June 13, 2011 |
The original Uomini talk uomini and their newest tome spectacular, ‘Uomini’.
SO YOU’VE GOT A NEW BOOK OUT. WHAT’S IT ABOUT? CAN YOU SELL IT IN TEN WORDS?
DD: Men, black & white, bodies, underwear, faces, emotions, memories, classical sculptures, physicality, sensuality.
SG: It’s a book about new male aesthetics: the cult of the body and taking care of oneself.
HOW DID THE IDEA OF THE BOOK COME ABOUT? IS IT A HOMAGE/REINTERPRETATION OF MICHELANGELO’S DAVID?
DD: It’s a tribute to male beauty. Generally people pay tribute to female beauty; recently the classical reference to an ideal male beauty and its perfection has been neglected. The David statue is definitely one of the main sources of inspiration for this book, but in general, our inspiration came from the classical art world, in particular from sculpture art.
SG: This is what inspired us. It’s a homage to the male body, and to Tony Ward, a true icon of contemporary male beauty.
WHAT CRITERIA DID YOU USE TO DECIDE THE BODIES FEATURED IN THE BOOK? DID YOU HAVE A CHECKLIST? MUST HAVE SLIM ANKLE. SIX PACK. SHIRT-BUSTING BICEPS?
SG: As designers, the male body has always fascinated us. We studied the male body by observing sculptures and classical paintings, in order to understand its proportions and to be able to design clothes for men.
DD: Research in books and visits to museums are a fascinating part of our job. An ideal of male beauty takes form in our imagination. Man is one, not many single parts put together. For this book we chose models with the photographer, Mariano Vivanco, during pre-fashion show fitting sessions. We looked for men who gave us emotions.
WERE YOU TEMPTED TO POSE IN THE BOOK YOURSELVES? INCLUDE A CENTREFOLD?
SG and DD: Absolutely not!!!!!!!
DD: Our contribution was the idea of the book and the choice of the photographer. We have been collaborating with Mariano Vivanco for quite some time now and we like his aesthetic taste and his eye in interpreting the male body; we consider him to be the best photographer in interpreting contemporary male beauty and charm.
WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE HISTORICAL MALE NUDE? WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE NUDE IN THE BOOK?
DD and SG: Michelangelo’s David and Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man.
DD: We don’t have a favourite nude in the book; every photo conveys something special.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL MAN? WHO IS HE?
SG: He is a man who loves, respects and takes care of himself.
DD: It’s not only about the body, however. In order for a man to be a real man and to appeal to me he must have both thoughts and passions. Mens sana in corpore sano…
DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR A BOOK OF FEMALE NUDES? WHO WOULD YOU INCLUDE? MONICA BELLUCCI? ANNA DELLO RUSSO? MADONNA?
DD and SG: Not at the moment, but since you have just given us the idea….you never know!!
YOU’VE PUBLISHED SOME TEN BOOKS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. HAVE YOU ANY PLANS TO GO INTO PUBLISHING PROPERLY? START YOUR OWN PUBLISHING HOUSE? IS PUBLISHING THE NEW HOMEWARE?
DD: Books are one of our passions; we have a very large library of art and photography books and we are always adding to it with new finds. We like books because they last throughout time; they are a concrete testimony of one’s work. We see books as a kind of spiritual testament.
SG: We enjoy working with different publishing houses so we can experiment with new ways of printing and new distribution channels; an image from a book stays in the reader’s mind forever. However, we limit ourselves to being creatives, not publishers.
WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER GOING INTO HOMEWARE? WHAT DOES YOUR HOME LOOK LIKE? IS IT DRIPPING IN LEOPARD?
SG: In the past we designed a small homeware line: Sicilian ceramics, velvet patchwork carpets, cushions. Then we abandoned the project to concentrate on our collections, clothes and accessories.
DD: Our houses are very eclectic, a mix of classic and modern, with the classic leopard touch.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK EVER?
SG: Perhaps “The Leopard” by Tomasi di Lampedusa. The movie which Visconti made from the book is also one of our greatest sources of inspiration.
DD: I also like the Latin poets very much: Catullus, Lucretius, and Metamorphoses by Ovid. But also Horace and, in the case of this book, Martial.
BOXERS OR BRIEFS?
DD and SG: Both!!!!!!!!!!
DO YOU DRESS TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT?
DD and SG: To the right, to the left or to the centre. Wherever the heart takes us!
by Natalie Dembinska
