Diary from a Roman slow-lifestyle pop-up in company of Serena de Fiore and Anna B.
Photos by Francesca Basili
Rome, a stone's throw from Villa Borghese..
..on a January afternoon kissed by a warm winter sun, I walked along the Villa Ada boundary wall until the beautiful Parioli neighborhood, where I reached Serena de Fiore's slow fashion atelier.
That afternoon, an intimate Tea Time had been set up at the atelier, a mix between a pop-up and a 'salon' meeting among friends and fans of well-made with love and intention; between a pastry and a chat, the friends and entrepreneurs Serena de Fiore and Anna B. introduced us about their lines;
two different but complementary fields, fashion and skincare, yet linked, both by the inescapable personal history of two cultured and refined businesswomen and, above all, by the hand-crafted nature and a careful and meticulous research for those details and essential elements that make the real difference when it comes to timeless quality and support for the short-chain and micro-crafts, that best represent our Made In Italy.
The very name that Serena has chosen to represent her reality says it all: 'slow', which, when added to another term, puts its meaning into a well defined context and gives it a frame of significance.
Hers is a fashion that evokes the style and elegance of the “once-upon-a-time” ateliers, while giving immense attention to the chain of production in all its layers; an anti-fast fashion made strictly by hand and in small limited editions, cared for down to the smallest detail by craftsmen's hands on simple and timeless lines, with excellent wearability and always respecting environmental policies.
Serena is a multifaceted woman whose stylistic and creative imprint has been strongly influenced by the Rome-Paris dichotomy; 15 years of living in the French capital are evident in her chic et charmante allure of suits, jackets, trousers, jumpers, shirts and blouses from a varied, eclectic and multifaceted collection, in which printed and coloured fabrics dialogue with the textures of fine yarns.
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An unexpected extra pampering was offered to attendants by AnnaB.: a facial massage using the Gua Sha stone (made of jade, quartz and obsidian), an extraordinary self-care ritual, based on the principles of Chinese medicine, to stimulate the lymphatic system and blood circulation.
Well, I'd say that Anna's acquaintance couldn't have started any better! After indulging in this 15-minute pampering (in which I felt like I had come and gone from Nirvana), Anna told me how she personally checks every producer, from the nearest (km 0) to the farthest. Brazilian butters, Tonka beans (are harvested only once a year and are dried for 12 months!), Ylang Ylang, to Tuscan sea buckthorn, all strictly natural ingredients, carefully selected and, above all, effective!
This list of researched and magically performing elements takes shape in a complete and incredibly qualitative face and body skincare line that maximizes the effects of each individual ingredient.
Enjoy the photogallery!
While thanking Serena de Fiore, Anna B and my friend Maria Laura Berlinguer for introducing me to them, I would like you to take the work of these two women entrepreneurs as an example of the approach that should represent the future of market. Slowness, as opposed to the speed that characterises today's consumerism, is the only one that allows us to take time and research, to understand what reality we decide to support each time we make a purchase of any kind. This process of selection requires Time.. here, I invite you to take Time, slow down, research all the alternatives and make conscious decisions for supporting an ethical market full of quality, beauty, identity and creativity!