My New Year's Wish is better than yours

Kid you not, it is really wonderful it is and at the end you will make it yours too. It's no shoes, fur coat or bag this time, but that doesn't mean you can't be fabulous. 

Are you of the "You don't say your wishes loud, or they won't come true" family? I am and it won't matter, because my n.1 wish is available in endless quantity fo everyone. 

As a matter of facts, we have it in our hands everyday and we tend to dismiss it as a good that you can ignore. 

Do you laugh at least once a day? (Yeah, not one apple, one laugh).

Do you set the table and sit down for dinner with your family?

Ever thought of switching the phone off at lunch break and read a chapter or two of that book you have been wanting to finish?

When's the last time you went for a stroll in the park? Or to the beach (never remember this and i live at the beach!)

Have you ever stopped to count the rice? [READ the STORY]

“We must stop living a life where we have no time”
— Marina Abramovic

How many of the questions above you answered with: "I wish I'd have the time?". Ok, the rice sounds dreadful, unless you do the experiment like Cec did. 

Too many times I have said that, to realize that they were all stories I had made up. Time is there, it faithfully runs like a river, always at a constant speed. Actually, if you remember from science or Spiderman, light is faster than anything else. So why we let our franctic lives run faster than the light and eat up, like PacMan the time we have?

We take time as a given, it's there like our family home where we always go back to. When the house has to go, all the memories that make you who you are today will always reside with you and accompany you to the next adventure. When time is gone, it is gone. Can you rewind and twirl with your daughter cause you missed it while you were checking Instagram? Can you see again your son's first goal because you had to check the stocks online? 

"We live in a world driven by technology, the best and the worst news. We must stop living a life where we have no time" says Marina Abramovic of what motivated her to opening the MAI, the institute where experiments as simple as sleeping and counting the rice are conducted. Such an eye opener: guilty as charged. And no, I can't stand being a Kardashian-ed victim of technology in which if you don't post you don't exist. 

So yes, I have asked Santa for 

time

We live heisty lives and we are missing it all. 

Let's regain grasp on our lives instead of missing it all while we look further.

To a year filled with time. 

Cheers, 

Francesca xxx

 

The twelve days of Christmas

Santa baby, 

[...]

Been an awful good girl, Santa baby

and hurry down the chimney tonight.

Really Santa? Just because I mixed up the song from the headline, am I really in the naughty list? 

So here's my list and you decide. I will leave you pandoro and wine on the 24th, a good wine always so just don't be cheap. 

something blue (get the hint, dude)

just as a reminder (thanks Man Repeller) 

a kiss under the mistletoe

a white Christmas 

" a ring ... I don't mean on the phone"

that original illustration of 'The Little Prince' with the coffee stain

please make me as close to this cool kid (#Icanteven)

write 'London' in my travel plans

anything to get me close to splendid Marella

I am a Rochas girl, shoes and socks included

may white truffles be the norm 

N.12 is perhaps my most coveted wish for the year to come: TIME

Please, Santa, give me time to read all the books I want whenever I want, the luxury to stop during the day and write when inspired, to enjoy dinner every night on a table set and decorated, to enjoy a walk on the beach and count the grains of rice.

I want to stop spending time chasing time because I don't have time.

And that is my wish for everyone, to live instead of letting life drift away. 

It's been quite a year, to tell you the truth I loved it so much that it's a pity that it's expiring.

Although, on the other end, December is my birthday and "I don't like December" said nobody ever. 

When we put up the Ritz @ Anthropologie

The luxury of a massage and a spa day in my household is equivalent to have a personal styling sesh.

We are always up for shopping? 

All it takes is good disposition, sitting on a sofa, sipping coffee or champagne (depending on age, there's always a good reason for bubbles and sparkle).

We met Mely during one of those family outings to Anthropologie - we love it there, and by "we" I include Petunia the dachshund who is welcomed with treats and compliments everytime we venture. 

Mely (@themorenasalad on IG) is the personal stylist at the Miami Beach store and this is not a paid post so we spontaneously did everything, no staged fittings or promotions. We liked eachother, she is awesome, she gets me as she has two teeanger daughters herself, and the holidays seemed the right occasion to freshen up our closet and have fun dressing-up. 

The room had libations, coffee, juice, music and all that jazz that you can only find for Christmas at Anthropologie: they know how to do it ... hello for getting us into the mood. It was the right amount of quiet, that one that doesn't leave room for awkwardness. In other words, I would have stayed all day, reading a book and keep trying on clothing. 

We went a little speakeasy meets Downton Abbey for me: black lace kimono worn as a blouse, midi black tulle skirt and the  peach stole cinched at the waist. Imagine how many other outfits i can rcreate with those 3 guys. 

  1. Black lace kimono over a white tee, ripped washed jeans and Vans.
  2. The peach stole with a baby blue taffeta dress and printed yellow platforms, so decadent Miu Miu.
  3. Black tulle skirt with a white tank and silver sparkly thong sandals.

I could go on forever.

Cec just went from her inseparable Vans to an embroidered grey tulle skirt with pewter/copper sequins and a silvery printed v-neck shirt. 

It was all done in a jiffy.

Look who's ready to party!

from Design Miami to Cult Collective: where art, fashion and design meet

Design Miami/

It started with a star-studded panel that included among the mostest, Craig Robins, Marina Abramovic and man of the moment Peter Marino.

35 galleries from allover the world, 5 coming from Italy bringing the best in design. 

The highlight?  "Counting the Rice" at the Marina Abramovic Institute a relational art experience that wants you to really count rice and separate the grains from the lentils. Seems silly? 

"We live in a world driven by technology wich is good news and our worst enemy" explained Abramovic. "We must stop living a life where we have no time".

Don't we all relate to that? We live in the intention of catching the next train and we are never present to the train we are riding now. So I did challenge my daughter to the experiment. Result: total fail. She separated all grains and lentils while contemporarily counting the lentils, while my attempt produced a small pile of rice and a bigger one of lentils and finished with me leaving the station for a glass of champagne. She ended up being filmed by no less that Mrs. Karla Otto in person. #proudmama

Opening reception for Cult Collective

Danny Santiago is for Miami what Yves Saint Laurent was for Marrakesh: chic relaxed luscious glam elegance.

Santiago is a name larger than life not only in Miami and, believe me, whatever he touches becomes splendid. He is an avid collector of Fashion, the one with the upper case F and modern design, uber stylist (hello "Sex & the City" the Movie) and pedegreed print titles of the likes of Vogue Italia and Vogue Gioiello. The man who never sleeps is now the creative mind behind Santika with A-lister jewelry designer Erika Peña.

Told ya we were in front of royalty.

Santika is a capsule resort collection inspired by the iconic divas of the 70s and just as that it would suffice to dive into those flowy caftans, add a maxi tasselled necklace and live in them all year long. But those two are a powerhouse of brilliant stilistic eye, design and talent, just talent of the sweetest form, the one that welcome you open heartedly every time you pop-in. You can't leave Miami without visiting them: the pop-up store will be open until the 10th of December. Living in Miami without being stung by the Santika bug is like visiting London and missing Mayfair .  



Dear SS15, it's a wrap - the best of fashion month

September is like Alice's Rabbit Hole, it's so good we suffer of a sort of Stendhal Syndrome. Naturally if you are reading here it means you are not expecting an NFL season review (if even that would happen in September, but don't quote me on that). 

WARNING: this is selon moi a selection, so hope you like it and if so would you

“drop me a note in the comments?”

We started in New York: clean, linear, soft hues, layering and maxi volumes are beginning to shape the season.

The fashion circus traveled to London-town where normally creativity, wit is what you expect mixed to sartorial de rigueur. It was indeed a trip down memory lane, a mix of swinging London and Old Savile Row and temperature started rising as in we really started warming up. Trends are confirming: layers, the blazer, the sleeveless jacket, flats, sheer and transparencies

... and then in my beloved Milan (can I say #Italiansdoitbetter ?) where everything seems nonchalantly chic, where minimal is a departure not a destination, where you wear hand embroidered plissee dresses to the grocery store. Where class is not water. 

I have read on Business of Fashion a compelling Op-Ed on the status of Milan's fashion which was true and hurtful at the same time. Why is it we always underestimate our national treasures and let jealousies or petty ego-trips prevail over general success? 

“The Italian style QUIZ: Are you digging the flat sandals with an evening gown?”

The flight to Paris brought that majestic breeze as overwhelming as its architecture.

Will write more about the trends and similarities we have seen emerging through the 4-week marathon.

The domino-effect of becoming a contributor - Episode n.2

The hottest month of summer was a busy one chez nous that brought an avalanche of love. In an attempt to return at least a portion of that affection, I would like to jolt a few notes on how grateful I am for having met the two beautiful women behind www.DDmag.it , Isabella and Luisa.

The galeotto [as intermediary] of our meeting was Instagram - yes, that thing that glues my nose to the phone consistently. I would say I am dedicated to its growth,  not addicted nor obsessed, like to a plant that needs to be watered, nurtured, vitamin infused and talked to.

We had our first meeting in an elegant, unusual, stucco-ed and delicious cafe-bookstore-gallery in Piazza della Scala chatting along like old friends do. 

In reality, we became friends and we are not old, for the press. What happened after, was a first of a series of stories on how live in Miami Beach as an Italian - no matter if a one-time visitor or a local, the flair and spirit are the same. 

check it out at @luisarasia 

'You discover a door with a graffiti message you have never seen before and you can buy locally-grown produce [...] and that opens a whole new world' ...  continue reading here 

Just because they are splendid hostesses, the following week I got the whole contributor feature - the VIP treatment on the mag for which I had to be paparazzed. I mean I had to answer questions, my moment of fame, I had to dress up for press time like at the Festival del Cinema di Venezia.

It's time to graciously return the favor, host them in a third episode of the domino-effect series and dedicate them some space like in a salon littéraire.

 

CHICfb 4 Wowcracy: 'Heavenly Beauty' by Dawid Tomaszewski

http://wowcracy.com/en/lab/user/11614/project/865#

Berlin-based Dawid Tomaszewski has been a brilliant presence at the German edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and has presented 'Heavenly Bodies' for the fall. 

Dark Soul Dress

It's where the curves of a woman's body meet with 'geometric abstraction'. The rigueur of the color black and the sartorial cuts let femininity prevail over lines and structure. A subtle game of courtship where the woman wearing any of the creations is the winner. 

The looks are layered with pieces that have their own independent life: a tunic can be a dress, a pair of silk cropped pants can live without the top and mingle with a simple white cotton blouse you have in the wardrobe. Heavenly Bodies inspires a sense of sophistication that slips into minimalism. 

Luxurious materials, comfortable styling are the most prominent ingredients to a poised medley of tailored and fluid pieces. A sensible research was applied and it resulted in a mature presentation worth our attention. 

The domino effect of becoming a contributor - Episode n.1

I never wrote a novel except in 3rd grade one about a little critterish creature living underground: it was a cartoon and the only intent was to convince my parents that we could have a hamster as a pet, and yes we were responsible enough that no way we were going to let it die of hunger nor, oh God no, forget it in the other room. That one didn't end well, but this is not the place.

This is one hell of a good story, with an awesome beginning and an end that will never end, which makes it an exciting ride.

 

Here's the first episode: I was picked by Wowcracy as an influencer. I picked a collection and a designer and wrote what I thought about the collection I was looking at. With my innate need of touching the fabrics, the seams, the embroideries, without being able to hear the fabric swish it was a task that I accomplished with happiness because the collection is a pearl!

An abstract:

“... each garment is inspired by a concept, as the fabric runs on the body, stops where supposed to and continues to completion. Feminine is what perspires ... ”


Soon after it was a domino's effect.

I participated to the selection of the cover of the online magazine and right after that, I became BLOGGER OF THE MONTH. 

“sometimes I feel like a squirrel (industrious and minding my own business) and sometimes a giraffe (glorious, elegant and impossible to ignore)”
— FB, chicfb.com

Then, since I liked so much the process of contributing to young, talented and non-overly exposed designers yet worth every attention, I wrote about Nuna, the fall collection of Des Fleurs sur le Noir that 'calls for a Millenial girl, young, edgy and whimsical who will feel at ease wearing the collection from work to dinner and even a club.' 

I did it on Lucky Magazine ... oh yes, I became a contributor for Lucky Community.

Seriously, passion and determination take you everywhere. When you love what you do it will transpire and pay you off with the unexpected. 

A toast to a long collaboration with Wowcracy and good luck to Silvina.

This is not it, though, wait, the month of August has been a whirlwind. More to come on Episode n.2