Editorial

Shaping ceramics is her passion (after Greta, her three-year-old girl). Creating is her life force. Her smile is contagious. Elena Salmistraro is a young artist and product designer, one of the most beloved on the Italian design scene. A true Milanese, with big communicative eyes, Elena studied at art school and dabbled in a thousand art courses. "My mother used to send me to the studio to paint instead of leaving me with the babysitter." The Politenico di Como Fashion Design degree and the Politecnico Bovisa Product Design degree forged her approach. Elena is (as Fornasetti) an artist fascinated by production lines. She loves natural materials, ceramics, paper, and wood. And nature. This mix became her trademark which is to create reproducible works of art that recall the animal kingdom, as Primates – a series of her beloved apes/masks developed by Bosa, a world leader in the production of luxury ceramics. With Bosa (and Walt Disney) Elena has just created a limited-edition Mickey Mouse (in leather and studs) to celebrate 90 years of the world's most famous mouse. Never forget your inner child.

Alessandra is an elegant woman. When she is told that she laughs and plays it down. Because she sees herself as a slouching tomboy. And yes, it is true. She is that too. But with her tapered and slim features, she can wear her beloved men's jeans as well as a Yves Saint Laurent vintage - the result is the same. She will always be instinctively chic. Alessandra, mother of the beautiful Leon, who is two and a half years of smiles, is "a woman who does." She has a passion for creating beauty works with her hands. Whether it's the wheel skirts stitched by her tailors, her iPad illustrations, jewellery, tapestry bags, research fabrics and trimmings - her brand is called Italian for Italy - or the small handicrafts she makes at home, when she feels like an "artisan" she's happy. Born in Milan, she studied set and fashion design. She is an empathic creative. "I started from fashion but as I went along I learned the pleasure of manual work. I was self-taught and never went to a workshop. For years I have approached eastern philosophies, yoga and meditation, today I find it useful to meditate by "doing." In gestures I find balance.

In 1902 "Ditta Riccardo Mantero" was established. Since then the different phases of the company have been intertwined with Italian history. 116 years of growth, transformations and wonderful creations. Creations upon which the Mantero name has always found its place. The name logo has been interpreted and revisited over the years following the succession of generations, fashion changes and the need to communicate, up to the current version of the Company logo and its 1902 Mantero Brand Logo.

We live in a historic moment that has seen the emergence of ""projects"" that see art and business intertwined. The Louis Vuitton Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Louvre projects are recent examples. We should reflect on the exceptional numbers who attended the Christian Dior Paris exhibition, the media relevance given to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent opening in Paris and Marrakech. Then we have the sell-out Caravaggio exhibition at Palazzo Reale, in Milan, the endless queues outside the Uffizi and the flourishing of art-related shows and publications. In an era when fashion shows become entertainment and are placed in historic venues, it makes us wonder what the link between Art and Fashion is.

Guido Taroni is a thirty-year-old artist who was raised on the shores of Lake Como, where he nourished his sight with natural and architectural beauty. He has the intellectual elegance typical of one of Italy’s most fervent artistic and cultural milieu. Heir to Luchino Visconti and nephew of Giovanni Gastel, Guido is a respected photographer and collaborates with the most important fashion and interior magazines. In 2017, he took photographs for the book "Renzo Mongiardino - a Painterly Vision" for Rizzoli International.

Who better than a group of internationally renowned Wedding Planners know the importance of "detail"? With method and style, they deal daily with the thousands of aspects involved in the perfect outcome of a unique day – a wedding. Wedding invitations, flowers, location, menu, tableau de mariage and mise en place, not to mention the dresses for the bride and bridesmaids, car, photographer, and music for the DJ.

Beautiful, slender, with that brilliant smile. A young woman who went from Taranto to Milan to "choose" the life she wanted. Many "almost brides" rely on her vision, precision and tapering hands. Alessandra Grillo is one of Italy’s most requested and famous wedding planners. Her motto is: "I’ll take care of it", and it is a phrase that everyone wants to hear. But "the white veil" is not her only occupation – she has been an appreciated organiser of fashion and luxury events for years. She did everything by herself, giving life to her Brother & Sisters communication agency, Chapeau.

Foulard it's a special, untranslatable word that you pronounce with the accent of your language but rolling the R. Once you say it, you know what it is even if perhaps you don't know its history. It is a French term which dates to the 18th century. It literally means silk handkerchief and is derived from the Provençal word "foulé", meaning "lightweight fabric".Foulard scarves are today made chiefly from silk, and twill which is the most suitable fabric to enhance colour prints. The term suggests twill armour and therefore cross-ribbed fabrics. 8200 metres of silk thread is required to make the most classic size carré, i.e. 90x90 cm. The weight of this symbol of elegance is "only" 51 gr. Light as a poem. But the foulard scarf’s origin is much older!

Luisa Bertoldo is one of those women that other women can only love. She left the Veneto area and moved to Milan alone. She created a solid PR agency that bears her name (and that deals with design, food, fashion, and culture) from scratch. She is a mother to Giovanna, a delightful girl she had with her partner Francesco Mandelli, (an artist, attentive father and discreet presence during our shooting). She is ironic and precise. A genuine union of refined details and educated subtleties, pop references, elegant voice, beautiful manners and laughter. She has the pragmatic beauty of an intelligent woman. It's pleasant to stand beside her and discover something more about her style...

Get ready to see it everywhere: ultra violet, a purple shade which comes from an encounter of deep-blue with vibrant-red, is the Pantone Institute’s colour of 2018. Far from conventional, it contains a precise historical and emotional meaning. Ultra violet communicates originality, naivety, creative and visionary thinking – concepts that go beyond the past and project us towards the future. If greenery celebrates the relationship with nature and a more intimist and romantic approach, ultra-violet connects to the unceasing technological and progressive wave. This combined with creative and artistic inspiration, becomes an innovative virtuous circle. This choice does not stem from a design whim, but rather from a profound reflection on what the world needs today.

Scilla Ruffo di Calabria – a DJ by vocation – shares her idea of style, which is simple, funky and happy. Young educated woman with a spontaneous smile, courtesy and intelligence. Scilla, 33, is one step ahead. She studies international relations and works in politics, but it is music that makes her happy. Fate helps – a friend asked her to play as a DJ at a vernissage. It was a success and she went viral, and started mixing at glamorous parties. Her chic character is in sync with her musical mix – classic rock, soul, funky from the 60s and 70s. Scilla belongs to one of the oldest European dynasties and is aware of her fortune. She shows her gratitude by being a volunteer for civil protection and the Red Cross. And she goes to Lourdes to help the sick by energising them with rock and roll…

Fashion that helps: is the philosophy that inspires Mantero and the Dee Di Vita project - an initiative which sees it team up with the Salute allo Specchio association.

An all-female project, Dee Di Vita psychologically and socially supports women receiving cancer treatment.

Knotted with a quick gesture, sometimes in a rush. Here is what it takes to create a silk scarf. More than 1200 hours of work. An ancient process with a dash of modernity.

A group of designers works on creative ideas for a long time to create a harmonious and imaginative design. Mantero's impressive and extraordinary archive holds an enormous reservoir of inspiration which is rich in its drawings, patterns and designs. Once achieving the ideal composition, it is delivered to the engraver's hands.

Finally. A dream suspended between land and sea, in perfect balance between design and tradition.
On 11 November Louvre Abu Dhabi will be opened on Saadiyat Island, within the most prestigious contemporary art centre. This impressive structure was ergonomically designed by Jean Nouvel with a sophisticated beauty.

It is Friday morning and the weekend is about to start. We are in one of the most welcoming and charming bistros in Milan, POTAFIORI. This is not an ordinary bistro, but a place where flowers, music and flavours combine to create a triumph of senses.

'Viviana the slender Southern beauty with magnetic eyes, is our first Mantero icon. A Bari architect, she arrived in Milan driven by a profound passion for fashion. Thanks to her fashion editor experience, resolute, Mediterranean, sensual and exquisitely elegant appeal, she became an Instagram star and a fixed presence at the most anticipated fashion shows. Photographed, admired, and much copied, Viviana dresses fashion with a superb nonchalance. The renowned brands she wears never overshadow her personality. It is a quality that animates the conversation which becomes ironic and acute.

The beauty in an object today. Where can you find it? You can see it in its finishing, colour and design. You perceive it in its elegance. However, there is another ingredient that makes its beauty unique. Its truth and nature. Every Mantero product has the character of the Italian craftsmanship tradition. It is made from an applied industriousness which knows how to mix creativity, tenacity, organisational ability with a stroke of genius. Starting small, its influence built-up over time, making Mantero today a world leader in the production of fashion fabrics and a reference name for silk.

From the singer Erikah Badu to Princess Mozah Bint Nasser, Brigitte Bardot to Amal Clooney, many jet-setting women, glamorous goddesses and modern finance princesses wear the turban as a gesture of modesty and a challenge to beauty.