Shopping in Rome with a new sneaker from Stella Mac Cartney and Stan Smith

STELLA McCARTNEY AND STAN SMITH CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF STELLA #STANSMITH

THE FIRST VEGAN LEATHER EDITION OF THE ICONIC ADIDAS STAN SMITH AT LONDON FASHION WEEK

 On Monday 17th of September Stella McCartney and Stan Smith celebrated the launch of Stella #stansmith, the first vegan leather edition of the iconic adidas Stan Smith.  The launch at the recently opened 23 Old Bond Street Stella McCartney store during London Fashion Week, follows in the designer’s long-term collaboration with Adidas.

Leather-free and suitable for vegans without sacrificing on style the Stella #stansmith is given a Stella twist.  Reflecting Stella’s signature details, the sneaker features stars in embossed stripes replacing the signature adidas three stripes, while her logo features on burgundy and blue stripe bands at the heel.  Staying true to the original design Stan Smith’s face remains printed on the tongue of the right shoe while Stella’s portrait and signature adorn the left foot.  Stella #stansmith is available in both men’s and women’s sizes at Stella McCartney stores worldwide, in Rome in via Borgognona, the store is gorgeous. You can get them also online at www.stellamccartney.com  and from select retail partners at a price of £235.

The designer, alongside legendary tennis player, Stan Smith, signed pairs of the vegan sneakers for guests including Madonna, Riz Ahmed, Ellie Goulding, Anna Wintour, Edward Enninful, Tigerlily Taylor, Alasdhair Willis, Radhika Jones, Imran Amed, Mary Charteris, Keith Lemon and many more.The Stella #stansmith joins the growing Stella McCartney cruelty free sneaker range which now includes; the Loop, a new innovative and sustainable sneaker with specially designed hooks instead of glue, and the Eclypse, the brand’s first fashion trainer characterised by a sculptural and pumped-up shape.

Stella McCartney is a luxury lifestyle brand that was launched under the designer’s name in 2001 and is under a 50/50 partnership with Kering until 2019. Stella’s approach to design emphasizes sharp tailoring, natural confidence with a naturally sexy attitude.  The brand is committed to ethical values, and believes the company is responsible for the resources it uses and the impact it has on the environment. It is therefore constantly exploring innovative ways to become more sustainable, from designing to store practices and product manufacturing. As a lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney does not use any leather or fur. The brand now offers women and menswear ready-to-wear, as well as handbags, shoes and a kid’s line. It has also developed collections under licensing agreement for eyewear, lingerie, swimwear, fragrances and a long term partnership with adidas. The collections are currently available in more than 100 countries at wholesale, and through 53 freestanding stores including London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.

Stan Smith is a former world No. 1 American tennis player and two-time Grand Slam singles champion. Since 1973, his name has been used for the German sportswear brand adidas’s best-selling sneaker in history—the "adidas Stan Smith shoe." In 1987, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame of which he is now President.   Today Smith lives in Hilton Head, SC with his wife Margie-a former collegiate tennis player.  He has four married children who all played college tennis.  In Hilton Head, he is a co-owner of the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy and is also the Chairman of Stan Smith Events.

Enjoy Shopping in Rome on an exclusive trip

Shopping in Rome around via Condotti, via del Corso and via Borgognona is a perfect fun experience. September is a great month because the new autumn-winter collections had just arrived. For example, yesterday I had to pick up my client at the Plaza Hotel in via del Corso and, as She had some problems walking, I pushed the wheel chair. No problem at all because my friend Andrès taught me few days before how to use it, especially how to use the break, how to lift the person (She could walk a little bit too). The best street for walking with the chair is with no doubt Via Condotti. We went to Max and Co ( She got a vanilla coat, a nice velvet purse and a pale pink pullover). Afterwards we moved to Dolce & Gabbana. The Director there, Nancy Marcucci, hosted us in the best way possible, offering us water etc… My client bought a nice, colourful flowered sweatshirt with a big W on the front. One of the picture of the collection is published below.

We then move to Ferragamo where She got a pair of green sunglasses, looking a little bit like a butterfly. They were fun and I did not push her to buy shoes because, at the end, She was not sure she could walk well with them. One in fact were slippers. I do not take any commissions from the shops so I had no problem at all to tell my view.

My client likes Escada. She was looking for a white suit there. She had a picture of it and we found it! Escada is at the Spanish steps. It is an interesting brand to watch, they just had their Spring Fashion show in New York few days ago. I saw it on Vogue Runway. This shopping morning was a good memory for me too.

Dolce & Gabbana Autumn-Winter Collection 2018-19

BRUNELLO CUCINELLI AND THE DREAM OF SOLOMEO

Brunello Cucinelli is known worldwide for the extreme quality of his cashmere. He started fourty years ago with the pullovers and now the company ( in the stock market since few years) spread into lots of things. Not only fashion such as linen, scarves, cottons, shoes etc... Cucinelli goes beyond. He has a dream and he explained it: "The great dream of my life has always been to work for the moral and economic dignity of the human being. I imagined a company that would make a profit but I wanted it to be achieved with ethics and respect of human beings, manufacturing products without harming the Creation".

About 400 journalists, some monks, carabinieri and few politicians such as Katiuscia Marini the president of Umbria Region,  were invited in Solomeo in his headquarters. Two hours from Rome.  We had a fantastic time. Below a picture of me in the gardens of the factory. Not only Brunello Cucinelli showed us the factory but also the new vineyards, a monument dedicated to the Dignity of the human being and the Solomeo village where we had the press conference. In Rome if you want to shop in Brunello Cucinelli's boutiques you have two stores. One is located in via Borgognona 33  (the biggest one) and the other is in via del Babuino 150/D.

At the end of this unforgettable day we had dinner with the best italian wines possible. Guado al Tasso and Tignanello. Brunello Cucinelli has a great quality, very rare. He is a generous man. He is also extremely curious and like to meet and talk with people from other fields. Soon he will be in USA to meet for the second time Jeff Besos from Amazon. Apparently he challenged him " You are the new Leonardo da Vinci but the one of you who will manage to humanize the web will be the King". An interesting point of view from one of the most successful italian entrepreneur of his generation.