“Rome is like walking through a
museum. Everywhere you turn,
you see something incredible,” says Irene
Forte, speaking like a honey-tongued tour
guide. The 30-year-old could be describing the
historic Spanish Steps—or a luminous woman
descending them, fresh from a volcanic-stone
facial at the newly opened Hotel de la Ville Spa.
Born into the Rocco Forte hotel empire (her
father is the entrepreneur Sir Rocco Forte) and
now its wellness director, Forte admits to having
a convenient muse for the concept, which is
set to roll out across nine European locations:
“The spa is created with my generation in
mind,” she says. “Wellness is a daily pursuit
for us.” That holistic mentality plays out in the
photogenic interiors, painted in a Southern
Italian palette and incorporating lush plant walls,
while therapeutic treatments include a salt
room and anti-inflammatory infrared loungers.
Just as thoughtfully designed is her namesake
skin-care range, which launched exclusively
on Net-a-Porter this summer and made its
in-spa debut earlier this year. “It’s considered
beauty,” Forte says of the clean, active formulas
she cheekily refers to as “the Mediterranean
diet for skin.” The ingredients are fittingly local:
Hand-picked, alpha hydroxy acid–rich orange
blossoms, sourced from the sprawling organic
farm at the family’s Verdura Resort in Sicily,
turn up in a skin-smoothing face oil; the island’s
pomegranates lend brightening vitamin C to a
face mask enriched with avocado oil, aloe vera
juice, and shea butter. Even the sustainable
glass packaging is attuned to the moment,
as are the recycled-paper boxes in a shade
of Castelvetrano olive green. Translating that
Italian sensibility is second nature to Forte, an
Oxford alum who lately shuttles between her
London home and Hotel de la Ville’s 18th-century
palazzo. Luckily, she reveals, her hydrating
Pistachio Face Mask works just as well in the
spa as it does mid-flight.—EMMA ELWICK-BATES
BEAUTY
FEED YOUR FACE
IRENE FORTE’S HYDRATING PISTACHIO FACE MASK.
BACKGROUND: EXFOLIATING ORANGE-BLOSSOM
EXTRACT IS SOURCED FROM AN ORGANIC FARM AT
HER FAMILY’S VERDURA RESORT IN SICILY.
A hotel scion fuses Mediterranean ingredients and modern
well-being for a new skin-care range and spa.
Roman Holiday
the chickens who produce your eggs are treated, you want to see
where the fur comes from. I believe in total transparency—for every
material we use, we have a certificate that you can trace.”
Michael Kors
“There have been so many wonderful technological advances in
materials that give me the ability to create luxurious items using
nonanimal fur without giving up style and quality. People expect
to have more choice than ever before, and fashion reflects that.
Today’s generation is more curious than previous generations,
and they’re open to new options—they embrace change
wholeheartedly.”
Yves Salomon designer
“The biggest issue facing the planet today is plastic, which I
think is far more important than the debate over fur. Luxury
is natural—the difference between real and faux fur is
immediately obvious when you put them next to each other. I
have been working with the American designer Andre Walker
on a line called Pieces, which is about upcycling—using only
unsold materials. I accept that there are some people who
don’t want to wear fur, but we have fought for freedom of
decision and for the culture and history of craftsmanship, and
we cannot throw that in the Hudson—or the Seine.”
Kym Canter founder of House of Fluff
“There is so much innovation going on now with faux-fur textiles
that it just feels like a more modern fabric to work with. Also,
young people today do not see real fur as a status symbol—
they define luxury as innovation and sustainability. And the
new faux-fur textiles will get better and better. We are working
on creating a bio-based faux fur with no polyester at all—for fall,
we have created a faux fur made from 100 percent recycled
ocean plastics.”
Astrid Andersen
Danish designer who collaborates with Saga Furs
“The Nordic mentality has always been about sustainability—we
have a strong history of buying less and buying better. For me, fur
is the most sustainable material you can work with—my mom
still has the coat she bought 25 years ago. The biggest problem
in the industry is fast fashion—and we also need to consider the
environmental impact of producing fake fur. I understand that this
is an emotional subject, but we need to have the conversation—
it’s not black-and-white; there are nuances. Why is it that I can talk
to a vegetarian and maybe be inspired, and there isn’t a bucket of
red paint involved?”
Olivier Rousteing Balmain
“I made the decision to not use fur about a year and a half ago. I
saw so many documentaries and just thought, I cannot do this
anymore. Now suppliers are working to make sure that faux fur
can look like a real fur, and it’s already pretty insane what they can
create. Then again, if you don’t want to wear real fur, maybe you
won’t be interested in faux fur, either. It could be that the fashion
industry is just interested in following a trend, but for me, if you
decide to stop using fur, you don’t go back. We need to be careful—
and we need to believe in what we do.”@
VLIFE
COURTESY OF IRENE FORTE
