An Open Secret

Carlotta Danti unveils sensual luxury for women with all the right curves, writes P.Ramakrishnan.


With the tacit approval of Kate Moss, Lucinda Chambers, Natalia Vodianova, Vanessa Paradis and other fashionable femmes, the Italian lingerie brand Rosamosario, with its signature rosette motif, answers the oft-asked question: what lies beneath?

Petticoats, culottes, bustiers, night robes, corsets, virginal white laces, bold shades of blood-red ribbons, coquettish contours covered in diaphanous damasks that just barely hold the girls in. Rosamosario isn't just haute, it's hot.

"I want to bring to the world the historical heritage of Italian craftsmanship, where hands move to develop the most unthinkable and desirable luxury," says founder Carlotta Danti.

Rosamosario is made in central Milan, where the doors to its boutique and workshop are open daily to customers, "So they can breathe the air of hand-making, like in the old times," Danti says. "Silks and cottons come from Italy, bought rough and hand washed. The lace that is key to our product range is imported from Calais in France, from the main couture houses."

Danti says she likes sensual women, and created Rosamosario for them. Years after Madonna famously brought underwear out, Rosamosario has honed the conical bra concept to a sophisticated sheen. When asked how it came about that her six-year-old brand has enraptured women around the world, she replies: "Being at the right place, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York where we kicked off back in 2005. Having the right product: elegant lingerie and 'lightwear', with just the right girls."

And what girls they are. Their official website can satiate any idoliser of models, with pixel after pixel of near-nude supermodels shot by photographers such as Bruce Weber, Juergen Teller, Paolo Roversi and Mario Testino.

"I remember the day of the shoot with Bruce Weber. He shot just before the sun rose, and then again when the sun went down," says Danti. "His best works are influenced by his great sensibility for natural light. He has this incredible connection with nature, so he shows nudity in a gentle, natural way. I think his pictures can be considered a page of history, and the portraits he made with Kate [Moss] and other supermodels, are an important page of my life."

Inside the company's brochure, there are layers of tulle curved as petals for a bouquet made of fabric. It's centred on a lacy panty worn by Moss. There's another striking image of her in a black lace ensemble next to a ballgown. There's a distinctly cheeky corset, and a topless Moss in a red lace rosette-patterned undergarment, wearing nothing more than patent red leather stilettos and a smile.

Yet amid the fragile beauty and flashes of flesh, there's a distinct lack of vulgarity. "The philosophy behind my lingerie and what I call a 'lightwear' collection of dresses was developed unconsciously from my family, my attention to beauty, female bodies and their movements," says Danti. "I think of the curves of my beautiful young mother, and I always remember her as an Italian Ursula Andress. I wanted to dress women with independent dreams, full of courage and with huge personalities."

In an industry that otherwise pays obeisance to reed-thin girls and teenage whims, Danti looks to real women with curves. Women like a particular Italian actress. "Monica Bellucci has never interpreted the passage of time, her ageing, as a case of abandoning her beauty," Danti says. "Instead, her strong seductive point is her maturing beauty. Italian women are famous for being beautiful as they mature. Women like Monica Bellucci, Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren."

Rosamosario's rose-print shoes will be worn by Bellucci in the film Manual Of Love 3, where she stars opposite Robert De Niro, and the screen siren has commissioned Rosamosario to make her lingerie outfits for her seductress role.

"What I like about Monica Bellucci is her interpretation of freedom. She understands that a woman can be sensual and seduce, rather than just being seduced." Danti tried to interpret Bellucci's curves for the shoes. "I created my first ever high-heeled sandals with printed chiffon and satin silks. Since then we have begun looking into shoes and have partnered with our Sicilian partners to create a new page in the history of Italian shoes."

On July 16, Rosamosario opened the doors of its new Hong Kong boutique - its first in Asia. As the brand steps into the East, Danti has been keeping a watchful eye on the region. "The powders, the colours, the flowers, petals and lightness of our materials conceived in our products embody the fragile beauty and purity of Asian women," she says.

If it's all too clear what lies beneath, the inevitable question is, what lies ahead? "We will be launching an exclusive, made-to-measure service for lingerie, for weddings and special occasions, which I will personally oversee," says Danti.

"Ladies will also be able to personalise and custom-make their look, head to toe, from their lingerie to their shoes. Rosamosario is a world, not just a product."

Rosamosario

UG/F, Manrich Court,
33 St Francis Street, Wan Chai