I'm not sure what's more surprising, the fact that someone took this much time and detail into making a small and often looked-over object or the fact that I find it surprising. Or, maybe more pertinent, the way explaining this, sounds awfully similar to the explanation of my own work. So perhaps there's an underlying magnetism to the object and my desire. I like to see myself in it. Or at least the qualities of my work.
But, it's also the methods and values, and lifestyle of the Italians. The way Italians do things, make things, respect things, and celebrate things. The flavors of a meal, are situated and never exempt from the setting of such meals.
I found this silk hand-embroidered Tovagliolo (napkin), in a draw at the back of a vintage store in Florence. It was not tagged Gucci, but nameless. A pure, nonna-made 6-of-a-kind-but-really-one-of-a-kind silk square that floored me with its delicate perfection and hand touch. To wipe food with? I thought. Either I'm doing something wrong when I have oil on my lips or I've been doing something very wrong even having a paper towel (the American essential) in the house.
I've been collecting vintage designer labels and found a silk Gucci tie in Florence for €98, the handmade napkin was €15. The latter was better, by a mile, and I wanted people to admire it. The vintage Gucci label is beautiful also, so this is my composition.
"Firenze" is a note on Italian luxury, to which Gucci is one of the faces, but the people are the ethos. What a pleasure it is to visit a place that indulges so much in pleasure, in beauty, in skill in one's craft and tastes of one's toil. Luxury is sold in airports, in giant malls, and in Vegas hotels, but luxury is lived through the smallest things in Italy, in the time it takes to make a serviette, and the even longer time one sits at the table, over meals and over years. The silk serviette was beautiful all on its own, but it was also hidden in a draw at the back of an old shop, I've played my part and labeled it luxury, and now you see it, and now you can't look away.