GIO'S JOURNAL

Artistic License

For W’s glamorous globe-trotter, it’s a fab, fab world.

by Giovanna Battaglia

Giovanna Battaglia Frieze Art Fair

1

“Miart is Milan’s answer to the Frieze Art Fair. I went to the press preview, and I just had to wear my patchwork KTZ jacket, which I bought because it looks like one of the Italian artist Alighiero Boetti’s famous map creations. And then I was lucky enough to find a real Boetti at Tornabuoni Gallery’s booth! I told them, ‘You should give it to me for free to match my jacket.’ ”

2

“At the Milan art fair, I saw this psychedelic fabric collage, The Cleopatra Effect, by the fashion designer and artist Jody Paulsen. It reminded me of Mary Katrantzou’s embroidered dresses for fall.”

3

“If you took a scan of my brain, it would probably look like this installation, Rap Wrap, by Leo Sewell, at Dover Street Market New York. All those colorful pieces bring me back to my childhood toy room. I had Barbies, and then I also made cars because, of course, the Barbies needed a ride.”

4

“At the Delfina Delettrez jewelry presentation, my friend the fashion editor Anna Dello Russo stepped away for a second, leaving behind her Marni coat. I made a still life with it, adding Delfina’s mannequin hands and a Fendi bag as a hat. It’s the spirit of Anna Dello Russo!”

5

“Michael Costiff travels the world looking for dazzling pieces and then sells them at Dover Street Market under the name World Archive. I spotted these gorgeous Indonesian gold headpieces in New York.”

6

“I was leaving my sister’s apartment in Milan when I realized her new Picasso pillow perfectly matched my Céline coat. I wanted to carry it with me all day. Sometimes I do feel like I have a Picasso face when I first wake up in the morning.”

7

“The South African milliner Albertus Swanepoel had this incredible hat in his showroom, but he didn’t design it. It’s from Cape Town, where the miners take their old work helmets and restyle them to support their favorite teams at soccer games.”