Dear Diane and shaded viewers,
Here is my first dispatch from Pitti Uomo in Florence. This morning I visited an exhibit called COAL by an artist-craftsman collective, ACF (Art Comes First). The seven-man band are friends from all walks of life and corners of the world, from Africa to Norway. The idea behind COAL was to come together to create a traveling wardrobe, as Sam Lambert, a member of the collective explained to me. The name for the wardrobe comes from the grayscale palette that the members of the collective are fond of. Another idea behind the collection was traveling light (which I can certainly appreciate, having lugged a heavy suitcase for my two week trip). Thus the black dress shirt comes with two detachable collars and the four hats of different models are stackable, which allows you to create different looks with minimal effort. A sketchbook is also a part of the collection with some pages left intentionally blank so you can do something productive while killing time at airports. And, of course, everything fits neatly into an expandable leather bag (black, naturally).
More soon,
Eugene
