Inside Giovanna Battaglia’s Downtown Abbey Getaway
From the British Fashion Awards to an English countryside getaway that recalls the sisters from Downtown Abbey, Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert is channeling her inner Anglophile in style.
“The Fashion Awards organized by the British Fashion Council, in London, called for something superglamorous and creative. I chose this look by the young designer Michael Halpern—it’s from his Central Saint Martins graduation collection. It reminds me of a John Chamberlain crushed-car sculpture, and it matched the Fredrikson Stallard Swarovski installation on the red carpet. I became part of the art!”
“In her Ralph & Russo couture gown, Natalie Massenet [left] looked like the ultimate fashion fairy godmother at the Fashion Awards.”
“The Swarovski decor at the awards presentation was so gorgeous, I turned a tablepiece into an epic floral cuff.”
“I organized an English-countryside weekend, including an eccentric British dinner, complete with masks and props I had brought from New York. The photographer Dylan Don [center] looks right out of a Salvador Dalí painting.”
How strong and elegant is the woman in this Kees van Dongen painting, Fatimah Ismaël de Louxor? I wish I could have bought it at the Sotheby’s sale, where I encountered it.”
“I came across this archival footage of Oskar Schlemmer’s 1970 Triadic Ballet at the Whitney Museum, in New York. The combination of fashion, art, and costume is unreal.”
“This Nam June Paik Bakelite Robot, at Tate Modern, reminds me of Daft Punk—but with a retro vibe.”
“Since we were in the English countryside, my sister Sara [right] and I decided to channel the Crawley sisters.”
“As part of our country getaway, my friends and I went on a traditional hunt and had a picture-perfect picnic lunch.”
