Domenico Dolce0:05
First of all, I have to say that for us, Martini is a lifestyle, a bit like Dolce & Gabbana. It's a lifestyle, not just a drink. It's something more, something that goes beyond. We were inspired by Martini, and we've used this word, in quotes, many times. We took inspiration from a certain type of elegance, both masculine and feminine, in culture. Martini always used in its ads, in the imagination of everyone, beyond the drink, to show very sensual men, Latin lovers, very elegant men, typical of the image of Italy and Italians. It always represented women as beautiful, very sexy, very sensual. And we think this way of seeing—which Martini has always had—shares common points with our way of seeing beauty, both masculine and feminine. Well, in any case, we always remain in Italy, because it's always an Italian style.
We've been working with Martini for many years. We've been inspired by them for at least ten years. Consider that we have a bar in Milan and another in Shanghai called Martini, where we collaborate with them. We've asked for the rights more than once to print old advertising campaigns from the 60s, 70s, 80s of Martini. We have a fit of jackets and shirts called Martini, dedicated to this type of man—very Italian, very sensual—who represents Italy.
Maybe I remember it because I'm older than Stefano, yes, by four years. I remember when I lived in Polizzi Generosa, in the hot summers, like it's happening today. In the afternoons around six or seven, the aperitivo hour, these boys—the most handsome in the town—would arrive in their Lancia Fulvia or Alfa Romeo, especially red ones. These elegant, handsome boys, the famous 'belloni' of Sicily, the Latin lovers. All the foreign women—French, German, even Italian—would go crazy for them and come to Sicily on vacation to find the famous Latin lovers. I remember the triangular ashtrays with 'Martini' written on them, or the umbrellas with Martini. The bars were decorated just like that. In fact, when we opened our first bar, we had Martini bring out from their archive all the furnishings that recalled the 60s: glasses, ashtrays, umbrellas.
Being in Rome is extraordinary for us. We know Rome but we don't live it much. So being here, in the heart of Italian cinema, makes you already feel like cinema. Rome is the eternal city, the city of dreams, the city of La Dolce Vita, the city of Roman Holiday. I think when you go around the world and talk about Italy, the first word they say is Rome. Rome is a great dream. The city is the Roman Empire. It's another code of identity. There are many codes: Martini can be a code, Dolce & Gabbana can be a code, Rome can be a code. They are identifying codes.
The campaign was born a bit—we didn't exactly tailor it for ourselves, but we did. We thought of a typical Italian woman being followed by equally typical Italian men. You find yourself in a bar and discover this Martini, but there's all this mystery from start to finish. When you get to the end, you discover this woman drinks Martini.
La Dolce Vita is not a place. It's knowing how to appreciate everyday things, to give value to everything, to live in the present. To have the ambition to grow but not the obsession to live the next moment without living the moment you are actually living.
Monica... it's a bit difficult to talk about Monica because it's very simple but also complicated. We are very good friends. She started her modeling career when we started as designers. When Jonas asked us to have a woman in this spot, he said, 'Sure, you're free to choose whoever you want.' I said, 'Who would you like?' Monica Bellucci. So you see, it comes back to that. Monica Bellucci is also a code. You say Monica Bellucci and you think of Italy: a sweet woman, a female, a sort of Anna Magnani of today. So this is what people imagine, what they see.
