It was one of those humid, heavy summer days. The sun was shining through thick off-white clouds that were running North. The door at number 7 was in a typically Italian street in the historical centre of Pesaro, Italy. The tiny street was a dead end off the side of the main road, the ancient decuman. The entrance, a round wooden gate hiding a courtyard, was locked and remained locked even after I rang the bell three times. So I decided to try the other entrance to Silvana C.’s house. I returned to the decuman and then took a left turn on another quaint Italian street. I arrived in front of another wooden door and rang the bell. After a few seconds a woman answered. “Who is it?”, I have an appointment with Ms. Clemente, I replied. The woman opened the bottle-green door and said that Ms. Silvana would be with me in a second. The entrance of the house wasn’t big which was to be expected of a historical building, but nonetheless imposing. A mix of gold, silverware and dark tones of red created a majestic atmosphere. Ms. Silvana arrived at the entrance climbing up brick stairs to the right of the door. She was wearing a black silk robe and white cotton slides. Her hair was a bit messy but you could still see it was religiously looked after- it was soft and bouncy. “Hi! Come, we’re going to the courtyard” she said while going back down just as swiftly as she came upstairs. “Would you like some coffee?” I would love some, I told her.
Her courtyard was exactly like you’d imagine any summer Italian courtyard. There were rooms all around it separated from the outside by clear glass and a jungle of tall, large, leafed plants that would let only tiny specks of the inside of the house visible. There were huge terracotta vases scattered around the cobbled floor and random silver objects and modern statues. The whole courtyard looked messy like some spot in a jungle that used to be inhabited. The big wooden gate at number 7 stood in front of us and to the right there were outside stairs that led to the floor we had just left. The light was warm but dim. In a way it was the direct opposite of a foggy winter morning but at the same time they were identical. - they both made me sluggish, which tempted me even more to a cup of espresso.
There were two tables to the left that seemed nearly manically tidy, one square and one round but both with clean white cotton table clothes and silver cups and cutlery. We sat at the round table. Silvana was in front of me with her legs crossed and her left elbow relaxed on the chair. I could finally see her clearly now that her face was under the early sun light. She had no makeup on, probably only a moisturiser but her skin was beaming and so was her smile and grey eyes. She had some darker marks on her face probably inflicted over the years by that same sun that was now giving her a regal aura.
Elegance is in her blood
I couldn’t help myself and made a comment about how stylish she looked even in her robe. “Oh thank you! I have to admit that my ‘style’ isn’t really mine.” It comes from knowing her body and knowing what will look best and make her look less ridiculous as possible, she explained. “It’s also a kind of inheritance, if you will. Both my mum and grandma used to dress very well. I haven’t created anything – it’s innate.” Over her 72 years of life her friends, family and acquaintances have always known she had an eye for beauty and clothes. Many report seeing her in the most beautiful outfits during a morning walk in town or while she is grocery shopping with her husband Enrico. When they compliment her, Silvana always tries to play it cool by saying things like “Oh, this? I grabbed the first thing I saw” but in reality the first things she saw were a mink coat and a Birkin. Although she bought many furs during the 70s and 80s she has now stopped. She is an animal lover and she finds it absurd that animals are bred for the sole purpose of skinning them for fashion. However, she still wears the ones she purchased some decades ago, “Why should I leave them to collect dust in the wardrobe?”, she says. “We lived in a time where fur coats were so fashionable and we have bought many and worn many. It was such a big trend back then and I believe that it will become one again.” Fashion is cyclical after all and she shows that she knows it for the way she shops and gives a second life to almost everything in her closet.
For a split second it seemed like she travelled back in time to those glory days when fur coats were all the rage. “You know, in the 70s and 80s we had so much more fun.” She began collecting all of her clothes and shoes and bags during those years. “We really felt and lived fashion back then.” She admits that she and her friends, although still rich, used to have more money and they used to get invited to many parties, dinners and clubs. It was a different way of living. They dressed up more and most importantly they were younger. “When you’re young you want to feel good and look good,” she said. Nonetheless she does have a firm belief that the way of living has changed now, and not just because of Covid-19.
A voice arrived from the kitchen “What kind of coffee would you like?”
“A regular espresso, Isobel, thank you,” replied Silvana.
She continued explaining that in the 80s and 90s they always had places to go to show off their newest purchase, but now the only occasions you can dress up for are aperitifs and walks along the pier. “Not very exciting. I often go shopping with my friends because they want something elegant, but I ask them ‘where are you going to even wear it?’ They realise I’m right but keep saying that they would just hang it in the wardrobe waiting for the perfect occasion. But why? To wait until it’s out of fashion?”
A second life
Silvana has always been mindful of the planet in the way she shops. She has never thrown away clothes but has always passed them down to relatives or friends, which doesn’t seem like something a woman of her status would normally do. She knows that her taste is expensive and throwing clothes away simply because she doesn’t like them anymore is a “sacrilege”. She will throw away a ripped t-shirt but not her worn-out Chanel jacket. “I always try to give my clothes to people I know will appreciate them and will look good in them.” However sometimes she’s been disappointed by those to whom she entrusted her beloved clothes. Many times she gave away some of the most loved pieces to people she thought would value them, but she never saw them wearing any of them. “That makes me really sad,” she admitted.
Silvana’s nieces and her sister-in-law, Franca C., are the people who benefitted the most from her generosity and sustainable attitude. Franca says that Silvana gifted her many things, but not everything fits her as she is taller. Still most things are in her wardrobe and she wears them regularly. “She gave me this one dark green, suede, Alexander McQueen jacket which I love. There’s also another jacket she gave me a few years ago, a rusty orange one which I think is the thing I wear the most among those that she’s gifted me.
“Silvana has always known how to dress herself, especially with high fashion clothes,” said Franca, “but she’s also really good at mixing Dior with H&M. Her trick is to pick the right accessories, the right bag and the most marvellous shoes. Silvana knows her body and her style. She’s a very elegant woman. Always has been.”
Shopping mindfully
Silvana has recently started pondering quite a lot before buying anything new or on a whim. She now has three requirements that any garment has to meet before she buys it: high quality, look good on her, not a volatile trend. She explained, “Anything I buy now has to be beautiful to me and needs to combine well with everything that I already own.” Silvana loves mixing styles and creating outfits that she can wear from 8am until 11pm. To do it she uses her fantasy and the style that’s in her DNA. To her, getting dressed up is like art, “like a beautifully laid table” she said.
Silvana is pretty good at laying beautiful tables too, as Franca said. “She clearly has the funds to buy nice things,” she continued, “but she’s got this immense creative side to her too.” She carried on describing all the many times Silvana managed to create outfits out of paper for her themed parties or cruise soirees. “Silvana is also really good at sewing and embroidering. She taught me and my sister how to embroider and we got pretty good at it too,” said Franca. “She can create these tablecloths with leftover trimmings which always turn out to be stunning, filled with colourful threads and sequins and damask silks.”
“I like reusing clothes and fabrics that are laying around the house,” says Silvana, “I spent my whole life buying but I realised that it’s stupid.” She thinks that clothing brands now simply make new collections to sell and not for the real value of creating clothes. “Due to the pandemic and people losing their jobs, most brands will be left with all these things in stock that they won’t know where to put,” she said.
“I might have lived through the most decadent and opulent decades of this century but I know how important it is for fashion to become sustainable. We all need to pay attention to what we buy and how. This is our world and we need to look after it by using renewable sources and avoid ruining the Earth. I’m definitely not an expert on the subject but I believe in it.”
Isobel walked through the courtyard carrying a silver tray with my espresso on it and left it in front of me. I took a sip from the small cup and it tasted delicious. “Will you see your aunt today?” asked Silvana taking me back from savouring my coffee. No, I wasn’t going to see her, I told her. “That’s okay, I’ll ask her to drop by tomorrow, today I want to go out on the boat. I have this gorgeous black dress I want to give her. I bet she’ll love it!”
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