I saw this woman near Piazza di Spagna in Rome and couldn’t stop looking at her gorgeous silver hair.

My dear friend, Marisela Federici, threw me a beautiful lunch at her villa in Rome last week. I am traveling through South Africa this week for the premiere of Advanced Style The Documentary, but I will post more photos(and outfit changes) from our luncheon soon!

A few years ago I taught a course on Advanced Style at IED Roma. I had all my students go out on the street and photograph and interview older people and then share who they met with the rest of the class. Many of them had little contact with anyone outside their own peer groups and it was incredible to see how much they learned from this exercise. One of my favorite students, Eleonora Carrano, brought in her beautiful grandmother, Nonna Maria, to talk to the class about her work as a costume designer for the opera. All the students really enjoyed hearing Nonna Maria talk about her career and it gave them another perspective on what you can do with a degree in design. Last week I met up with Nonna Maria again and she was as vibrant and gorgeous as ever.

I love how confident the men and women I ask to photograph become in front of the camera. There is always a hint of Old Hollywood glamour in the way that they carry themselves. I remember looking through my grandmother’s old photo albums and thinking everyone looked so elegant in the 1930s and 40s. I am often reminded of these photos when I’m out shooting on the street.

I’ve had an incredible time in Rome for AltaRoma and now I’m off to Cape Town for MBFWCT’s screening of Advanced Style The Documentary. Have a great weekend everyone!