SUSPENDED DREAMS.

14 dresses for 14 walls

photo exhibition by Guido Taroni

"What about us?

Are we clothed with time or stripped of time?

Will we be even when we are no longer?

In the closets our clothes will remain.

In memory our words and thoughts.

But will our bodies be taken away from our souls?

Or will only these robes of lost bodies remain of all that we have been?

Clothes of time, unconscious memory."

Vittorio Sgarbi

The discovery of a closed trunk from more than eighty years old found in an attic of the ancient villa Erba to Cernobbio has unearthed a group of elegant "haute couture" dresses that belonged to Guido Taroni′s great-grandmother, Carla Erba Visconti di Modrone.

All one-of-a-kind pieces created by the most prestigious fashion houses of the era such as the famous Sartoria Ventura; the Milanese tailor´s shop, founded in 1815 from Domenico Ventura, boasted a large international clientele and was a Supplier to the Royal Household.

Other dresses are signed by the well-known atelier H.Haardt et Fils, which dressed the wealthy Lombard aristocracy and bourgeoisie by copying French models.

Dresses with simple lines are enriched from elaborate decorations; smooth dresses from evening in light materials such as crèpe satin or crèpe georgette illuminated from crystals and diamonds.

Embroideries and appliqués, metallic and colorful textures, mostly gold and silver. Sequins, beads and chiffon flowers adorn silks and velvets creating elegant and sensational looks.

Other adornments consisted of from flounces, bows, leather and fur inserts that went to garnishing sleeves and collars.

These are not ordinary clothes but valuable from finds to document; so Guido decides to archive them by photographing them one by one. Hanging the first dress on a terrace wall, he looks into the lens and notices that the dress, with a breath of wind, moves as if to "coming back to life."

Thus was born the inspiration to "set" each of the dresses. For all fourteen haute couture pieces, he carefully chose a different background, as if each one required a different setting to resume "life and meaning" in this subtle dialogue.

The wispy, washed-out, discolored and crumbling old walls then make from frame and from support for the clothes so that the chromatics and hues are in perfect harmony with the colors of each individual dress. These refined pairings, in addition to to making the photographs unique and authorial, let the inexorable passage of time and changes in fashion be clearly perceived.

The emotion that pervades those who observe them is a mixture of nostalgia for the elegance of a bygone time and poignancy for the time that devours everything.

The exhibition will be opened at to Racani Arroni Palace Sunday June 26, to following and corollary to the event. "Tribute to Luchino Visconti" - Teatro Caio Melisso Spazio Carla Fendi at 12.00.

GUIDO TARONI understood what he wanted to do from grown up even before he became one. After finishing high school he passionately devoted himself to photography. His first work experience is at the Sancassani studio to Milan where he becomes interested in architectural photography; after an effective internship with his uncle Giovanni Gastel he becomes one of his assistants. He burns the stages: to 17 years his first cover, photo shoots for major events, catalogs and magazines, advertising campaigns and portraits, collaborations with designers of famous fashion houses such as Stephan Janson, Lorenzo Riva, Coccinelle, Malo, Luisa Beccaria. She also works for magazines such as Gioia, Sportweek, Elle Décor, Vogue Gioiello, Elle Sposa and Vogue Sposa and collaborates for important fashion websites including the new Vogue Italia website. She participates in the creation of valuable illustrated book editions such as "Le terre delle cascine" Celip Editions and a volume on the works of Milanese architect Piero Castellini.

When he puts the camera down, because of his style, that innate class that sets him apart, he also becomes a model for advertising campaigns such as Tod′s, North Sails and catalogs including Massimo Alba and Sharmoon. He participates to editorials for Esquire, Style, Sportweek and L′Hofficiel Hommes, which dedicates an eight-page feature to him. He is also chosen among the faces of "Italian Touch," the book Donata Sartorio created for Diego della Valle. In April 2011, Traveller dedicates the cover of the issue to him.

He gets his creative sensibility and aesthetic beauty from his family′s environment, his eclectic collector father, a scholar of painting and decorative arts, and his mother, a lover of music, film and theater.

to twenty-one years his first solo exhibition: "Suspended Dreams" opened to Milan on December 15, 2009, an exhibition that was a great success with the public and critics. Even Maurizio Costanzo, took an interest in the event with an interview and Vittorio Sgarbi commented on the exhibition with a touching poetic piece.

With experience he refines the taste for detail. Guido says "I′m going to transform you," and then he really transforms you into an ideal of beauty that lies in simplicity and balance of form. By following this criterion he has found his style.

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