It was perhaps only a matter of time before AIR MAIL joined forces with Chez Dede, one of Rome’s most stylish, inimitable boutiques. And so, at last, we are delighted to present our first capsule collection, a trio of scarves, featuring illustrations of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Henry Moore as children.
Chez Dede co-owner Andrea Ferolla, an artist well known for his hand-drawn depictions of Italian glamour, is a regular AIR MAIL contributor, so he was already intimately familiar with the publication’s look and feel.
“They’re obsessed by the elegance of ideas, by the amused sense of contemporary pop, by the refined use of politics, by the love for intelligent and subtle humor,” Ferolla says of AIR MAIL. “Not even a collaboration with Playboy would sound more natural to me.”
To illustrate Basquiat, O’Keeffe, and Moore, Ferolla immersed himself in their use of shape and color. The decision to show the artists as children was partially an exercise in self-reflection; the Chez Dede co-founder and creative director, who recognized from an early age that he wanted to be an artist (or perhaps a bullfighter), has often wondered if fellow artists had the same foresight about themselves. In an upper corner of each scarf, he has inscribed les enfants terribles.
The unisex pieces were co-designed by Air Mail co-editor Graydon Carter and made in Como, Italy, of 100 percent cotton. They can be worn in multiple ways: knotted around the neck, folded in the pocket of one’s jacket, tied around the handle of an accessory.
In addition to being sold through AIR MAIL’s own online storefront, AIR SUPPLY, shoppers can pick up one—or a few!—in person at Chez Dede on Via di Monserrato, in Rome. The business, which Ferolla runs with his wife, Daria Reina, sells an elegant selection of everything from pajamas and tote bags to hand-painted ceramics and lampshades.
Those who have visited the charming boutique, located in a historic façade within shouting distance of esteemed restaurant Pierluigi, have likely met Reina, a friendly, reliable presence within. Fiercely committed to serving a sophisticated international clientele, who are “not inclined to conformism,” Reina and Ferolla maintain a creative atelier in the same building.
That’s no coincidence. “We love to be closely connected to the store and what happens there,” says Ferolla. “We know that we gave a lot to the street where our shop is located, but today we can tell that we’re receiving a lot in return.”
David Foxley is a New York–based writer and editor
