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. 

When in Milan: the Stella McCartney showroom, a Gipsy and other stories

When I am visiting Italy I have this strange frenzy, a FOMO urge of not sleeping just in case I am missing something. And although family is always a priority, this time was lots of friends catching up. 

Moving around in Milan means a bicycle with a wicker basket or the tram. This is how it looked, an usual Monday afternoon in July. More a July-going-on- November if you forget the temperature.

No panic: grab the Mackintosh or buy an umbrella for 10 Euros from the guy at the corner and hop on the n.5 with an all-day pass.

[I am digressing here for a sec for a taste of #italianstyle]

I walked by a tabacchino and bought the tickets. A sweet memory of my youth is the smell of the tabacchino, a mix of wood, tobacco and wrapped candies one of those specialty stores that only exist and survive in Europe, where they sell cigarettes and any legal smoking accessory, candies and chocolates, the lotto and phone cards, oh and public transportation tickets. 

So, by the time I made it to via Tortona it was still raining, just those sprinkles through which you can walk and not get wet. 

The sweet thing of having friends is that after years it feels like yesterday, you are phone call away. 

“Trends come and go, style you don’t buy.”
oh yeah, I snapped it ...

oh yeah, I snapped it ...

It was a late afternoon press day and the showroom was hustle and bustle, I was able to touch and feel the collection while buyers were still writing numbers and waiters serving sparkling water and cruditees. I was sitting on the couch next to the sign and was catapulted back to those Jil Sander summer breezy days. 

Pride, happiness, contentment all under the rain that was thin and persistent.

Friendships resist years and miles of separation can spark lively conversations about anything from life to vitamins.

Trends come and go, style you don't buy. Meanwhile Alice became a super blogger, a whimsical stylish one that cooks and 'speaks love' in poems while wearing lace and red nail lacquer: A Gipsy in the Kitchen aka OttaLoveMuffin.  

And you've got to love her as there's no one like her.