Horoscope for February 2021: Stars & Styles

Welcome to Stars and Styles, our NEW monthly horoscope appointment, with the guidance of Astro-coach Massimo Giannone, renowned astrologer. Gifted with exceptional sensitivity, he reads with a methodical eye and interprets with the gift of intuition. Giannone has literally conquered the heart of Italy, starting from Milan, the capital of fashion and publishing, with his fixed appointments on Il Sole 24 Ore and Gioia.

His method has also conquered the high-end fashion industry, which has led him to be the protagonist of fashion events and promotional tours throughout Italy for brands such as Maliparmi and Prairie. His approach, far from generic, enters the psychological and soul aspect of the personalities linked to the zodiacal sign, with a perceptive interpretative key that is aimed at providing advice for rebirth, rebuilding.

Experiences are teachings, if you learn to grasp their directives, your life can change completely” says Massimo Giannone.

Curated by Francesca Romana Riggio

Text by Astro Coach Massimo Giannone

Illustrations by Maria Lombardi



Aries“Personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong horses, each wanting to go in different directions.”, Martin Luther King.

Consistency and personality will be the motto for this month as you share your plans balancing in every area of daily life.

In The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, tells the story of an aspiring writer named Nick, who is in a psychiatric hospital to treat alcohol addiction. During a visit, Nick recounts with difficulty his arrival in New York and a man who fascinated him with his qualities, but he struggles to express himself. The doctor advises him to write this story with characters of dubious morality that somehow give him lessons. Here he meets Gatsby.

Gatsby is a business tycoon who holds beautiful parties at his estate every weekend, and Nick is invited to one of these parties the two become friends and live many gimmicks together. The film ends with Gatsby’s death and realizes that he is his only true friend and that he was the only one who knew his truths. Nick stands in the deserted house and thinks about his predisposition to Hope, rowing his thoughts toward a present that no longer leads to the past.

Dear Aries friends, a great lesson has been learned by you, and that is: we are today and tomorrow and not yesterday.

Love:  you will have a new style in expressing your feelings, with more depth, and with beneficial Saturn, you will reach unexpected goals and high balances in your relationship.

Career: excellent organizational skills and good vision will make this phase exceptional, both in earnings and in relationships with others.

Your Path: a profound transformation is taking place in your soul and personality. You will refine your ability to perceive. You will control your instincts and know how to act sparingly and powerfully. However, do not look back and rejoice in the future. If you cannot express yourself, write what you think.



Taurus“Passions are not virtues, but natural impetuses: they are not acquired by free acts but precede human speech. They do not perfect the soul, but perturb the heart and alter the semblance”, Salvator Rosa.

“Impetus” is a bursting force, an uncontainable determination that affects people in front of it. In contrast, there is “caution”: the control to better manage this force aroused by Mars and Uranus.

Angela Hewitt, one of the most famous pianists, begins every performance with an extraordinary impetus, virtuosity, and high control of her instrument. She suggests to the audience enthusiasm, a great desire to wait for the silence to manifest with the applause the joy and the passion transmitted. A journey through the notes emanated with a mastery that creates a fantastic dimension, unique, indescribable.

Harmonies that lead to freedom, to not thinking in immersing oneself in vibrations that, despite the rigor and coldness of the execution, leave room only for astonishment and wonder.

Everything, even impetus and, rigor can, if managed well, create perfect harmonies. The secret is to dose and not be won by extremes, by passion.

Dear Taurus friends, with Mars and Uranus in the sign receiving antagonistic energies from Venus and Mercury, the control to be adopted will be on the verbal and emanation of your feelings.

Love: some aspects are emerging, and they do not work in your relationship. This does not mean that it will be necessary to make impulsive and drastic decisions. You can overcome crises if you control your emotions and manage your nervousness.

Career:  in work, Uranus gives you creative skills that will allow you to win colleagues’ trust and implement solutions to obstacles with grit and determination.

Your path: every experience comes in our lives to teach us something. An obstacle can turn into an opportunity if you choose the best reaction. The most appropriate path for you is the reliability that your sign represents: but also the wait, give time to those who love you to get in tune with you.



Gemini“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”, Bertrand Russell.

In a song by a famous Italian group formed in 2002, Modà, “If you could not die,” part of the melody talks about certainties. “If you could keep more promises. And in return, have the certainty, the roses will bloom without thorns. If you could not die…”

It’s a beautiful meditation of a vision of a different world, an imagination of a world where we give more sense of beauty to what surrounds us. Nothing is for granted, not even the sun’s warmth, and in this understanding have in return the certainties, which we often lack in our existence.

In an imaginary world where we understand everything that surrounds us, we can create a new vision. A world with a new idea allows us to realize what was wrong and what was not letting us enjoy the beauties that are already a reality but that our needs had obscured through our limitations.

Dear Gemini, with benevolent Jupiter from May, you are moving towards new visions, new perspectives, solid points, and certainties that will be part of your daily life.

Love: with the node in the sign for the whole year, you will emanate great depth in the relationship, you will observe every aspect of your relationship, and you will know how to act decisively towards those who love you, evolving the ties in a more intense level.

Career: you will have an evolutionary path: the futile will be opposed to the essence, the necessary things, no impulses, and a lot of consistency, affirmation, and professional solidity will be the natural consequence of this growth.

Your path: you gain high growth, through understanding past mistakes, you move toward an era of certainty and solidity. However, the goals achieved are also the results of our history. Nothing is lost, not even the negative experiences, because it is through their understanding that we advance towards more beautiful, more pure shores.



Cancer“The gifts, believe me, captivate both men and Gods,” Ovid.

Buddha taught that generosity is a practice that not only benefited others but gave joy to the souls who practiced it. Through this path, you can offer material goods, teachings, help in difficulties and advise a pathway suitable for others. It is a discipline that allows you with reasonableness to understand what is acceptable and not. It also lets you comprehend patience and concentration because, through this discipline, a positive force-feeds and grows within us. 

It is a journey for the soul, through which you will understand that vibrations make us and, if we are not in the right frequencies, we transmit things that then cause discomfort, tension, unhappiness. 

Dear Cancer friends, astral aspects give positive indications. Still, they need some help: it is necessary to seek the right harmonies and to understand that improving ourselves will improve the world around us. 

Love: you will be able to unite in one body with your loved one. Transmit the right values and eliminate bad habits. These are the causes that have made for a long time your history fluctuating and without solidity.

Career: gifts that you never thought you had will emerge, a renewal with the help of Neptune in Pisces, which will stimulate your creativity. Efforts will be necessary, never lose heart and continue in the struggles. Practices will not be lacking.

Your path: giving to oneself is one of the most complex experiences because the thought of not deserving afflicts many souls. Deep awareness is needed to reach the dimension of gratification, then everything that seemed impossible becomes a reality because we create events and give them a volume. 



Leo“We have not journeyed across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy.”, Winston Churchill

The work of the shepherd is one of the most ancient in the world.

In ancient tales and paintings, they are a symbol of serenity and peace.

Even in mythology, we speak of them as loved by gods for their strength and beauty; one of these Aci, a Sicilian shepherd, even made a nymph refuse the love of a Cyclops. Neptune admiring the young man, turned him into a mountain that flowed a stream to rejoin his beloved water nymph.

In reality, however, this profession is very hard, filled with many privations, difficulties, and much commitment to face the daily hostilities.

Dear Leo friends, there are many hostilities to face with Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus in opposition. But with commitment and willpower, you will be able to get the better of obstacles.

Love: there will be no lack of solidity in the couple. You will have to help those who love you with tolerance: however, eros will be high. Try to be hostile or to manifest dissent. It would only feed the tensions.

Career: alas, a lot of pitfalls. Colleagues and unexpected situations can put a strain on your serenity. With commitment and dedication, especially without being pervaded by fears, you will find a way to overcome everything.

Your path: through one’s determination, it is possible to reach unbelievable achievements by holding firmly to one’s principles and attitude: each individual can overcome himself and get to unimaginable goals. Everything is possible with commitment, like a good shepherd who observes nature’s cycles and harmonizes with it.



VirgoLove should dare everything when it has everything to fear. Bernard-Joseph Saurin.

A song by Malika Ayane opens with: “You can go where you want, against the tide or never risk following footprints if you lack air.” 

And ends with: “There’s no laughing however I go The veracious friendliness how hard is it to think about it never dare is to ask you how are you.”

We can build a whole life out of habit, and it eventually manages to take possession of us. It is necessary to give depth to the things we live; otherwise, life itself loses meaning.

Daring and endangering are a content of our life that gives depth, in love but also our every moment, daring to go beyond the void or non-action, makes us friendly and maybe ask “how are you?

Dear Virgo friends, with Neptune in opposition, a sort of spiritual goodness could pervade you. A lack of creative vision and an emptiness built up with habits should be fought with daring, avoiding useless escapes.

Love: it will be necessary to understand how to relate to the loved one: avoiding putting them in difficulty with an attitude lacking understanding. It would be better to comfort them with kindness and support. 

Career: your perseverance will reward you, pay attention to oversights, and maybe check your work several times. It would help if you also prepared the ground for the following months: the stars recommend further training.

Your path: overcoming one’s fears leads to unexpected victories, overcoming events, and situations that are not easy to resolve. Finding the strength to dare gives opportunities, new paths that lead to overcoming risks, a stubbornness that often has a constructive ending.



Libra“Take life lightly, for lightness is not superficial, but gliding above things, not having weights on your heart.”, Italo Calvino.

Grasping what happens with lightness and a positive spirit helps us to go beyond that veil that is always present before us, the uncertain and unknown future.

Through great determination, every expedient can be faced with depth. This way, we also understand what superficiality is, and we can be more careful without leaving anything out.

We struggle between the superfluous and what is truly useful for us. We can drive away negative thoughts to build a reality devoid of judgment and aware of our infinite possibilities.

Dear Libra friends, after so many unpleasant events, the stars will be benevolent with you. Tension and worries will ease with favorable Saturn and Jupiter, but you will have to give your inner self lightness and choose paths free of judgment and unnecessary ballast.

Love: many of the signs will live a phase of intense emotions. The clouds experienced will be driven away by unanimous bursting and joy, through which you will involve your affections. There is great news for singles around mid-month.

Career: you will have a profound vision of what to do and manage with a good dose of ingenuity the tasks that will be entrusted to you. Even in relationships, you will be able to advise colleagues and acquaintances who will appreciate your help.

Your path: carry in the soul the difficulties with a positive attitude gives the opportunity to acquire a more harmonious vision of events, observe them from a different plane, and find a light that leads towards the solution. Seize opportunities.



Scorpio“Your confidence in the people, and your doubt about them, are closely related to your self-confidence and your self-doubt.”, Kahlil Gibran.

The writer Sibilla Aleramo, in her book “Una donna” (A woman), tells how difficult it is for women of her time to assert themselves in a male chauvinist world. An awareness of how the traditions, the roots, prevent the equality of rights, the traditionalist man wants his partner dedicated to taking care of household chores, children of the kitchen, thus depriving her of alternatives, of her realization in the social contest, to follow their passions.

An autobiographical book where she decides to leave her husband and her son to follow her path and fight the relationship’s constraints. 

Ideals of affirmation and dignity give her the strength to fight traditions through awareness: an initiative that brings suffering and the freedom to manage her inclinations.

Dear Scorpio friends, settling down to situations will not help: it’s all very well to accept, but you must also have the strength to emerge from the doldrums in which you live. The accumulation is never positive. From time to time, it is necessary to assert your needs, perhaps gradually and not as an impetus, to avoid the risk of being extreme.

Love: you have accepted something that was not right in the relationship for a long time: many of the signs have come to limits that were no longer able to withstand, up to the point of breaking or cold and detachment. In this new path, the energies are favorable: you must not give way to the others’ bad habits to take over in your daily life.

Career: Uranus in Taurus is not favorable. Many difficulties to face but innovating you will overcome any problem.

Your path: the inability to react to events gives a kind of fatigue, a desire not to act, an apathetic attitude because tired of living the same dynamics. It is necessary to change course, find new stimuli, revive the inner strength to drive away from the pessimism that could pervade you. There is a solution to everything. Just trigger the right mechanisms. Start from power and will, which you do not lack, Scorpio.



Sagittarius“The future is a door, the past is the key.”, Victor Hugo.

In the Zibaldone, a manuscript of thoughts and philological questions, a sort of diary of his ideas written for fifteen years, Leopardi tells of his reflections far back in time. Studies he had previously made and then modified and corrected in the following time even many years later, with a new lucidity, new experiences.

“Reason is the enemy of every greatness: Reason is the enemy of nature: nature is excellent, Reason is small”…(Zibaldone).

In short, a man will be great if illusions can not win him. In nature, there are no contradictions; everything is natural, and so should be the great man.

Dear friends of Sagittarius, it is useless to rehash past stories. It is necessary to turn your gaze to the future, drawing inspiration from past teachings and winning the soul’s contradictions through the experience gained.

Love: with the Favors of Venus, you will give liveliness and warmth to your relationship. Your needs will be reciprocated by those who love you, and the chemistry will be high, syntony, and omens of a unique path, with some boredom in the family. 

Career: ideas will lead you to achieve rewarding goals, talent is not lacking, and you will conquer partners and colleagues with enthusiasm and vision as a leader; tendency to new professions in contact with nature.

Your path: past events are in some way the history of our lives: they must cease to exist in our daily lives and must be taken as teaching. We are today and tomorrow.

To implement our needs, we need to shed our old clothes and sew new ones, suitable for the situations experienced at the time, perhaps using the same clothes and making them liveable in the present day.



Capricorn

“One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time.”, Hermann Hesse.

Songs often talk about feelings and emotions, give us a thrill and the notes, and make us reflect in front of care of kindness. 

Among these, one has particularly struck me, as I think it has struck many hearts, That’s What Friends Are For, a song revisited by Dionne Warwick, the famous soul singer, and other famous singers for a very important humanitarian cause, the fight against AIDS. The song won two Grammys, and the proceeds were entirely donated to research on this unknown disease. An act of love that touched my soul, the union for a shared feeling, gives rise to an immense strength.

Dear friends of Capricorn, a high ability will flow in your Ego and help you express your depth and enlighten you, rediscovering new and valid feelings.

Love: your insecurities will be alleviated, you will discuss and find the past’s determination, no longer chase what you do not need but give value to what is required. Joy and happiness of the couple are also coming for singles.

Career: great originality and an excellent practical sense seasoned with common sense will bring you to the realization of dreams long pursued. Fortunes and unexpected earnings will make this phase even more magical.

Your path: courtesy and kindness are very intense emotional tools. They trigger pleasant vibrations towards those around us. A magical dimension is created, in harmony with every element around us, and like a cheerful dance, it infuses joy.

Being amiable conquers, gives comfort and security, leads to serene shores of our existence, discharges non-beneficial energies, and gives hope. Every action is not done for oneself but others, with generosity, help find new paths for those who do not have the vision.



Acquarius“The good opinion others have of us is never as good as the one we have of ourselves.”, Roberto Gervaso.

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said that we must use Reason and not trust the senses that deceive with a false view of reality.

In his poem “Parmenides,” he tells of the physical world’s multiplicities that are illusory.

The poem describes his encounter with the goddess of Justice when she shows him the way of opinion that leads to appearance and verification that leads to wisdom. None of us ultimately, if not a deity, an enlightened being, possesses the truth. Evaluations, given the many possibilities, turn out to be questionable.

Dear friends of Aquarius, with Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn in your sign, you will have the opportunity to live an unforgettable month, but beware of your judgments. The tendency to isolate yourself from those who do not have a vision similar to yours, the experience of diversity, is an excellent opportunity for comparison and not negative energy.

Love: the complications recede, but you will need to fill an emptiness that has taken over in you. You will have an excellent vision of the situation. It is necessary, however, to allow others to explain their motivations. It is a beautiful phase for those who are looking for a new relationship.

Career: you will know how to manage the tasks entrusted to you with harmony, but you will have to do well and avoid imposing your will. Same luck bestowed to those looking for new occupations, with excellent chances.

Your path: opinions are the subjective interpretation of a fact. In the absence of absolute certainty, they can be true or false or even absurd, and they often have to do with beliefs rooted in us.

It is important to have opinions, but it is also necessary to carefully evaluate the situations in which you express an opinion. Even if you are in good faith, you should never act with impulse because it clouds the truth



Pisces“The great revolutions in human history can be identified in the discovery of fire and that of the wheel. The next one will be when he learns to use logic.” Antonino Zichichi

Palamedes, a Greek mythology character, is remembered for his extraordinary intelligence and his inventions: the concept of the year, seasons, months, and even military tactics. 

His inspiration led him to extraordinary events, where intelligence had the upper hand over cunning, a struggle between two thoughts, the traditionalist one and the creative and inventive one.

Dear friends of Pisces, with Neptune in the sign and Uranus in benevolent Taurus, you will be able to show your creativity. With resourcefulness and depth, you will face the daily dynamics thanks to an eye towards the future accompanied by a great desire to change course through the intelligence that distinguishes you.

Love: this phase turns out to be harmonious, joyful, and full of satisfaction, the only drawback being some tension with family members. Evolution in your relationship takes place more and more and will lead you to unthinkable emotions.

Career: at work, you will need to deepen relationships, the situation is not understandable, which could disturb your organization. Just do things gradually, and everything will be fine.

Avoid excessive spending, and avoid taking away security.

Your path: inventiveness is the ability to configure situations and solutions with ease and a sense of opportunity.

An ingenious stunt can lead people to something that does not exist and can result in various areas of everyday life. Reflect, after a while, act.

Barbera’s Biella handmade shoes

“All our lives, we have heard our father called Maestro, and that has always made us proud of him, now that they call us Maestro, we know that it is our father who is very proud of us.”

Barbera Sandro & Figli is an artisan company rooted in a long tradition of working with leather to create fine, entirely handmade footwear. For over 50 years, our family has been producing shoes according to our area’s ancient shoemaking traditions.

Founded in 1968 in Biella, thanks to our parents’ will, Sandro and Luciana, Barbera Sandro & Figli has its headquarters in the city.

Just on the occasion of our 50th year of activity, the company obtained the recognition of “Eccellenza Artigiana Piemonte”; an award followed by “Eccellenze Italiane” and “Artigiano del Cuore.” Together with the collaboration with leading companies in the fashion industry, three awards have filled us with pride and satisfaction for our work.



Barbera shoes are unique and completely customizable models because they are created one at a time and proudly Made in Italy.

The desire is to offer a refined, long-lasting accessory to meet each customer’s style and comfort needs. The collections range from the most youthful, modern, and exclusive models to the classic and timeless ones (both for men and women).

Each shoe is produced with the utmost care, aimed at searching for the best materials (strictly Made in Italy), design and development of exclusive processes and colors, such as hand-dyed, stone waxed, and garment-dyed.

Let’s review the history of the company with Andrea Barbera.

Tell us about your journey and how your company was born.

Barbera Sandro e Figli is an artisan workshop producing quality footwear for over 50 years, strictly by hand and selecting 100% Made in Italy materials. The company was started in 1968 by our parents Sandro and Luciana, and over the years we brothers, Stefano and Andrea, took over.



For both of us to continue the family business was a natural path. It was born by learning the trade secrets from our father and, above all, being “infected” by his passion.

The aim is to create unique products with our own hands, capable of enclosing all the beauty and quality of Italian handmade products.

How do you carry on the tradition while keeping up with the times?

For us, making shoes by hand means creating elegant footwear and researching innovative processes and materials to ensure maximum comfort to our customers even when they buy a leather shoe. After long years of studies, we have reached this goal, experience in the field, and the continuous updating on the market news. Besides, we wanted to give a green footprint to many of our collections, selecting eco-friendly materials, such as Merino wool for our iconic Wooly, or ecological rubber for the soles.



We also focused a lot on the digital sphere, making ourselves known and keeping a channel of communication open with our customers near and far. We have opened our social media with Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube and created a website with e-commerce, to be always reachable and tell a bit of us to those who follow us.

What are the iconic pieces that characterize the brand?

Our Wooly unisex sneaker is one of the most appreciated creations. It was created in collaboration with the designers of Reda Active.

It is a New Zealand Merino wool shoe, a tribute to our land known for its fine fabrics. Thanks to this material’s properties, it can be worn all year round (wool provides exceptional thermal comfort) and can be combined with a casual style, but also with a broken dress.



To celebrate our 50 years of activity, instead, we have created our Barberini, Belgian loafers with an exclusive design, made of calfskin, suede, and fabrics and with Flex processing, which combines maximum comfort with an elegant and ultra-trendy style. Last but not least, the Multicolor shoes that have made us known all over the world. This is a line of men’s brogues entirely handmade and dyed. One of their strengths lies in the extensive possibilities of customization, as the customer can choose the color of every single part of the shoe.



Which craft techniques are part of your heritage and still used today?

As already mentioned, we make extensive use of the Black Flex technique, one of our exclusive processes, which increases the shoe softness, giving it a particular aesthetic, but above all, considerable flexibility. Another traditional method that we still use for some models is hand dyeing, which gives the shoes unique shades of color.



Finally, there is the “stonewashed” process: as the name suggests, with this technique, shoes are “washed” with stones to give them a vintage effect, soften the leather and create a unique texture, with a gritty and very current style.

Plans for the future and what strategies are you developing to overcome this moment.

In this period, we are focusing a lot on the digital part: we continue to invest in online communication, but also to implement new services to meet the needs of our customers, such as the Virtual Shop.



The latter consists in the possibility of scheduling a video call on WhatsApp to virtually enter our laboratory and get advice on the sizes and style of our models. Beyond the fact that the relationship with people is one of the aspects we love most about our work, today more than ever, we believe that the human connection, even if at a distance, makes the difference for our customers and us.

Karim Rashid: welcome to Utopia, the future of design.

“If it’s style, it is a thing of the past.”– Karim Rashid




Let’s start with your training. Is there a figure who was like a mentor to you?

Early in my career, Ettore Sottsass taught me that there are many beautiful design objects, but you have to ask what they do for us? In the sense of human, inspiring objects, Memphis was a revelation. Many imposing design objects need to stand by themselves to impress. I always ask myself, what is left, if you take the design away? If it’s style, it is a thing of the past.

Also, Sottsass taught me not to be too much of an artist to be a great designer. I keep his vases, and a few Memphis works around to remind me of this. An artist is not a designer, and a designer is not an artist. What counts in the end is to help the world become a better place from aesthetics to human behavior, from the ecology to the economy. Hence design is a creative act, a social act, a political act, and an economic act.


Bladensburg Condo in Washington D.C.- 2019

During our conversations, you have mentioned you were also a student of Maestro Gaetano Pesce; what is that you learned and remember from Pesce as a teacher. Is there something of that time and of his teachings that still influence your work? And what is the best memory you have of this experience? 

I studied under Gaetano Pesce near Naples in 1983. Gaetano gave us an unusual assignment to design a drinking glass with a head or a person’s face. It was an unusual assignment. He reminded me of my father a lot because my father was quite figurative that way, and a sculpture and an artist, just like Gaetano. I learned from him the notion of Variance. Back in the 60s and 70s, he did many experiments where he would take a plywood box and inject polyurethane foam but not allow the box to fill up with foam fully. Every time he would open up the box, it would be a different chair. It was is non-serialized production. And I took his ideas of non-serialized production to a company called Nambe in Santa Fe back in the 90s. I used a CNC machine and created a software that the CNC machine would cut out of alloy vases. But because of the algorithm, it would cut a different form every time. This process was non-serialization through mass production, but obviously, I was doing it digitally. Whereas when Gaetano was doing the experiments, it was a hands-on way of creating non-serializations. He also did a beautiful table for Cassina where the workers poured the colored resin in the mold, and the colors world mix, so each table came out differently. That peculiarity was the most crucial aspect of his design philosophy.

Minimal and futuristic shapes are often the leitmotif of your creations. 


Heartbeat- Nienkamper- 2019

How would you define your style?

I don’t have a style. I focus on new social behaviors, new paradigms, new technologies, new materials, and embracing and mirroring the age we live in. To design using contemporary criteria, in turn, shapes the future. If I style, I only imitate the past.

Completely new shapes, volumes that develop within different volumes, shapes that overlap, you have given your best in fashion too. Among your collaborations with various brands, if you had to choose an experience that touched you particularly, which one would you prefer to tell us about?

I was greatly inspired when working on the HUGO BOSS Boat. Here was an opportunity to speak about speed, exclusivity, energy, power, and courage through the sailboat’s visual aesthetics. I intended to make a graphic statement by embracing new technologies and materials. I worked with Solar panels, techno paints, and techno printing technologies to shape a photogenic, memorable sailboat. Meeting Alex Thompson and touring the boat showed me the great passion needed for these races and projects. Meeting with HUGO Boss and the ATR team members, having a constant back and forth dialogue was essential in shaping the final design. Meeting with Stewart Hosford, showing me the carbon fiber samples helped steer us in the right direction for what we should base our design around. Using carbon as the direct inspiration for the livery as this boat is made of carbon fiber is the first of its kind.


Every round of designs required analysis from a performance perspective. It led to many iterations and revisions but ultimately helped us narrow down the best possible design functionally and aesthetically, marrying the Hugo Boss brand & ATR with my aesthetics. I have worn Hugo clothes and cologne for many years and always appreciated the simplicity but innovation of materials and perfection of quality. I understand the desire for innovative materials and the need to embrace new technologies in all they do. Hugo does not follow the flippant recycling of trends. I see myself with these same attributes- precision, elegance, minimal, yet humanized. 

Let’s talk about the future. What is innovation for you? Both in the field of fashion and design.

Innovation only comes when one focuses on contemporary issues and works with recent social changes, needs, and desires. Innovation and design are inseparable, as technology and design are also inseparable. Fashion should talk about how we live and not repeat antiquated derivative styles of the past. We live in a data-driven digital age, and like our digital tools, our physical world should have the same seamlessness, ease, immateriality, functionality, and smartness.


Karimotel- Concept Building Design

Why the choice of often bold colors? What is their meaning to you?

As a 5-year-old child, I loved neon colors and colors that were alive. Until today I find these colors (as accents) can change our mood, create more positivity, make us feel more alive. Color can alter our behaviors and elevate our mental well-being. Of course, color needs to be used in a very sensitive way, and then it can be a beautiful phenomenon, be it an entire building, an interior space, a product, a piece of furniture, a piece of clothing.

You are a reference point for design enthusiasts, a key figure for the new generations, especially for the transversal way you manage to develop your projects. What message would you like to give to them?

I would tell design enthusiasts and consumers to sincerely question what they’re purchasing, creating, and bringing into their homes. We must remember the obvious HUMAN issues in a product. Are consumers flippantly purchasing useless kitsch at the checkout? Are they assessing a product for criteria like Emotion, ease of use, technological advances, product methods, humor, meaning, and a positive, energetic, and proud spirit? 


Bounce- Concept Building Design

Can you tell us about your relationship with music?

I listen to a very broad range of music. Music affords me to concentrate, be inspired, dream, imagine, and become completely engrossed in what I am working on. It is an essential part of my process. I mostly listen to electronic or jazz – without lyrics since it takes me into my lyrical state of mind, and I also write my own lyrics while I am drawing.

This pandemic has forced us all to stop and reflect deeply. What do you imagine in the future of design?

Even in this hyper-consumptive world, in the future, we will own nothing – this is nature- we lease cars, we rent houses, and soon we will learn to lease or rent everything, experience it for a short while, and go on to the next. We will create a forever dynamic, ever-vast changing human condition, where everything will be cyclic, sustainable, biodegradable, customizable, personalizable, and seamless. This is Utopia, this is freedom, and this is nirvana. All the goods in the world will only exist if they give us a new or necessary experience. We will dematerialize.


Pebble Sink- Relax Design- Multicolor 2019

Eclectic characters like you are also great visionaries. Do you dream of something revolutionary?

In the next year, I plan on building my dream house! I’ve designed so many spaces for others, but this will be my own Utopia. For so long, I was inspired by Pierre Cardin’s Bubble House (Palais Bulles) in addition to his fashion and product design. The space is so soft, curved, organic, and conceptual. Like this, my dream home will engage technology, visuals, textures, lots of colors, and meet all the intrinsic needs of living a simpler, less cluttered, but more sensual envelopment. 


SWITCH, Dubai- 2020

Finally, the concept of sustainability seems to have entered concretely within the most varied areas of production. Could you give us your idea of quality of life”?

Recycling is in a cyclic paradigm now in the United States and many other countries. Conserving resources means using less raw materials and energy throughout a product’s entire life — from its development and manufacture to its use, reuse, recycling, and disposal. I am interested in biodegradable materials. I am trying to use bioplastics; the Garbo can is made of corn, and the Snap chair by Feek is made of 100% recycled polystyrene and is 97% air. A while ago, I designed packaging for a fast-food restaurant using starch and potatoes that are injection molded and have the exact appearance of plastic. These innovations are finally becoming part of the consumer zeitgeist.

Karim Rashid is one of the most groundbreaking, vibrant, and prolific designers of his generation. Over 4000 designs in production, over 300 awards, and working in over 40 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design. Each of his designs carries a unique color signature and fluidity that is inspiring and unforgettable.

His award-winning designs include luxury goods for Christofle, Veuve Clicquot, and Alessi, democratic products for Umbra, Bobble, and 3M, furniture for Bonaldo and Vondom, lighting for Artemide and Fontana Arte, high tech products for Asus and Samsung, surface design for Marburg and Abet Laminati, brand identity for Citibank and Sony Ericsson and packaging for Method, Paris Baguette, Kenzo and Hugo Boss.

Karim’s work is featured in 20 permanent collections and he exhibits art in galleries worldwide. Karim is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, I. D. Magazine Annual Design Review, IDSA Industrial Design Excellence award.

Illustrated portrait by Maria Angela Lombardi

Photo courtesy of Karim Rashid Studio in NY

www.karimrashid.com