and get the scoop.