Luxury and fashion – First up this week was Pitti Uomo, closely followed by Milan’s men’s fashion week, so it comes as no surprise that these two events gave the foreign press cause to devote many column inches to made in Italy brands. On January 15, Bloomberg Business wrote about the streets of Florence being turned into temporary runways – Statement Coats Fill Florence’s Streets at Pitti Uomo, whilst two days later, El Pais focused on the atmosphere filling the Milan air between one show and the next – Milán, día 1: No es raro, es normal, which it followed up with another piece on January 18 – Milán día 2: Postre, café y puro.
Other papers chose to feature just one fashion label at a time. Cavalli was the choice of the Financial Times on January 16 – Roberto Cavalli AW16 show report Milan Menswear* whilst on January 18 it was the “Sicilian western” style of Dolce e Gabbana that caught the attention of Les Echos – Fashion Week : Dolce & Gabbana en mode western.
Fashion was not the only aspect of Italy’s luxury sector to appear this week, and on January 17 the Financial Times printed its interview with the CEO of Bulgari on the future of the group famous for its jewelry and luxury goods – Interview: Jean-Christophe Babin, Bulgari chief executive* and on January 19, the Wall Street Journal wrote about a very particular property deal in which the 15 million dollar price tag for a loft in Florida also includes a trip to Italy and a meeting with Giorgio Armani who was responsible for its interior design – An Armani-Designed Penthouse Comes With a Trip to Meet the Designer*. Interior design was also the subject that interested Spain’s Expansion on January 19 in a piece on Flexform as a symbol of a made in Italy brand that stands for “quality, prestige and a smidgen of informality – FLEXFORM Interiorismo ‘made in Italy’.
Leading figures – Several of Italy’s leading personalities featured in articles and interviews this week, with one of the “masters of Italian cinema”, Ettore Scala occupying more column inches than others as many of the world’s dailies marked his death by remembering his career. The New York Times ran pieces on both January 19 and 20 headed – Italian Director Ettore Scola Dead at 84, and he featured in three articles in Le Monde, one on January 19 – Mort d’Ettore Scola, maître du grotesque et des regrets* and two the day after – Mort d’Ettore Scola, l’un des maîtres du cinéma italien* and Le cinéaste italien Ettore Scola est décédé*. On January 20 too, other headlines included: El Pais – Muere Ettore Scola, clásico del cine italiano and also El último gran maestro del cine italiano, whilst in France Liberation and Le Matin wrote, respectively – Eternel Scola and Décès du cinéaste italien Ettore Scola whilst German papers Die Zeit and Die Welt said Regisseur Ettore Scola ist tot and –Italiens Star-Regisseur Ettore Scola ist tot.
On January 15 Le Monde wrote up a conversation with Guido Raimondi, the new President of the European Court of Human Rights – Guido Raimondi: « Face au terrorisme, la CEDH doit être réaliste »* and two days later the same paper published another interview, this time on the European job market, with Stefano Scarpetta, Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the O.E.C.D – « Réduire l’incertitude sur les licenciements favorise l’emploi »*.
It was food and wine, and in particular Italian chef Massimo Bottura that attracted the attention of the New York Times on January 14, describing his Italianization of that most traditional of American classics, the hamburger – Massimo Bottura’s Recipe for the ‘Emilia’ Burger With Salsa Verde and Balsamic Mayo*. Cars also got a mention when on January 19 El Mundo published a piece featuring Luca de Meo, President of Seat and his account of the way ahead for the Spanish brand – Luca de Meo: “La crisis del diésel nos ha hecho ser más transparentes”.
Tourism – Despite the winter weather here in Italy, the foreign papers still had interesting suggestions for their respective readers. For the New York Times, on January 14, it involved a trip to discover the Naples of popular author Elena Ferrante – Elena Ferrante’s Naples, Then and Now*), whilst on January 19, BloombergBusiness interviewed the artist Christo about his next work, to be created on Lake Iseo – Christo’s Latest Big Project: The Floating Piers in Italy.
The Times however, headed to Venice, producing an article, on January 18, all about the lagoon city’s desire to preserve the monuments and memories of the Jewish Ghetto – Venice plans to restore the original ghetto* and on January 20, the Sueddeutsche Zeittung was in Alto Adige to explore the Kronplaz, – a mountain in the Dolomites (and district) where visitors are guaranteed to find peace – Plateau der Kontraste)
*Article available for pay/with registration