Kisses left, kisses right – the greeting with Fabrizio Di Paolo was very italian! When I came to the Pitti Uomo (89) with our good friend Ralph Widmer for the first time, I was very lucky being photographed by Fabrizio – at that time it was Fabrizios second time photographing at the Pitti Uomo. In summer 2016 Szymon and I had the chance to meet & talk to him face to face. Since then we always greet each other and have a little chat when Fabrizio has got a few seconds – he likes to chat with the people around the Pitti, even if there is no time for it. With every Pitti Uomo Fabrizio gets more important for the Pitti – this time he was even invited by the organizers!

So for us the work begins the night before the opening of the Pitti Uomo – combined with an Aperol Spritz! During the interview his assistant Davide takes some pictures.
Modest! That would be the first attribute I would think of talking about Fabrizio! He describes hisself as enthusiastic, ambitious and positive. He’s pointing on my glass saying that in his eyes the glass is always full – I wished it was in that moment…
His first Pitti Uomo was in summer 2015 – his best friend Giorgio Giangiulio brought him there because he needed a professional photographer – at that time he was introduced to many people by Giorgio.
He likes the Pitti – the special about the Pitti is that it’s the only fair which is highly concentrated on classy menswear. He also visits Florence when there is no Pitti – but always to work there. And when he’s in Florence, he doesn’t miss these three things:
– Breakfast at Gilli
– Dinner in Perseus
– Drinks in Colle Bereto
He’s also very impressed by the art and history of the city – but he doesn’t find the time to explore it.

In his hometown Abruzzo, at the Adriatic Coast, he likes to visit the Trabocco, a restaurant directly in the sea, to eat fish and drink good wine. The pictures look nice – we should visit Abruzzo!
But in his opinion it’s not the most stylish city when you think about classy menswear – not even Florence or Milan. Naples! All the small details that you find in the looks of the men in the streets and the fabrics and combinations make Naples to his most stylish city!

In the whole interview his words and his attitude let us know that Fabrizio is a photographer with a huge passion for this profession. He sees hisself as his biggest reviewer so he always tries to improve hisself – right now he’s working everyday so he maybe can work more relaxed and more successful in 1-2 years. But right now it’s the moment to put all his effort into work. He wants to impress people and tell stories with his pictures.

If he takes pictures of you at the Pitti Uomo, you fulfill some criteria. He’s not a big fan of men who dress with too many different colors and too many different fabrics. He likes classy men with a good view for details. Himself would never go to the Pitti Uomo for being photographed – „I always want to be the photographer!“.

No question for us that he is „THE photographer“ –
when we think of Pitti we are always very excited to meet Fabrizio!
Maybe we’ll meet him in Abruzzo or he will visit us in Bremen – then we can enjoy a glass of rum and have more good conversations. But until then we’re always more excited to go to the Pitti, knowing that we’ll meet Fabrizio!

Fabrizio Di Paolo Photography
Fabrizio Di Paolo Instagram

Salute!