ETTORE SOTTSASS THE INFLUENCE OF A PLAYFUL DESIGNER

by Alexine Sammut

Ettore Sottsass’ influence on architecture can be seen globally. He also left his mark on design more broadly, and his work continues to inspire and influence contemporary creators today.

to use color, patterns, provocative shapes, and materials such as plastics and polycarbonates in architecture. His work also showed that he was aware of the role and importance that design plays in people’s lives. He gathered inspiration from international and everyday contexts and implemented or imported them into his designs, be they artworks or furniture pieces.

Sottsass’ projects shocked and provoked. They are, at first glance, not timeless; their form, shape, and color have a late seventies or eighties aesthetic. Nevertheless, they have recently resurfaced in different contexts, more so in object and interior design than architecture. His work with the Memphis Group, which he cofounded with Designer and Product Developer George Sowden, left a mark on design history. It was an antidote to the design establishment of the time, which was obsessed with minimalism and midcentury modernism, and averse to the bright prints and hues Sottsass loved so much.

Ettore Sottsass was a designer who dared to be different. He challenged traditional notions of design to create playful, expressive works that showcased bold colors, asymmetrical shapes, and eclectic materials. His playful approach and his boldness are what attract me to his work. He was not afraid

There was something profoundly influential about the philosophy Ettore Sottsass embraced. It speaks to the i mportance of including design in everyday life and the necessity of making unique designer objects accessible to people of all backgrounds. His work was multidisciplinary and innovative for his time. His designs challenged technical boundaries, contrasting against the clean, angular aesthetic of the modernist design of the time.

Sottsass and the Memphis Group wanted to break free from the rules that modernism imposed. This rigidity was no longer sufficient to satisfy the needs of a changing society. The strict principles of modernism were holding back the experimentation needed to take a fresh look at what design was all about. As George Sowdon says in More is More by Claire Bingham, “You could argue, as with all events that call into question the validity of established ways, that Memphis was the style of dissent.”

Sottsass’ buildings have occasionally been labeled absurd and even hideous at their worst. But at their best, they ushered in a return to the belief in the value of the Gesamtkunstwerk , or total work of art. Sottsass advocated that every aspect of modern life could be elevated to an aesthetic experience.

His bold influence has spread beyond architecture to fashion, furniture, jewelry, and art. Designers have incorporated Sottsass’ style into their creations while staying true to what is uniquely theirs. His signature can be seen in contemporary designs by Karim Rashid, Dior, and Missoni, who have incorporated bold colors and playful forms into their collections.

He was a designer who brought about a paradigm shift in the design world. His playful expression challenged traditional notions of design and paved the way for the more colorful and eclectic. His influence on international architecture cannot be overstated. The buildings and structures inspired by his work testify to his lasting impact on the field. His multidisciplinary approach, use of bold colors, patterns, and textures, and his philosophy that every aspect of modern life can be elevated to an aesthetic experience have inspired generations and will continue to do so for years.

Tip Your Hat To Borsalino

The Italian Manufacturer Celebrates 166 Years Of Tradition And Innovation

by Federica Mancusi

Over the years, Borsalino hats have been spotted on the heads of royalty, presidents, popes, gangsters, journalists, theater critics, detectives, and cowboys. They are equally appreciated by Hollywood celebrities, dignitaries, and style enthusiasts. What made this fashion luxury brand from Alessandria (a small town in Piedmont) a success is, undoubtedly, the fact that it originated from a brilliant spark of intuition. Founder Giuseppe Borsalino hypothesized that a comfortable and soft felt headpiece would be a perfect option for top hats or flat caps and something in the middle, between an aristocratic and a working-class accessory. Behind the brand’s enduring success is its ability to maintain tradition while interpreting changing fashions. It has also been able to establish a deep, unbreakable bond with both the art world and cinema.

The film industry began its love affair with Borsalino in 1942, with the brimmed hats of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman almost touching, like a hint of a kiss, in the goodbye scene of the movie Casablanca . The expressiveness of the actors’ faces is accentuated by the clever game of shadows created by the shape of the hats. The scene is unforgettable. In 2018, Borsalino introduced The Bogart by Borsalino, a special collection dedicated to the great Hollywood actor.

Many movie stars and directors followed the trend initiated by Casablanca. Jean-Paul Belmondo wore a Borsalino in Breathless (1960), and then again, this time with Alain Delon, in two cult movies–Borsalino (1970) and Borsalino and Co. (1974). Delon greatly admired the Italian brand, and the title was his idea. Borsalino accepted (on the condition that the company logo would appear on the posters), becoming the first Italian luxury brand to give its name to a movie production.

Federico Fellini had a custom Borsalino made for Marcello Mastroianni in the 1963 movie 8 ½ . Robert Redford loved that hat so much he contacted the factory to have an identical one made.

Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich were seen in Borsalino hats in some of their movies. Italian director Sergio Leone made Robert De Niro wear several Borsalino hats in Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Paolo Sorrentino’s characters Jep Gambardella (played by Toni Servillo) in The Great Beauty (2013) and Pope John Paul III (John Malkovich) in The New Pope (2020) also sport Borsalino headwear.

Nicole Kidman wore a spectacular widebrimmed model in Baz Luhrmann's

Australia (2008), and Monica Bellucci flaunted a Borsalino in Diabolik: Ginko Attacks (2022). Among the other famous names devoted to the brand are Elton John, Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Aniston, Johnny Depp, Italian actress Sandra Mondaini (who modeled for Borsalino after WWII), singers Al Bano, Adriano Celentano, and Jovanotti. Even the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, is a fan.

In 2023, a short film about the Piedmontese factory, titled Tornando a casa , was released, starring internationally renowned actress Caterina Murino (stunning in her Borsalino both in the movie and at the official presentation of the movie at the Italian Embassy in Paris, of course).

April 4 2023, marked the 166th anniversary of the legendary hat factory. To celebrate the occasion, the Alessandria town council and the Borsalino Foundation officially inaugurated the Borsalino Museum opened in a palazzo bearing the same name in the town. This monumental front building of the former site of the hat factory now houses an extraordinary exhibition of about 2000 pieces of different styles, shapes, and colors, each one with a story to tell. The collection includes several rare cinema relics and headpieces worn by Popes John

XXIII and Benedict XVI.

In 2009, the Triennale Design Museum of Milan hosted an exhibition entitled Serie fuori serie which included the brand as a quintessential Italian icon. Serie fuori serie was replicated in March 2017 in Beijing, China. In 2011 the same museum held another exhibition called Il cinema con il cappello: Borsalino e altre storie. Innovation and tradition are inextricably linked at Borsalino. The luxury brand has collaborated with prominent figures in fashion to create original capsule collections. These big-name collaborations include the likes of Gianni Versace, Krizia, Valentino, Moschino, Italia Independent, Marni, and the “architect of fashion” Gianfranco Ferré. Borsalino also inspired fellow designers to pay tribute to the mythical brand. These included The Chapeau Lamp, designed by Philippe Starck for Flos in 2014, and Moritz Waldemeyer’s 2016 sculpture, The Hatband.

Borsalino’s latest range of baseball caps, bucket hats, and berets targets a younger audience, keeping the company relevant into the future. In addition, it includes the classic legendary felt hats or summery straw Panamas to reach a younger market. The Italian luxury brand has also targeted more women customers, now accounting for half of its revenue.

While Borsalino is a trendsetter and innovator, it has remained faithful to the company’s values and traditional production process. It takes seven weeks to produce a felt model and up to six months for the straw models. The tradition of fine hat-making that has earned Borsellino its fame and VIP clientele has been handed down from generation to generation unchanged in Alessandria.

PERIPHERAL POETRY A TOUR OF ROME’S MANDRIONE DISTRICT

by Jesper Storgaard Jensen | Photography by Jesper Storgaard Jensen

Rome’s surprisingly tranquil Mandrione suburb conceals an unusual piece of Roman history. Segmento took a walk along Rome’s most modern aqueduct through a fascinating district far from the Rome your average tourist sees.

The entrance of Via del Mandrione exudes an air of elegance and historical charm. Upon arriving, you are greeted by the beautiful Clement XII fountain. It emanates an almost royal grandeur. Also known as the Porta Furba fountain, it was commissioned by Pope Sixtus V, who served as pope from 15851590. It was built in conjunction with the nearby Felice Aqueduct, considered Rome’s most “modern” aqueduct.

The water from the aqueduct feeds the monumental fountain, and farmers, pilgrims, local families, and ordinary travelers often stopped here in the past for a refreshing drink or to collect water to take home. In 1733, the fountain was restored on the initiative of Pope Clement XII (1730-1740), the same pope responsible for commissioning the Trevi Fountain. The fountain’s design is thought to be by the well-known architect Luigi Vanvitelli.

like a silent refUge

The first time I walked along Via del Mandrione, I felt an immediate sense of well-being. On my left, the nearby Via Tuscolana and its thousands of passing cars seemed strangely distant, probably because the Felice Aqueduct shields the traffic noise. Here, I had the feeling of being transported back in time. On my right, I could look across railway tracks towards Rome’s Casilina neighborhood. Via del Mandrione is like a silent refuge, like a metaphysical state of mind that almost gives you a feeling of weightlessness. The area embraces you, and you ask yourself how best to describe this place. Are we in the city or the countryside, or perhaps both? We are still in Italy’s capital and, at the same time, outside of it. It is enough to think of the neighborhood’s name, Mandrione. It derives from the word mandria, which means flock. This is where the shepherds once brought their sheep to graze. I feel pleasantly “cut off.” At the same time, I constantly feel that there are only a few hundred meters to go before I risk being sucked into the big-city rush. Walking along Via del Mandrione, you are witness to a small piece of Roman history, where a straight line from the city’s post-war period connects to our present. During the German occupation of Rome, a total of approximately 4,000 bombs were dropped on the city by Allied bombers. In the San Lorenzo district alone, 717 people were killed. Thousands of families who had become homeless began to look for new places to settle down. Many of them found refuge in Mandrione in the shelter of the vaults of the old aqueduct, where it was possible to build makeshift dwellings. This ramshackle settlement became a slum with hygienic conditions unfit for human habitation. From the beginning of the 1950s, the area’s reputation went from bad to worse, with gypsy camps springing up and prostitutes openly plying their trade in the district. pasolini’s faVorite neighborhood

Mandrione was also one of the favorite neighborhoods of author and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. He was drawn to its decay and found it to be the perfect symbol of post-war Rome from an anthropological point of view, especially when he had to find suitable backdrops for his films. Perhaps Pasolini’s best-known film, Accattone from 1961, was mainly filmed in nearby Pigneto, but certain scenes were also said to have been shot in Mandrione. Despite Pasolini’s reputation as a “slum romantic,” he was not blind to the socially reprehensible conditions in which people lived in Mandrione, which can be clearly seen in his 1958 essay, Vie Nuove, in which he writes:

I once drove by Mandrione with two friends from Bologna. From our car, we saw young children playing in the mud. They ran around as if they were playing a game without rules. They tumbled about as if they were blind in the few square meters where they had been born and raised. When one of the two- or three-year-old boys saw us drive past in our car, he raised his dirty hand to his mouth and blew us a kiss.

Mandrione is specifically mentioned in several literary and cinematic works by Pasolini. He was often photographed walking along Via del Mandrione, talking to residents and children from the neighborhood. While walking along Via del Mandrione, I occasionally come across the inscription “Io so i nomi” (I know the names) on the walls. This is the title of the now famous article, from 1975, in the daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, in which Pasolini revealed that he knew the masterminds of a series of massacres through the 60s and 70s that had cost hundreds of people their lives. Perhaps this article is part of the enigma of the assassination of Pasolini himself. Eventually, the slum conditions, prostitution, and social decay became impossible to ignore, and the authorities took notice. Critical eyes began to regard Mandrione less indulgently. Psychologist, educator, and social reformer Angelina Linda Zammataro devoted all her attention to cleaning up the area. She worked tenaciously between 1975 and 1984 to improve conditions and get the area’s ragamuffin street children to start regular schooling. In the process, most of Mandrione’s families were moved to better housing in Spineto on the fringes of the city.

Dining At Accattone

Today the laid-back atmosphere of the area is intact. I have been walking in the shadow of the aqueduct all this time. I have to reach out to touch it. At a certain point, I once again meet Pasolini, this time in a restaurant named after his film Accattone . I step inside and sit down at a table. It’s Saturday at lunchtime, and the restaurant’s two rooms are half full. Before

I sit down, I notice several old black-andwhite photos from the neighborhood’s less salubrious past.

A bit later, after my pleasant meal of spaghetti all'amatriciana , which was particularly tasty and creamy, cook and owner Fabrizio Santucci takes a seat at my table. He tells me:

Accattone used to be quite a simple eatery, which most of all had the task of satisfying local stomachs without too many quality delicacies. When I discovered the place, I immediately had a feeling that this was what I was looking for–an isolated location in a neighborhood with a special history. In the past, this area was almost completely deserted, with extensive fields where sheep grazed. In the past, the area was considered the middle of nowhere. Today, here in Mandrione, people live a quiet life. It is a neighborhood rich in spirit and history. People get around on foot or by bicycle. It has a calm pulse.

As I walk about 1.5 km down Via del Mandrione, I reach the end of the road. Here I turn left to enter Via Casilina Vecchia. The aqueduct is now on my right side, very close to me. Despite its antiquity, many local construction companies have used the space under the vaults. As I keep walking along the aqueduct, my sense of being in the middle of a piece of historical and architectural poetry is reinforced. Once again, I have experienced how Rome’s periphery hides both poetry, distinctive history, and quirky anecdotes, which can only be experienced far from the well-trod tourist paths of the city center.