A touch of Italy

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A respected Thai fashion expert once said that the problem with Thai fashion stemmed from the lack of an inspiring contemporary artistic, cultural and creative atmosphere crystalised from the country's myriad historical and cultural roots. Looking at works by young fashion students you can see they more often than not turn to foreign sources of inspiration, whether art, architecture, films and so on. Not that this is not good, since fashion is after all an international language, but you won't find the much sought-after authenticity - an individual character shaped by the sociocultural context you are brought up in.

If words fail to illustrate the above idea, perhaps the book The Italian Touch can. A collaboration between Donatella Sartorio, an Italian fashion and style journalist, and consummate Italian fashion and leather goods manufacturer Tod's, the book is a visual palette of various Italian families. Starting and ending in Milan, Sartorio, accompanied by photographer Paolo Loene, travelled to Rome, Turin, Naples, Sicily and many other Italian towns and counties to capture those who represent the authentic Italian touch - a touch of "elegance, lightness and youthfulness" - as described by the writer.

From the horse-riding families, novelists and contemporary art personalities of Milan to stylish journalists of Rome and various other witty aristocrats or just captivating mothers with their children, the book captures "L'Italia" through her people and their lifestyles and candid smiles, against the backdrop of their own homes, vineyards, living rooms and offices - in which their refined taste, genuine passion and charming personalities are encapsulated, and this forms the true Italian touch that inspires and is defined by Tod's.

Available at Asia Books.

ITALIAN TOUCH Edited by Donata Sartorio Photos by Paolo Loene Skira, 368 pp