Renzo has guts ....

Posted April 13th, 2015

 

Bassano Del Grappa, Veneto

 

I know that the title might come off a bit vulgar, but these were the first words I thought of, when striving around for my viewpoint, straight to black on white .... 

Renzo Rosso, the efficacious and spirited founder of Diesel (yes, yes, it is Italian and already 35 years old!!) is one of a kind and Italy should be immensely proud of his triumphs .... I understand from a recent survey, that many Italian Companies have been sold and are no longer Italian!! .... How unfortunate and distressing since Italy has everything from Culture to Food, from Architecture to Fashion and, the remarkable people ....

I read his interview in Post Magazine, here in Hong Kong, and must admit that his fervour is contagious ...

I totally agree with him regarding teenagers of today and their lack of respecting people. Something that I learned starting from a very young age from my Grandfather Frank Parisi originally from Terra Vecchia (Cosenza, Calabria) .... Even if I was not in the agreeing mood, I would always bite my tongue in front of elders and aim to listen, to better myself ....

Renzo says he was born with "a strong sense of the American dream".... Since he wanted a new life, a new style  ("not the old Italian way....") .... he was obviously too avant-garde for the Italians and began creating jeans and sold them to Germany, France, the UK, Scandanavia and the United States .... After awhile, they started to import the brand back into Italy ....

The real reason that I am writing this article is because he is controversial and that is "grist for my mill" ....

He is and always has been, and that gets you going .... where?! Well, just about anywhere. He has guts and I like him!! ..

He took John Galliano, one of the most talented and gifted Fashion designers in the world, and resurrected him .... Giving him a second chance and to this, I bow my head and tip my hat .... Saying, "It was a beautiful moment when John came on board at Maison Martin Margiela" .... It was actually Martin who said "You need to take on someone important" and then suggested to Renzo the broken and sensitive designer.

How stimulating  for MMM ....

Margiela needed direction and this for them, was a perfect marriage and of course, a fresh new start. Margiela took a different approach that is to say, "the product does the talking". The intelligence of John Galliano not going out for his bow at the end of the fashion show, says it all!! ....

Renzo insists that "Luxury is becoming important to the OTB Group and Couture has a strong future" .... (He owns the group which includes Diesel, Maison Martin Margiela and the unusual Viktor & Rolf)"....

Renzo goes beyond Fashion .... He loves Art, as in the uncanny Jean Michel Basquiat, King of Pop Art Andy Warhol and the subdued Enrico Castellani. There is of course, (always a Chinese nearby!!) the chuckling Bejing-based painter, Yue Minjun, keen on "laughter" .....

He has his own soccer team, Bassano Virtus 55. He did it "To do something for my hometown."

And, he has bought an Organic Food Company, since the real luxury today is to eat super-high-quality foods. .... Yes, Renzo, "You are what you eat." ....

 

HP