Eau d'Italie as seen on UpscaleLivingMag.com...
and available online at Beauty Frontier
Le Sirenuse, Beautiful Resortwear
We all want to wear something floaty and twirl-worthy in midsummer. To go in for some nonchalant allure, beach-to-cocktail extravagance, and cocktail-to-party glam.
And some classy Capris.
Emporio Sirenuse features milk handloom linen blouses, oversized all-occasion sundresses, bandeau tops, Majolica blue silk crepe shirts, cinched waists, and layered ruffled skirts offering high-volume floatiness.
We can all be “Positanesi” and be elegant clothes-horses for the famous south Italian vertical town.
Positano is one of the chicest and most glamorous places in the world. An eighteenth-century palazzo, Le Sirenuse in Capri is one of the most famous hotels in the world. But it is not just a $1,400-a-night hotel. It is also a one-stop luxury shop with its own haute couture fashion brand and perfume collections. An emporium of the fabled Dolce Vita.
Its fashion range comprises sweetheart necklines, figure-hugging bodices, gathered mini-skirts, cropped bralettes, keyhole halters, removable halter straps, viscose georgette linings, 1590 euros off-the-shoulder silk crepe glam, round neck Mandarin collars, roundboat necks, lucent satin, cream carryover tunics, intricate embroidery from Agra and Chios to Karabuk, Batik, Girandola, Arizona and Sacred Bull prints, colors from poppy to ivory, dropped waists, bare backs, beaded waistbands, 100% cotton, 100% voile and everything “superlatively feminine”.
Just one of the head-turning stars of the collection is the Augusta dress in Orchidea silk inspired by the painting of Georgina O’Keefe.
And, of course, the iconic wide-leg hi-rise caftans.
Founded in 1993, the Milan-based Emporio Sirenuse resortwear and lifestyle brand translates the rich artistic culture and coveted lifestyle of the Terra Felix.
Carla Sersale and Viola Parrocchetti run the business combining “the vibrancy of Eastern inspirations with the elegance of the Italian Riviera.”
Says Viola: “When I design, I have in mind a sophisticated and worldly woman who appreciates beauty in every country and landscape.
Adds Carla: “Our collections represent, in clothing and style, what Le Sirenuse represents to the world. Viola takes the Italian summer as a mindset, and adds layers of inspiration from around the world.”
The menswear range includes Espiga espadrilles, Polos, Hawaiian shirts, and swim trunks after Allegra hicks. As well as a white bathrobe!
And then there is the chicest of chic perfume to consider.
“We created our first fragrance, Eau d'Italie, to celebrate Hotel Le Sirenuse’s 50th anniversary in 2001,” says Rome-born Marina Sersale, whose family opened their house as a hotel in 1951.
“We drew inspiration from my childhood memories of the happy times she spent there as a summer home. First among these was the recollection of racing my sister Giulia and brother Antonio barefoot across the hotel’s terracotta-tiled terraces. A particular olfactory memory – warm terracotta tiles heated by the sun – has stayed with me and is the central note around which we structured this fragrance which is still the hotel’s signature scent.”
With Argentinian partner journalist Sebastián Alvarez Murena, photographer Marina created Eau d'Italie – the essence of Italy. As well as body care, home fragrance, tableware, and glassware ranges, the $200 perfumes have become more exclusive.
Continues Marina: “Marvelling at the glamorous and beautiful women who danced on the terrace with suave men in tailored dinner jackets, wild herbs, and lemon flowers, the salty sea breeze, incense from the churches after the evening Mass, these recollections have informed our scents.”
"Working with French perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, the fragrances are a Grand Tour of Italy”. The collection includes Mystic Sunset, Graine de Joie, Jardin di Poete, and Un Bateau Pour Capri.
In 1938, film star Greta Garbo vanished. She was discovered with her new lover in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast, surrounded by roses. “To this tale of love, we dedicated Rosa Greta. Fior Fiore evokes the jasmine around the hotel’s Aldo’s Bar. Au Lac is a delicate floral inspired by the secret love affair between Italian Princess Vittoria Colonna and the artist Umberto Boccioni, one of the founders of the Italian Futurist movement.
“Inspired by our walks along The Path of the Gods – the beautiful mountain trail that goes all along the Amalfi’s Divine Coast, Acqua Decima is an ode to the sun and to the joy of life.”
Adds Sebastian: “The brand, with its twin mermaid logo, has become the ambassador of a certain cosmopolitan Italian style, at home in Positano.”
The Sersale family originally came from Naples. Cardinal Antonino Sersale was the city’s archbishop for more than twenty years and was nearly elected pope in 1769.
Siblings Anna, Aldo, Paolo, and Franco Sersale moved to the Villa Giulietta in Positano to escape the summer heat of Naples. In 1944, Paolo was mayor between 1944-1960. The hotel was an army rest resort. John Steinbeck was a hotel guest.
“We went to the Sirenuse, an old family house converted into a first-class hotel, spotless and cool, with grape arbors over its outside dining room. Every room has its little balcony and looks out over the blue sea to the islands of the Sirens from which those ladies sang so sweetly”.
The hotel is decorated with mementos from the travels of the late Franco Sersale who designed the hotel’s pool terrace and panoramic, bougainvillea-clad La Sponda restaurant. His son Antonio and daughter-in-law Carla have brought a contemporary feel with British curator Silka Rittson-Thomas with major installations by Martin Creed, Stanley Whitney, and Caragg Thuring. Guilia is responsible for the hotel’s plants and flowers. Le Sirenuse is a long-time member of The Leading Hotels of the World.
Concludes Carla about her globally popular Mediterranean wardrobe: “Emporio Sirenuse gives you a look while sashing from beach to bar!”
Hotel photo by Roberto Salomone
Product photos by David Castillo (@davidcastillofotografo)
