Updated: Nov 28, 2023
I was lucky enough to go to Milan with House & Garden for the Salone one year. It was quite a treat. I imagine the same excitement exists around Paris if you are in fashion. There are many things to get through when you are there, and with every queue, you pass you wonder if you are missing out on 'the' thing to see. One line we did not pass though was that of Dimore Gallery. The queue snaked down the spiral staircase; I looked at Ruth (Ruth Selightholme) and suggested it wouldn't be worth it. She insisted that we must persist. I thought to myself, "goodness, people are ridiculous. They see there's a queue, so it must be worth seeing—what idiots". Anyway, I think we all know who the idiot was. On entering, I can say that my senses were immediately thrilled. The rooms were filled with a buzz of other viewers, all vying to see every inch of the apartment. They'd tented one room with their Livorno fabric and played Les Reines Prochaines' cover of 'Wicked Game'. I walked out of that makeshift tent and a Dimore shaped arrow had been lodged in my heart. I could have been walking around the rest of that apartment with big heart-shaped glasses; everything I saw made my step that bit lighter. Well, as they say, that's Dimore...
Tuscan-born Emiliano Salci, formerly an art director at Cappellini, is one half of Dimore and the focus of This & Tat. He met the other half, Britt Moran, while working on a hotel project in Shanghai. In 2003 they founded Dimorestudio; Dimorestudio is a full-service, global architectural and design studio that spans residential, retail and hospitality projects and produces furnishings, textile and lighting designs under the name of Dimoremilano. 'Dimore' translates as dwelling in Italian, but it means more than that. Britt has remarked that it 'conjures up images of old villas clinging to their aristocratic origins'. No surprise that they harbour huge admiration for past Italian designers such as Carlo Scarpa, Max Ingrand and Gino Sarfatti to name but a few. Their projects are known for creating interiors with (as the New York Times puts it) a 'moody palette and a complex mixture of periods. The two create rooms that feel rich and spare, not through the use of opulent materials but a thoughtful juxtaposition of elements'. These elements have seen them partner with some of the likes of Dior, Hermès, Cire Trudon and Aesop and now how exciting...Tat. But as ever, I was so inspirited and very thankful for this brisk and brilliant Tete a Tat.
The place you feel happiest? Villa Necchi, Milan
(PHOTOS: Marina Denisova, Cereal)
Favourite Smell? Night Clubbing, Parfum by Celine
What kept you sane during a lockdown? My work at Dimore
Favourite Restaurant in the world?
La Latteria, Via San Marco
Your go-to drink? After water & coffee. Champagne
Any good advice? Who gave it to you?
Less is More, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
What would your autobiography be called?
Prohibited Colours
A film that you can watch again and again? Il conformista by Bernardo Bertolucci
Dream Car? A Greenish Porsche 911
Do you believe in Star Signs?
Yes and No, depends
A song that can always make your foot tap?
Heroes, David Bowie