Milan Fashion Week!

February 27th, 2012 by Hotel Fashionland received Comments Off

The raffish grandson of former Fiat chairman and style icon Gianni Agnelli, Elkann is the quintessential Italian playboy who has slalomed a fine line between his aristocratic lineage and his wild side (his untamable locks and boyish good looks landed him on GQ’s list of the world’s 25 Sexiest Men last year). Innately charming and surprisingly humble, he has what the Italians call sprezzatura, the art of making elegance and intelligence so natural they seem accidental. 

At 34, the New York–born and Paris-bred Elkann has already reinvented himself several times over. Six years ago, the aspiring industrialist ended up on the front page of every Italian newspaper after nearly dying of a drug overdose. The incident involved a slew of unseemly characters—including a 54-year-old transvestite prostitute who ultimately saved Elkann’s life by calling an ambulance.

Elkann left Italy and cleaned himself up. He returned a year later with the primary goal of revamping his reputation. Now he wants to do the same for his country’s reputation.“Italy is at a turning point where we have to prove ourselves internationally. I think Italy has all the potential to do it if people can just put aside all the bullshit and stick to what’s important for the nation,” Still, Elkann adamantly denies being a man of fashion. “I do not follow the rules of fashion, and I don’t like to be considered a man of the world of fashion,” he says. “I like to call it the style industry because we try to work on taste.” He may be painstakingly stylish, but Elkann is also painfully human, which is part of his appeal. He wears his mistakes as badges of honor, and as reminders of the importance of perseverance. He thinks Italy can do the same with its current crisis. “A new vision for this country will help it overcome difficulty,” he says. “I hold hope that Italy can get back on track.” Take it from someone who knows.

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