The evolution of Mediterranean Aesthetics in 2022

The smell of bougainvillea in bloom, the sound of sea waves in the distance, the taste of a ripe tomato, the coolness of the wind at sunset when the sun sinks into the horizon. In 2020, these were the elements of the Mediterranean aesthetic featured in the Chanel Balade en Méditerranée video signed by Massimiliano Bomba on the occasion of the digital presentation of the brand's Cruise 2021 collection. The video shot in Capri was a celebration of the Mediterranean summer: a palette of sensations that easily connect to the blue of the sea, the green of the pine trees, the off-white saltiness of the plaster of seaside houses, the condensation on the glass of white wine during a summer dinner. It is a familiar and delicate aesthetic, a special kind of escapism turned toward pure, almost childlike pleasures and sensations, which began as a visual trend on Instagram and which today many fashion brands are discovering by aligning themselves also aesthetically with the changing meaning of luxury itself. The very release of that video marked the beginning of an increasingly powerful fascination that fashion has felt for Mediterranean settings. One of the most famous locations of Mediterranean tourism, Capri, has remained its symbol: the latest project to land on the island is Louis Vuitton's Librairie Éphémère, preceded by Etro, which opened a boutique on the island, used it as the location for one of its Liquid Pasley Beach events, and even decorated the Pegaso Suite at the local Hotel Punta Tragara; also on Capri (along with the other main Mediterranean beaches of Saint Tropez, Forte dei Marmi and Mykonos) Valentino plans to set the events of the Valentino Escape capsule while in May the island was the stage for Pucci's major relaunch at the hands of Camille Micieli.

Loewe Paula's Ibiza SS22

Etro Liquid Paisley Capsule

Vivienne Westwood SS22 Campaign

Rick Owens SS22

Prada SS22

Jacquemus "Le Splash" Campaign

Jil Sander+ SS22 Campaign

Lorenz SS22

Loro Piana "La Dolce Vita" collection

Namesake FW21 Campaign

Celine SS22 "Baie des Anges"

Celine SS22 "Cosmic Cruiser"

Bottega Veneta SS22 Campaign

Ambush SS22 Campaign

1017 Alyx 9SM SS22

In recent history, however, the brand that has made the Mediterranean aesthetic its credo is Jacquemus. From shows in Marseille and Provence, through the recent Le Splash campaign with Bad Bunny, Simon Porte Jacquemus has shaped his brand around this set of summer sensations that find body in garments that echo its muted colors, relaxed fits, and the innocent sensuality of inches of exposed skin. Bottega Veneta, too, in its new Blazy-era SS22 campaign took its bags among rocks, waves and half-naked models in the water. Lookbooks and videos of fashion brands' SS22 collections kept the trend going throughout last year: Prada used Sardinia for the finale of its video collection, Rick Owens the Venice Lido, 1017 Alyx 9SM chose Stromboli as the backdrop for its digital-show, Ambush's Yoon Ahn preferred Lanzarote, Vivienne Westwood explored the streets and beaches of Naples, Jil Sander and Loewe those of Ibiza while Hedi Slimane paraded Celine's menswear collection on the Île du Grand Gaou and the womanswear collection on the seafront of Nice while Loro Piana made Monopoli and Ostuni the backdrop for its "La Dolce Vita" campaign. Last October, on the other hand, it was emerging brand Namesake that set the FW21 campaign shots on the coast of Marseille while London-based Lorenz based its entire SS22 collection released in May on Italian and Neapolitan references with graphics that read "Amalfi Kite Flyers," "Osteria della Nonna," and a shirt whose name is literally "Greetings from Naples."

Meanwhile, high-street brands such as Mango and Guess have also held many of their activations in Sicily, attracting droves of influencers, while Dolce & Gabbana have filled Ortigia with international stars such as Sharon Stone, Helen Mirren and Mariah Carey for their Alta Sartoria show.  Also Sicily, by the way, will be the backdrop for the acclaimed HBO series The White Lotus, which will further increase the island's visibility. Meanwhile, over the course of the year, fashion brands have been indulging with boutiques in numerous other Mediterranean cities: Fendi and Cartier have opened boutiques in Mykonos, Marni and Blumarine in Forte dei Marmi, Balenciaga and Thom Browne in Saint Tropez, Dior in Dubai and Paraggi, and Chanel in Bodrum and Saint-Tropez. Bottega Veneta, on the other hand, made the enplein by opening seven boutiques in Portofino, Saint Tropez, Capri, Forte dei Marmi, Mykonos, Marbella and Puerto Banus and basically colonizing luxury tourism itineraries. Other maisons, on the other hand, have decided to use their visual and textile languages to brand the increasingly exclusive on-the-beach experiences: from Missoni opening the Resort Club at Le Carillon beach in Paraggi to Burberry organizing beach club takeovers in Saint-Tropez where, by the way, Louis Vuitton opened a new restaurant some time ago-not to mention the various brands that have entered the hospitality business outside the Mediterranean, in Miami, the Hamptons or the various tropical islands scattered across the various oceans.

The difference between Jacquemus and all the other brands mentioned above lies in the importance that the French brand places on its Instagram profile, which is together a moodboard of the brand, promotional platform and personal instagram and whose same aesthetic is communicated in a more direct version and suitable for social. In fact, like every visual trend of recent years, the Mediterranean aesthetic was born and developed mainly thanks to an ecosystem of Instagram pages that synthesize this mood in photos of beaches and marine scenarios, architecture of simple houses or luxurious resorts and dishes of spaghetti sea view. The most famous - recently emerged thanks to Chiara Ferragni - is @italysegreta, a collection of photos of hidden corners in Italy, among aperitifs on the terraces of Panarea up to the natural baths of Saturnia. A mood that lingers on the naivetè of Italy of the 50s and 70s, a place already frequented by the international jet-set but still intact in its identity, not devalued by the massification of tourism nor committed to chasing the myth of modernity. It was Jacqueline Kennedy's Capri, Brigitte Bardot and Gigi Rizzi's Saint Tropez, the French Riviera and the Aegean populated by the yachts of the Onassis, the Agnelli and the Al-Fayed from whose trampoline overlooked melancholy Lady D.

The other Instagram strand linked to Mediterranean aesthetics instead uses architecture or food as a means of synthesis. @elegantheather , @dream_casa and the mysterious account @rymuppet post photos of summer houses: white, vast spaces and muted colors dominate in spacious terraces that house flush pools, often overlooked by flowery canopies and flower pots. It is a precise architectural aesthetic that respects tradition in materials (living rock for example) but manages to integrate it with more modern lines in favor of simplicity. The @_____CV______ account instead posts photos of enchanted picnics in the middle of fields, rustic aperitifs at sunset, fresh fruit breakfasts aesthetically arranged on an immaculate tray. In both cases the escapist element consists of a "return to nature": what the spacious seaside villas, the sunny Mediterranean landscapes and frugal foods symbolize is a more genuine and, in some ways, more carnal life, made of simple and immediate pleasures and characterized by freshness - freshness of water, colors, food.

Returning to Chanel's "Ballade en Méditerranée", it's no coincidence that this aesthetic has made the leap from brands such as Jacquemus, Jil Sander and Bottega Veneta, towards the luxury commercial mainstream. The motivations are varied, certainly the current historical moment pushes all the creative industries to produce content that makes dream of a reassuring world, made of simple and nostalgic sensations of childhood and sea life – a world curiously opposed to that of the big city, industrialism and small holidays. It is a change in the line with the transition from Old to New Luxury: the promise that Chanel makes to its consumers does not focus on the opulent product, on the apparition and belonging to the social class normally associated with luxury, but instead on a type of simplicity that until a few years ago was popular and that instead has now become luxury , where the most precious goods become the elementary but infinite concepts of space and time.