To introduce his sophomore collection as the helm of iconic Italian brand Etro, designer Marco De Vincenzo revealed all on camera to one of my fave filmmakers, Beniamino Barrese and the result is a magnificent mix of fashion and cinema — at their best.
Two men, two stories, two very special places in my own journalistic history. Back in January of 2016, I stood inside the historic Teatro Niccolini in Florence talking with Marco De Vincenzo (for the HuffPost) about art and fashion and how each discipline could help us to understand the world around us. His kind ways and fluid manner of talking, equally at ease while describing his creations or in speaking of fashion as a common language, made De Vincenzo a personality whose successes I’ve cheered from the sidelines ever since that day.
Then, during the pandemic, I watched Beniamino Barrese’s funny, charming, poignant film The Disappearance of My Mother and was touched deeply. In the documentary, he created a discourse with his famous mom, Benedetta Barzini, the fashion model turned feminist icon while also clearly paying tribute to the woman who made him who he is. The result of watching that film, which I’m sure is an inevitable byproduct of such a great work of the seventh art, is that I now look forward to exploring my later years, whereas before viewing Barzini’s elegance at 70-something, I feared them.
Those two instances define those specific moments in time for me, pre-pandemic, as well as during it, like no other events do.
Now fast forward to present day, and Barrese and De Vincenzo are making me dream once again, with their cinematic, 20-minutes long collaboration titled Radical Etro. The short film’s online release coincides with the Fall 2023 collection finally hitting stores around the world. And not a moment too soon from the looks of it!
Etro is also a leading character in my life. While I was way into my 20’s by the time I owned sometimes from the brand, I coveted it throughout my youth. Their unique mix of ethnic patterns and looks, blended with a very Italian style aesthetic has always appealed to those contrasting sides of my own personality. Classic chic and ethnic chaos always live side by side in my wardrobe.
In 2022, Marco De Vincenzo was named Chief Designer at Etro, the first time the position has been filled by someone outside the Etro family — brother and sister team Kean and Veronica Etro had been at the helm of the design team for the family run brand for decades.
Part personal exploration of De Vincenzo’s style mantra, part fashion show documentary, Radical Etro is also shot in a mixture of black and white and color that makes it simply a perfect fashion film.
“I’m afraid of running out to time,” De Vincenzo candidly admits in the beginning of the film, “the time needed to create a story.” The Messina-born designer, trained in Rome, also adds that he finds this race against time the only thing difficult to accept in today’s fashion. “Slightly unnatural”, he says.
The look of the collection is Etro, infused with a newness which one hasn’t witnessed before at the brand. “I’m here to pay respect to the brand but also turn things upside down,” De Vincenzo confesses in the film. He chose the word “Radical” to describe this push and pull, which he manages to pull off — pardon the pun — splendidly.
The film works so well because no one understands the crossroads of fashion and storytelling quite like Barrese. I’d venture to guess it is probably in his DNA, because of his style-infused upbringing.
But you’ll have to watch the film for yourself. And trust me, a visit to your nearest Etro retailer will become a craving guaranteed, after viewing.