EDITORIAL SHOOTING IN FLORENCE

The Essence of Italian Beauty

Italians. You either love them or you don’t understand them. Having traveled extensively, I’ve often found myself subconsciously toning down those unmistakable Italian traits—the expressive gestures, the Moncler jacket braving a cold London winter (our equivalent of a cowboy hat and boots in Texas).

Yet, while I don’t identify with the stereotypical Italian—loud, chaotic, perpetually late—I’ve always been met with admiration for my homeland abroad. People would ask me in disbelief, Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to live in Italy? That question stayed with me. What is it that makes Italy so unique, so irresistibly magnetic?

The answer is simple: beauty.

Beauty isn’t an indulgence in Italy; it’s a responsibility. It’s woven into our culture, an inheritance we carry without effort. From the golden light of September in Tuscany to the crisp perfection of focaccia with cheese, from elegant nonnas at the supermarket to masterfully crafted leather shoes, everything is done with an innate pursuit of aesthetics. 

Italians don’t just eat—they savor. They don’t just dress—they compose an ensemble that respects the spaces they move through.

This editorial is my homage to that philosophy. A celebration of beauty as a way of life. A vintage car bathed in the golden glow of a Florentine sunset. Two impeccably styled lovers embodying timeless elegance. A table adorned with fresh flowers, fine fabrics, and antique vases—not for special occasions, but because beauty itself is the occasion.

Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, is more than just a backdrop—it’s the soul of this editorial. Here, in the city of Michelangelo and Botticelli, art isn’t confined to museums; it spills into the streets, the architecture, the way light dances on the Arno at dusk. It’s a reminder that to be Italian means to honor beauty—not as a luxury, but as a way of being.

This is what being Italian means to me: to create beauty, effortlessly and unapologetically. Because in Italy, beauty isn’t something we do. It’s who we are.