Lady Lucifer is ready for the ball at Alta Roma. (A look by student Valeria Onnis.)
Dear Shaded Viewers,
I was blessed to be able to spend 3 days in rainy, romantic Rome between my trips to Barcelona & Valencia. This edition of Alta Roma Alta Moda provided a forum of discussion about the relevancy of print magazines (Fashion on Paper) and exciting work by the students of the Accademia di Costume e di Moda.
The ancient Temple of Hadrian, where the Fashion on Paper event was held.
Fashion on Paper, a continuous event during Alta Roma, was an exposition of fashion & culture magazines (many from Italy) and, of course, blogs.
Diane & I at the opening cocktail for Fashion on Paper
At the Fashion on Paper cocktail, we were all treated to an erotic modern dance depicting–you guessed it!–interracial homosexuality in a Catholic country. We don’t need Madonna to upset the Vatican anymore…sisters are doing it for themselves! (The performance, entitled “2 Men,” was presented by Geilmagazine and featured Cirque Du Soleil dancers Patrick King and Johan King Silverhult.)
Diane with Graham Tabor at the Fashion on Paper opening
Nunzia Garoffolo of Fashion Beyond Fashion, Diane & designer Lenka Padysakova
Diane being interviewed at Fashion on Paper
On Sunday, Diane & I dropped by the Accademia di Costume e di Moda to preview the work of the students….
We met the students in the school’s “Gina Lollobrigida Room.” There was a contingent from India.
Tutored by Liliani Tudini, the work of the students is meant to be deliberately eccentric; an interpretation of the haute-couture tradition. Here, student Paola Balzano models one of her delightfully outre designs. Diane & I really liked her work.
And here is one of Paola’s looks on the runway. Diane & I pronounced her design philosophy: “Lady Gaga meets Dita Von Teese.”
Gloria Hassan models a dress by fellow student Valeria Onnis.
One of the students from India explains her design concept
The Director of the Accademia, Clara Tosi Pamphili
Diane & the students. The woman on Diane’s right is Fiamma Lanzara, the owner of the Accademia.
Diane had to return to Paris, but I went to the students’ catwalk the next afternoon…
Monarch-butterfly chic from Chiara Aversano
More femme-fatale fashion from Paola Balzano
A look by Ilaria Vallone
I really loved the layered multi-colored leathers by Daniele Gottastia…so beyond.
Each student collection is aligned with a profession which shares similar materials, colours or simply creative gestures: carpet weaver, embroiderer, plastic designer, fisherman, cabinet-maker, botanist, knitter, marble worker, candle maker, basket maker, papier-mâché maker, book binder, chef, clockmaker and entomologist.
Breakfast with Diane at our hotel….the charming Hotel Forty-Seven, across the street from the Temple of Venus.
Dinner with Rinaldo Rocco in San Lorenzo.
Lunch with Nunzia in Trastevere.
Pasta with cheese & pepper served in a cheese-bread cup at Roma Sparita with Nunzia has become an Alta Moda tradition.
Nunzia force fed me meat-stuffed fried olives & fried zucchini blossoms. Thanks to her, I now look like a re-imagining of “Roman Holiday”…one that stars Shelley Winters instead of Audrey Hepburn.
I loved the roasted artichoke. It looked like something from a Renaissance still-life painting.
A street in Trastevere, post-downpour.
Thanks for reading.
Ciao,
Glenn Belverio
