*Image courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, used with permission*

The designer as a prophetic force - 'Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art' opens at the V&A in London

E. Nina Rothe March 26, 2026

Elsa Schiaparelli can easily be called one of the 20th century's most innovative fashion designers, yet her pull goes way beyond the beautiful creations she designed for her eclectic clientele to wear. She created a set of visual clues that have shaped much of our aesthetic in the western world and continues to provide a roadmap for personal style and glamour for women, and men, of all ages and financial means.

Joanna Hogg and Alice Diop add two more masterpieces to Miu Miu Women's Tales series

E. Nina Rothe September 1, 2025

Now in its fifteenth year, and having reached a milestone thirty titles in the cinematic collaboration between Miu Miu and world filmmakers, the latest installments are simply delicious. And you’ll want to read on for the motivations behind the two shorts.

*Image by Edwin Hooper, courtesy of Unsplash*

Eight things I've learned during this pandemic -- The Minimalist Fashionista

E. Nina Rothe October 21, 2020

To make sure we don’t become victims of this virus we should be washing our hands often, wearing a mask always and respecting other people’s spaces — all the time. Really, it’s THAT simple and we could have it under control, without any need for vaccines and lockdown measures.

So here are the eight wonderful, personal lessons I’ve learned from Covid-19

All About the Obamas: Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ and our former Pres. tweets “Vote!” on The Minimalist Fashionista

E. Nina Rothe May 16, 2020

After watching the Netflix documentary ‘Becoming’, about the book tour by Michelle Obama to promote her memoirs by the same title, I felt like I was walking a little taller. I remembered a time when I didn’t need to apologize for my President all the time while traveling and when saying “I’m American” felt like saying “I’m a cool cowboy.” I’m proud of being American regardless. But now it is a bit more challenging to conjure up that pride.

The Minimalist Fashionista: Act like a cowboy, think like a lady

E. Nina Rothe December 20, 2019

When my family was getting ready to move to the US from Italy, back in the early 80s, my parents took me to celebrate Christmas at the home of a famous Italian writer and journalist, in the countryside of Chianti in Tuscany. We spent a few days there, surrounded by the natural beauty of the place and Oriana Fallaci’s (our host) wit and argumentative spirit. She taught me to drink strong cocktails (I was twelve at the time) in preparation for being “a cool American girl” she said and she thought I’d make a good fashion model because of my thin ankles. She later retracted the statement, saying my imposing nose would not make me a good beauty candidate. Not exactly the perfect role model for a pre-teenage girl, but that’s a whole other blog post for a different day.

Women's rights -- and wrongs -- explored at Cairo Film Fest

E. Nina Rothe November 25, 2019

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a global initiative by the United Nations. Although this is a yearly occurrence taking place every November 25th, it really should be a year-round initiative, an effort in our everyday life to avoid the pitfalls of violence but also help eradicate the behavior around it.