The Sweet Life

In the face of a return to normalcy, the Italian ideal of la dolce vita takes us back to what truly matters by way of sartorial expressions.

- Gordon Ng

The Italians certainly know how to live it up. Chief among their life philosophies and, now bubbling in both the pop cultural and style zeitgeist, is the idea of la dolce vita. Translated to mean ‘the sweet life’, it is an invitation to a way of life that extols carefree indulgence as a healthy, happy thing.

That seems to be the message that a clutch of Italian designers is sending this Spring/Summer as we emerge from the throes of pandemic living. Where the runways in Paris and New York witnessed a swathe of high-concept experimentation and new-age prep, respectively, in Milan, the loveliest and most desirable collections celebrated taking in life’s real and easy pleasures.

Take footwear brand Tod’s. Under creative director Walter Chiapponi, the company has entered a steady period of unfussy style. When Chiapponi showed his first designs for the brand, he espoused a vision of Italian buon gusto (good taste)—a simple, if untrendy, expression of tastefulness. For Tod’s, that meant sublimating the buttery soft comfort and wearability of its famous leather driving loafers into an all-encompassing design philosophy.