Author: Alessia Caliendo

Sara Penelope Robin, multi-talented tiktoker

Posted on by Alessia Caliendo

In the middle of a scorching summer, in the perpetual motion of scrolling on TikTok, a brilliantly performed monologue appears. Face and voice are of Sara Penelope Robin, half Amelie, for her bob hairstyle of her transalpine cousins, and half Sophia Loren in Matrimonio all’italiana.
Princesses and broccoli, local thrift markets and clear inflections of Campania, the eclectic creator, actress and musician quickly catalyses attention and urges people to follow in her footsteps. In fact, she has already been noticed by The Jackal and, later, by Propaganda Live, which catapulted her onto the screen being one of her most successful sketches.

Sara Penelope Robin
Abelia jacket Diesel, top and trousers MarcoBologna, plain calf leather boots Boss, sunglasses Balenciaga

Political elections and feminism, the health situation and social themes involving an entire generational cross-section: MANINTOWN tells her story in an exclusive interview and shoot, with the certainty that we will soon see her go a long way.

You juggle acting, singing, articulation, solfeggio, classical guitar and dance. Do you feel that, thanks to TikTok, the moment of breakthrough has come?

Absolutely. Although I have already been creating content for other social networks for about ten years, TikTok has been a real springboard, it has allowed me to be known by a wider audience and many insiders. Just think of 99 Posse, with whom I had the honour of singing at the concert at the Arena Flegrea, and Lello Arena with whom I made a video. Thanks to social media I visited RAI studio for the first time and, thanks to the fame I gained, I participated in Propaganda Live.

Sara Penelope Robin Youtube
Total look Pinko, long boots Bally

“My creations come from the need to bring a very precise message”

You have a brother, Gennaro, who is supporting you and with whom you opened a YouTube channel. How much has your professional daily life changed in the last period?

We don’t work together much anymore because he has dedicated himself to new projects and to studying computer programming. However, he remains my best friend and advisor. We have common points of view and are kindred spirits despite our character differences, which complete and compensate each other.

As author and performer of your monologues,in the past you have dedicated yourself to the production of short movies and podcasts. How do you structure your creative process/flow and what are your main sources of inspiration?

My creations come from the need to bring a very precise message, from there I begin to build the scene, as well as the music from series and podcast soundtracks on YouTube.

There is a lot of inspiration, from everyday life to docufilm, from 19th century theatre to TV. My muses are actresses such as Monica Vitti, Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani; the cinema of reference is that of Fellini, Pasolini, Totò, Massimi Troisi and Nanni Moretti, while the musical settings range from 70s rock to Italian singer-songwriters to contemporary rappers, like Fabri Fibra.

Sara Penelope Robin TikTok
Total look Roberto Cavalli

“There is a lot of inspiration, from everyday life to docufilm, from 19th century theatre to TV”

Would you like to explain to readers your artistic name, which is fundamental in understanding your performative approach?

Sara is the name my parents chose for me, the one that contains my essence as Body, Soul and Spirit. The rest have become the real personage, my feminine and masculine sides: Penelope and Saverio. The first name, as the princess of our inner castle and front-woman of the ‘group’, cannot stand the other two names, too Neapolitan for her taste, and decides to call her Robin. Hence the name Sara Penelope Robin.

Dsquared2 sunglasses
Sunglasses Dsquared2

I think this is your first hybrid shoot between visual storytelling and fashion. On social media, you also like to share moments of your everyday life, such as your trips to flea markets and your passion for vintage. What did you enjoy about this slick experience?

It was almost a mystical moment, thanks to which I discovered a part of me that I had taken little notice of until now. The whole team was very kind and made me feel at ease. I’m really happy, I’ll take wonderful memories back to Naples.

Sara Penelope Robin social
Sara Penelope Robin social
Left: total look Antonio Marras; right: total look John Richmond

John Richmond women
Total look John Richmond

Credits

Talent Sara Penelope Robin

Editor in Chief Federico Poletti

Production, interview and styling Alessia Caliendo

Photographer Simone Paccini

Stylist assistant Andrea Seghesio

Hair Kemon

Make-up Maddalena Brando

Location Four Points by Sheraton Milan Center

Special thanks to Base V Juicery www.basevjuicery.com

Opening image: Sara Penelope Robin wears Abelia jacket Diesel, top and trousers MarcoBologna, plain calf leather boots Boss, sunglasses Balenciaga

Reinvention is art: the multifunctional sales space Dover Street Market

Posted on by Alessia Caliendo

In the early days of the department store, Dover Street Market CEO Adrian Joffe, and husband of Rei Kawakubo, the mastermind behind Comme De Garçons, was wondering: “Can Dover Street Market leave Dover Street?” The answer was yes, and years later, it can be found in London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Los Angeles, Beijing and the French capital.

In Paris, as part of the French government’s plan to renew the city, he decided to experiment with a new format named ‘3537’, a multifunctional platform named after the address of its headquarters in the city, at the Hôtel de Coulanges in 35-37 Rue des Francs Bourgeois. The project features entertainment activities that blend with shopping experiences, with the goal of hosting music concerts, exhibitions, ballets and film screenings.

Radical thinking has always been part of the duo’s working method.  

Suffice to say how, in 1999, they chose to open a store in the Chelsea neighbourhood in New York, at a time when few galleries were busy settling in the area. 

Rei Kawakubo founded Comme des Garçons in 1969, and in 1981, its first Parisian show broke all the canons of contemporary aesthetics in a whirlwind of chaos and creation. South African by birth, Adrian Joffe, is part of the brand’s evolution. While searching for a new location for the Comme des Garçons flagship store, Joffe came across Dover Street, former home to the Institute of Contemporary Art. Initially, the idea was to acquire just the ground floor, but “why not take the whole building and host a large creative community?”, just like how it happened in Kensington Market, the dearest place to Kawakubo’s London heart, where she first found herself in the 1960s. Kensington was a bazaar of unprecedented contaminations that had fueled London’s underground culture in the decades before. Named ‘The Best Shop in the World’, DSM was the turning point of their careers. Four names joined for the creation of exclusive products for the launch of the concept store: Hedi [Slimane], Raf [Simons], Alber [Elbaz] and Azzedine [Alaïa].  Other watersheds were the arrival of Phoebe Philo’s iconic Céline collection in 2009, Nicolas Ghesquière’s first collection for Louis Vuitton in 2014, as well as Alessandro Michele’s fresh visions for Gucci in 2015. And those were just a few of the stages that led to the leap that in 2021 has opened new horizons.

“We give people freedom, but with a fair share of rules,” Joffe has repeatedly stated. 

Supervision at each shop is manic. Rei takes care of the group’s image, its shared spaces and the Comme brands, delegating other responsibilities to Adrian. “If she was only approaching the things she likes, we would have nothing. Rei likes people that work hard and have something to say. That’s the only selection criterion”. It is a department store that places the role of the salesperson and its training philosophy at the centre of its universe. The company structure is horizontal, strategically enlightened and aimed at sustainable growth.

“And do you find this job fun?” “Fun is not really the right word.” Joffe replies.  “It’s exciting. It’s what I do. There’s satisfaction in working. There are a lot of problems – with designers and their egos, the dynamics with Rei. It’s a nightmare, really, but it’s what keeps us going. There’s no progress without fight. If it were easy, everyone would do it. It also means thinking about the future. There will be a day when she’s gone. We have to think about it… But that’s another matter.”

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER