My first football shirt, the Fiorentina home kit, arrived from Florence back in 1998. It had Gabriel Batistuta’s surname on the back and made me totally happy. Along with bringing natural joy to my life, it also started my longest hobby, which has been lasting for more than 25 years. During that time, my shirt collection has grown into a huge pack of around 300 units and is still replenished regularly.
I always liked the idea of mixing fashion and football. But this specific notion of using shirts from my collection as a central element of a conceptual photo story belongs to my wife, muse, and favourite model Kristina. I had been shaping it in my head for about a year, and finally, this January, after spending a week in wonderful Italian Liguria, I decided on a particular geographical background to this story.
Ultimately, the whole thing with the shirts started with the Italian club, so it seemed quite natural to build narrative around the image of Italian calcio girl. The one living somewhere in Bologna, Genoa, Venice, or Rome. The one dating a ragazzo from the Curva. The one watching a "Serie" Game every weekend. The one enjoying her time in local pubs and discos. Prada, Gucci, or Armani? She prefers Luigi Ferraris, Pier Luigi Penzo, and Stadio Olimpico. Calcio Femminile is not a story about women’s football. This is the story of a girl who lives football and takes football as a style. Treating football as Her Game.
*This project is our tribute to all female football supporters and those girlfriends, partners, and wives who follow their men to the stadiums. You make this game and our lives truly beautiful.
