WITHOUT THE MASK

Rossella Fiamingo
Two-Time Fencing World Champion

16 March 2021

Up early for a hearty breakfast and its full speed ahead. This is my routine before arriving at the competition venue. After arriving at the facility, I take in the atmosphere of the place. I look around and try to settle in as soon as possible, but I can’t fully relax until I put on my mask. Thrust after thrust, I loosen up and feel more and more at ease and when I concentrate on the assault, I become myself. The me that I can’t fully be when my face is uncovered.

Tuesday 11th January

The routine is the same as in a competition, but this time I find myself playing the role of a model. It's time to put on makeup, but I don't get to wear a mask! I begin to familiarize myself with the article that will make me come out of my shell: the boots. I immediately think about character, because I see style and innovation in those boots. I put them on and start posing for the first shots. I feel proud, romantic and at the same time very strong. The El Vaquero team and I get to know each other better between one shot and the next, and once I embrace the full experience, I start enjoying the landscape. I feel like a privileged tourist who takes photos of places with her eyes and who is photographed in a new world full of emotions. Tuscany amazes me, I see incredible places that I never thought existed in Italy! I walk on the silver sand of the gulf of Baratti, I climb the Populonia tower, I sit on the pier near the red house. I feel good surrounded by nature and I live the two days of the shoot with intensity. I am convinced that I don’t need a mask, I don’t even try to find a replacement that will save me from embarrassment. In a completely natural way, my personality goes from head to toe and makes me fall in love with something that is not simply a boot but much more. I feel at home with the entire team and we share the same passion ... a love for beautiful things.