Places

Gucci Garden

| Design & Culture by Ed

Florence is Gucci, Gucci is Florence. Gucci Garden is a must-see in this city, but I wouldn’t take it too seriously. I mean, it’s not a museum written with capital ‘M’. Still, it’s an experience, like anything Gucci and Alessandro Michele pull off together. Inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia, the museo is housed, conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele. The newly designed space features a store with one-of-a-kind items, the Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura and the Gucci Garden Galleria exhibition rooms curated by critic Maria Luisa Frisa. Divided into a series of themed rooms, the Gucci Garden Galleria narrates the brand’s new vision while celebrating the archives including old advertising campaigns, artisans’ images, retro objects. From the Double G motif to Michele’s Guccification, the house’s universe is presented in a subverted, slightly surreal way. ‘Paraphernalia’ is a room dedicated to signature codes and symbols that define Gucci’s identity while ‘Cosmorama’ reveals the historical jet-set customer of Gucci. My favourite part? Anything by Tom Ford (the white slit dress, iconic kamasutra bomber jacket…). Was quite surprised the brand completely erased Frida Gianini from its history, though…
Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Trattoria Sostanza in Florence

| Design & Culture by Ed

A fact: Trattoria Sostanza is the best restaurant in Florence. Please, if you’re planning a trip to Tusany’s capital, book your table here (at least three-four days in advance). This small restaurant, with a toilet located in the back of the kitchen (yes, you have to go through the entire kitchen, which also means meeting the very Italian cooks!), is the best kept secret of the locals. It might be classical, Tuscan cuisine, with dishes that sound like regular Italian plates. But the taste of every single thing here is heaven. From the Florentine steak and artichoke pie to tortellini stuffed with signature ragout and a plate of tomatoes from the chef’s garden, Trattoria Sostanza really shows what finest Italian food is, in an unpretentious, home-made way. If you’re lucky with the season, you will get wild strawberries (straight from a Sicilian farmer) with your meringue cake – which is a masterpiece. Again, go there. Thank me later.

Via del Porcellana, 25/R / Florence

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Florence

| Design & Culture by Ed

The moment London fashion week was reaching its final moments, I was on the way to Italy for a quite impromptu trip to Florence and Rome – two cities I’ve visited when I was a child and clearly needed a sort of revision. Not in scorching, Italian summer, with crowds of tourists that make you remember just a flood of people going through the corridors of Uffizi, and not Caravaggio’s masterpieces. At the end of February, when Italian spring is already in full bloom, but it’s still the perfect temperature outside to wear a trench coat. And, thanks God, nearly no tourists at all. Ideal way of discovering any place, especially in Italy. Of course, I will post my favourite addresses in both of those cities in the upcoming days. Here, I leave you with some of my favourite moments I’ve captured in Florence – Tuscany’s capital, as romantic and delicious as they say.

Baptistery on Piazza San Giovanni; the street that lead to our villa, hidden in the Tuscan hills just two kilometres from Florence’s city centre; patio of the villa; marble painting at Il Papiro; my mum, wearing a Dries Van Noten fur jacket.

On our way to the centre; pink tights at Uffizi Gallery; typical street situation in Florence; inside of Santa Maria Novella; Prada’s headband.

Bottega Veneta clutches that made us all lose our minds; Santa Maria Novella – completely in love with this place; a very ‘postcard from Tuscany’ clichés (which was actually our view from the villa); Medici’s Palace; mum’s vintage Prada tote from the 90s; Campari!

 

Caravaggio’s Medusa at Uffizi Gallery; Ponte Vecchio (tourist-free as well); a sculpture detail from I can’t really remember where…; another vintage from my mum, 90s Chanel; a street photo booth near the river; Botticelli’s Birth of Venus at Galleria Uffizi – it might cause a heart attack.

Photos by Edward Kanarecki.

International Wardrobe

| Design & Culture by Ed

The next time you’re in Berlin, please visit International Wardrobe. As the name suggests, it’s a store that sells hand-picked garments, accessories and curated objects from all over the world. The owner finds unique pieces in Ukraine (like the jacket from Hutul region), Transylvania region in Romania, Vietnam, Bolivia and other destinations, then thoroughly examines them in the very precise labels attached to each piece. The world’s most beautiful cultures under one address in the Mitte district. Learn through fashion, and let the one-of-a-kind craftsmanship into your wardrobe. Really, it’s all about the joy of styling!

Almstadtstraße 50 / Berlin

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.

Berlin, When It’s Cold

| Design & Culture by Ed

Berlin, when it’s cold? I say: yes. The city is a perfect destination for weekend visiting in any season. So, even when it’s winter and the temperature drops below zero, you’re more than welcome to visit the Turkish market in Kreuzberg, discover new coffee spots (or rather, new to you, but well known for the locals) or simply, go to a museum. Scroll on!

Annelies / Görlitzer Str. 68

The quintessence of a Berliner brunch spot – raw, yet cozy interior, delicious pastries, perfect lighting.

Turkish Market / Maybachufer

Fresh pomegranates, mangos, coriander and lemons in February? Those market stalls got you covered.

Berggruen Museum / Schloßstraße 1

The Berggruen Museum is a collection of modern art classics, which the collector and dealer Heinz Berggruen, in a “gesture of reconciliation”, gave to his native city. The most notable artists on display include Pablo Picasso (some of the rarest works out there), Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, Paul Klee and Henri Matisse. A true, visual feast.

Rosa Wolf /  Eberswalder Str. 32

Rosa Wolf is a shop filled with independent magazines, carefully selected from all over the world. Whether you’re looking for reading material about fashion, art, culture, travel, architecture or design, you will find it at their place in Prenzlauer Berg.

The Store x Soho House Berlin / Torstraße 1

An ever-changing space created to inspire, create, work and enjoy – and most of all, to shake-up the stereotype of how a fashion retail place should look like. Located in the Soho Haus Berlin hotel, The Store makes you feel like at home, with its beautifully curated furniture (from chic Pierre Jeanneret seats to Mathieu Matégot heart shaped-patio set) and a connoisseur-level book selection, coming straight from London’s cult Idea Books. Moreover, The Store is Berlin‘s fashion destination, with its heaving hangers of Vetements, The Row, Aries, Calvin Klein, Wales Bonner and others.

The Potsdammer Straße ‘trio’:

Andreas Murkudis / Potsdammer Straße 81

Fiona Bennett / Potsdammer Straße 81-83

Acne Studios / Potsdammer Straße 87

Sasaya / Lychener Str. 50

Sasaya is the best Japanese restaurant in Berlin. It’s just so pure in taste, and so Japanese in everything, from the simple interior to the way the asparagus tempura is served on ceramics plates (which are sold together with delightful pottery and rare sake next to the restaurant space). Sasaya doesn’t only serve sushi – which is perfect – but as well other traditional dishes and tastes like the tsukemono (pickled vegetables), the takana (fried vegetables), dashi broth or the kukiwakame (seaweed). The gyoza stick is a great addition to your portion of maki and nigiri, while green tea cake with matcha macchiato is an ideal desert (at least for me!).

Superbazaro / Mulackstraße 1

Italian (and not only) gourmet food and wines with selected, chic kitchenware. By Mitte’s favourite Mädchenitalianer restaurant nearby, which serves some delightful, home-made Italian cusine.

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All photos by Edward Kanarecki.