My eclectic outfit is composed of a pair of ‘no name’ perforated brogues bought in St. Tropez, a Zara Man denim button-up, Urban Behavior velvety leopard tights, an Elizabeth&James boyfriend blazer and Urbanears grey headphones.

Out & about in the streets of Milan during Vogue’s Fashion Night Out and Fashion Week…follow me!

Why not two?

The crowd down Via della Spiga

D&G star pumps …hot…

MiuMiu campaign competition

love me some Glitter!

Props chez Moschino

‘peace’ of paper

Italian red rose

Live mannequin chez Versace

Trussardi afterparty at the Castello Sforzesco

DJ chez Trussardi

Me next to ‘I don’t give a shit honey’

Yeap, Genny is back and she’s looking ravishing!

Some of you may remember this iconic fashion label from the 80′s, the period in which it assumed a leading role both in the national (Italy) and international fashion industries, as well as, being globally recognized for its rather strong design elements and high quality bespoke tailored garments.

After having passed through the hands of Gianni Versace, amongst several other top Italian and international fashion designers and after a long ‘pause’ of exactly 10 years, Genny made its comeback and yesterday it presented its Spring-Summer Collection 2012 during the Milan Women Fashion Week, under the art direction of Gabriele Colangelo.

To be honest, yesterday was my first close encounter with the brand ever.

My impression from what I saw on the runway is a collection characterized by its sobriety, distinct sophistication and minimalism.

I absolutely enjoyed the drapey, asymmetric feel of the open back dresses, the thin, feathery fringes coming out from the skirts and tops and the rather apparent golden zippers running vertically on some of the garments. I loved every single accessory the models carried; the thick leather belts with (again) the golden zipper detail, the Cleopatra-style chokers were fierce and so were the thick, animal hair cuff bracelets.

The notes of color in the collection: camel, royal blue and white, plus, add to that a tribal, geometric print which gave the collection a subtle African-ethnic feel to it.

Unfortunately, the only apparatus I had with me was my iPhone so as you can imagine the photos of the actual runway are of oh, such poor quality! (see sample below)….but I managed to fix that (I was not gonna give up that easily!) by chasing the models down to the ‘outdoor backstage’ with a stunning view of Milan’s Duomo and that’s where I was able to get some great outfit shots!

Models on the catwalk (poor quality pics, sorry)

Me following the models to the backstage

Model with the reflection of the Duomo on the glass window

The Genny model Trio

zipper belt and thin, feathery fringe details

open backs with leather straps and drapey details

the maxi suede shoulder bag

Model in a white jumpsuit

backstage photoshoot

ethnic print

view from the venue

Genny outfits from behind

the audience

the invite

Pasta alla Norma

This is my first attempt at making my favorite Italian pasta recipe, Pasta alla Norma (named after Bellini’s renowned opera)…yummidy yumm yumm!

Such recipe is of Sicilian origin (from the beautiful city of Catania to be exact) and it’s comprised of four basic ingredients- tomatoes, eggplant, onions and salty, aged ricotta cheese (aka ricotta salata). I’ve always wanted to make it cause I always order it at restaurants whenever I’m down in Sicily (which is rather often since the bf is Sicilian himself) so I decided to put myself to task this past Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients & preparation are as follows:

- eggplant

- fresh tomato sauce

-onion

-100gr of salty, aged ricotta

The only downfall to this recipe (or any recipe containing eggplant) is that the eggplant, which should be chopped into small dice, needs to sit for at least an hour in order for it to drain its bitter juices. In the meantime, you can cut the onion into fine rings and add it to the tomato sauce which should be simmered and reduced for at least a half hour to concentrate flavors. Using the thick side of the stand grater, grate the salty ricotta and begin boiling the pasta water. Once your pasta is done and al dente add some of the salty ricotta to it, then mix together with the tomato sauce and eggplant dice and you’re ready to go!

In this case, I scouted some of the stinkiest cheese in the market and made myself a radioactive, earthly pungent French cheese plate to go with my pasta… (if you’re curious to know what my selection of cheeses was, I’ll come back with the names later today)

bon appétit!

(last edited 21.09.11)

ok so I’m back with the cheeses…the names are (in order of stinkiness): Gres des Vosges, Brebis d’Argental and Crottin de Chavignol.