Giovanna Battaglia’s Style: A Master Class

I am excited to share with you the very first guest post on I Want To Be A Battaglia by my best blog friend, Kate Ringo Suzuki from Everyday Glamour. Kate breaks down the secret to Giovanna Battaglia's savvy style and explains why it works to make the most of Gio's considerable charms. Molto grazie, Kate! Perfetta!

Giovanna Battaglia’s Style: A Master Class
By Kate Ringo Suzuki

Take a moment to gaze at Milanese stylist and editor of Vogue Gioiello, Ms. Giovanna Battaglia. Just look at her! I think she has a lot of style and a lot of spunk. 

It’s not my style and it may not be your style. But it’s her style — it’s her own.

Some say that with a body and face like Gio’s, it’s easy to look fierce. I beg to differ. Welcome to the Everyday Glamour Chick (E.G.C.) Master Class! Let’s break it down, shall we?

Focal Point: Gio has a great figure. Today she has opted to feature primarily her lovely waist — it’s the main feature. And secondarily, her long legs. Her legs are like the stems on a beautiful flower. It’s secondary, but necessary to the flower’s beauty.

In terms of clothing, we would say the focal point is her skirt. The skirt is most prominent. Everything else is more subdued in terms of details. (As a side note, the skirt is designed by a two year old, up & coming cool-girl label, called SUNO. The designer finds fabrics in Kenya and reworks them into impressive acid-hued concoctions. You can find it at Opening Ceremony in NYC.)

Pattern: The diamond pattern on her skirt points toward her waist, the primary focal point, remember? And the pattern of the skirt lends itself to her angular facial features. I mean look at those cheekbones!! Hello.

Scale: Gio is tall, so she can pull off a larger scale pattern. The spaces in between the diamond pattern on her skirt are expansive and mirror the expanse between her facial features, especially around her angular cheekbones.

Silhouette: The outer shape of Gio’s outfit is like an hourglass. It’s all about the waist. Her strong shoulders are balanced with her strong hip line.

Inside Lines: Gio’s one button lapel dramatically points to her waist. The jacket also has darts and seams that further emphasize her waist.

Color: In the second picture you will see more clearly that she chose a beautiful aubergine turtleneck. That color is a complementary color to the green in her skirt. Also note that the dark turtleneck paired with the dark tights creates a narrow center rectangular space that draws the eye inwards and cleverly elongates the whole body. The green jacket picks up the green in the skirt which is a secondary color in the skirt. A purple jacket would have been too matchy. She also happens to look smashing in these colors. They set off her skin tone beautifully.

Texture: The stiffness and crispness of the jacket and skirt emphasize straight lines. In turn, the straight lines emphasize her beautiful angularity. (A more curvy girl looks better in fabrics with some flow.) And her hair texture is wavy, very much like the waves in her skirt.

Accessories: Her bag has zippers set at an angle. Hello angles again! They also point to her waist, by the way. The texture of the leather is in harmony with the texture in her hair and the pattern in the skirt. Her shoes are suede, a soft counterpoint to the bag, so as not to be matchy. The shoes also have laces that are angular. Angles, angles, everywhere! And her belt further emphasizes her waist. It says… here is Gio’s waist, this is exactly where it is, not higher or lower, it’s right here. The belt is still subtle, though, so as not to steal the skirt’s limelight.

Proportions: This woman has perfect proportions. A perfectly proportioned figure is 8 head lengths long. Three head lengths to the waist and 5 head lengths from the waist to the ground. Go ahead, scroll back up and measure it right on your computer screen!! (For more on this, read Pythagoras, Fibonacci, & YOU!!) Her green jacket sleeves are at 3/4 length to further emphasize her perfect proportions.

And she’s not even wearing heels. Not fair.

Giovanna Battaglia photographs © 2010 Condé Nast and courtesy of Team Peter Stigter.

Introducing... I Want To Be A Battaglia

Welcome to I Want To Be A Battaglia! I hope you will enjoy following the glamorous life of fashion icon Giovanna Battaglia on these pages. I would like to take a moment to thank the brilliant team that helped to build this site:

• Hogan McLaughlin, the amazing artist that illustrated the banner for me with terrific speed and utter aplomb.
• Gala, Italian editor-at-large
• You — the world's greatest readers — for sharing our passion for fashion's finest! I hope you like the site as much as I do.

Baci
Kellina

Giovanna Battaglia illustration by Hogan McLaughlin © 2011 Kellina de Boer. All Rights Reserved.

Fashion Icon: Born Or Made?

I am thrilled to share with you the first post for I Want To Be A Battaglia by our delightful Italian editor-at-large, Gala, titled "Fashion Icon: Born Or Made?" in which she relates her passion for the style of Giovanna Battaglia. Please note that Gala knows Italian and I know English so I am responsible for any errors in the translation. If you know both Italian and English, we would love your help with future translations, please leave a comnent if interested. Molto grazie, Gala! Fantastico!

Fashion Icon: Si Nasce O Si Diventa?

….Questo è il problema! Ed anche la prima domanda che la giornalista di Glamour Italia rivolge a Giovanna Battaglia, musa per alcuni ed icona per tanti, in una breve intervista comparsa sul mensile italiano qualche tempo fa. Non ricordo a quale numero e mese appartenesse. Mi rimangono in mano queste due pagine meticolosamente strappate, mentre ero seduta nel salottino d’attesa del mio parrucchiere di fiducia. Ero talmente sorpresa di leggere finalmente un’ intervista ,anche se breve, su di una rivista italiana, della mia “beniamina” che non ho resistito e….zack!!, un colpo netto e via due pagine. Delle risposte che Giovanna dà a Loredana Saporito mi piace immediatamente la premessa: “…non sono gli abiti che indossi a trasformarti in un’icona. E’ una questione di personalità, che devi prima nutrire e poi esprimere attraverso i vestiti”.

Si può essere super-griffate dalla testa ai piedi, ventiquattr’ore su ventiquattro, tutte le ore dell’anno, ma se non c’è quel guizzo di personalizzazione, quell’ ”attitude” fatta da buone maniere, piccoli vezzi e manie, un bel portamento ed un allenamento culturale costante, che ti arricchisce e ti distingue, si resta dei manichini senza speranza riccamente abbigliati. Un “fashion tip” di Giovanna che mi è piaciuto molto è quello di indossare un abito da giorno con gli accessori da sera. L’ho provato! Funziona e si ricevono immediatamente degli sguardi sorpresi ed interessati.

Fashion Icon: Born Or Made?

....This is the problem! And also the first question that the journalist from Glamour Italy poses to Giovanna Battaglia, muse to some and icon to many, in a brief interview that appeared in the Italian monthly some time ago. I do not remember which issue. I remain in the hands of these two pages torn out meticulously, while I was sitting in the living room waiting for my hairdresser of confidence. I was so surprised to finally read an interview, though brief, in an Italian magazine on my darling... I could not resist... Zack! Out shot two pages.

The responses that Giovanna made to Loredana Saporito pleased me immediately: "It is not the clothes you wear that turn you into an icon. It is a matter of personality, you need to nourish this first and then express through clothing." You can wear super-designers from head to toe, around the clock, all hours of the year, but if there is that flicker of customization, that attitude formed by good manners, small quirks and foibles, good posture and constant cultural training, which enriches you and sets you apart, one is hopelessly richly dressed. One fashion tip by Giovanna that I really liked is to wear a day dress with evening accessories. I tried it! It works immediately and receives surprised and concerned looks.

Giovanna Battaglia photograph courtesy of her Facebook account.
Giovanna Battaglia in Glamour Italy © 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved. Scanned by Gala.

Giovanna Battaglia: Muse Of Gold

Giovanna Battaglia looks stunning as the subject of the editorial titled "Musa De Ouro" (or in English, "Muse of Gold") for the March 2011 issue of Vogue Brasil. I have typed the opening paragraph into Google Translate to give us an idea of the article, I would love it if anyone has time to share a full translation with all of us.

Ultraoriginal sem precisar apelar, ela é a mais consistente fashionista dos últimos tempos graças ao estilo clássico com twist contemporâneo e a beleza exótica livre de artificios. Conheça Giovanna Battaglia, darling da moda mundial e agora também musa de joalheria brasileira.

Ultraoriginal without having to appeal, she is the most consistent fashionista in recent times thanks to her classic style with a contemporary twist and her exotic beauty free of artifice. Meet Giovanna Battaglia, darling of the fashion world and now also muse to Brazilian jewelers.

 

Vogue Brasil editorial images © 2011 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Giovanna Battaglia Barbie

Here is a true collector's item: Giovanna Battaglia shared via her Twitter account this photograph of an extremely limited piece, one of one, to be precise... Feast your eyes on the Giovanna Battaglia Barbie dressed in white lace Dolce & Gabbana of course with her own over-the-knee boots by Christian Louboutin. So cute!

Below is the original photo that appeared in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Interview as part of the editorial titled "Project Front Row" styled by Karla Martinez and shot by Mikael Jansson. The caption is in Giovanna's own words: "I see it, I want it, and I wear it without thinking about it too much. If I can't find the piece that's gratifying right away, I go through my wardrobe like a miner in search of the right gem." I love that image of her, I thought of it just this morning looking for a certain piece that escaped me.

Sheesh do I want a Barbie Gio! Imagine her shoe collection...

Follow Giovanna Battaglia on Twitter

Giovanna Battaglia Barbie photograph courtesy of twitter.com/Batgiovanna
Giovanna Battaglia photograph © 2009 Interview. All Rights Reserved.