by Francesca Tacconi *
Photographer, art director, screenwriter, opera singer, fashion designer: Eli Russell Linnetz, aka ERL, all rolled into one. And it is with that broad vision, between the horizon and the dream, that Americans from Venice Beach, West Coast, have. And with the freshness and sparkle that infuses the American Dream into colorful and precious garments, between luxury streetwear and a tradition of memory quilting.
At Pitti Uomo 104 he presents for the first time his menswear collection, which combines the spirit of Californian couture, a capsule designed for Dior Homme at the invitation of Kim Jones, with the mastery of Italian manufacturing. Eli designs and creates clothes in the same way that he designs and creates concert stages for Lady Gaga or Kanye West.
With that wonderful blending between the true and the plausible, the invention and the reality, that is the magic of Hollywood cinema.
For Florence it would be not only a fashion show, at the Palazzo Corsini late in the evening of 15 June, but also a powerful installation designed for the Fortezza da Basso, presented by the words on the large wall of the Liceo at the entrance to the Pitti Has gone. Umo: Believe, which means “let’s do it”… and is an invitation to dream and imagination.
And to astonishment, what will overwhelm visitors when they find themselves in front of the final scene of the faithfully recreated science-fiction film ‘Planet of the Apes’ in the fair’s central courtyard. ERL has found confidence and a home in the Dover Street Market; Legend has it that he met Rei Kawakubo only once (the most famous shop spirit in the world with her husband Adrian Joffe).
And he sentenced as follows: In Japanese ale means genius. Then she turned her back and went away. Isn’t this also a magical description of fashion stories?
*Pitti Imagine Special Events Coordinator