Fabrizio D’Aloisio – La grande bellezza

The greatest happiness for a creative person is that he is free to do what he likes. Only a true photography. And only true talent, like a water sprout breaking through the asphalt, will gain recognition and success. Fabrizio D’Aloisio, Swiss-Italian creative director, photographer, and author, is a marvelous example of diversifying talent in different fields.

ALEKSEY NILOV    Fabrizio, in whatenvironment was your vision of the world formed?

FABRIZIO D’ALOISIO    I am the son of Italian emigrants who came to Switzerland in the early seventies. Thanks to them, I grew up in the beautiful mountain village of Klosters, where many celebrities from England and the USA used to spend their winter vacations. Such tourist villages always have two worlds, to put it bluntly, that of the poor and somewhat rural locals and that of the wealthy, well-traveled guests. I could observe both worlds when I was a child.

AN    Which photographers have inspired you?

FD’A    I’m not the typical photographer who had his heroes from an early age. I actually always wanted to be a writer or at least a reporter. All creative professions that summed up the lifestyle I liked. But if I had to say a few names today, it would be Robert Capa, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Slim Aarons, or Peter Knapp and Peter Vann – all in their own way. I personally have a great relationship with the latter two.

AN    You were the creative director of the ski resort in St. Moritz. At what point did you decide to focus on photography?

FD’A    It has always been an honor to work for the St. Moritz Ski Resort over the years. It’s like having an extra passport, and you can do things you can only dream of in other places. At some point, you realize that the years go by and you want to discover your own projects. Then, it’s time to let others take the reins. Or as Peter Knapp always says: “If you’re creative, you don’t want to repeat yourself”. You have to move on.

AN    You are credited with reviving the old tradition of poster making. 

FD’A    St. Moritz has a great poster tradition. Over the years, I have built on this and tried
to interpret old sentiments in a new and contemporary way. People like such subjects; they show a fantasy world and convey feelings of a bygone era, which for many people was better than today. This is normal, by the way—people only tend to appreciate the present when it is over. 

AN    Your photos are relevant and timeless; sometimes, it is impossible to understand when they were taken.

FD’A    I like classics like a Porsche 911, a Leica M, or a Rolex Explorer. Although they are constantly evolving, they always have the same form, function, and spirit. The certainty of their past gives us security in a fast-moving and crazy world like we have today. I try to do the same with my photos so that I can still look at them in 20 years’ time.

FD’A    My generation still saw cars as a symbol of design, freedom, independence, and status. That’s no longer the case today. Classic cars help me to create situations and feelings that cannot be made today with most modern cars. I can still clearly remember the sound of the six-cylinder engine of my father’s BMW car when I was 3 years old. 

AN    What do cars mean for Swiss residents? There are many vintage cars in cities; they look like objects of art and collectibles.

FD’A    The Swiss are very particular and don’t want to stand out. I know many people who have twenty cars in their garage but travel by tram or bus to work. At the same time, they are incredibly enthusiastic about details and spend countless hours in the garage looking after their cars. Preferably in such a way that nobody notices. But yes, the density of classic cars in Switzerland is very high.

AN    What kind of car do you personally dream of?

FD’A    It’s one of those things. For some people, a Ferrari F40 is a dream car; for others, it’s their grandfather’s Fiat 500 because they associate it with emotions. I used to review Autoscout24 every day to find vehicles that I was interested in. Today, other things are much more important to me; I find gratitude in little things that I didn’t even notice before; I guess that comes with age… But if you want to know a name, I like all Porsche 911s – from the first to the last model. And all classic Pandas! 

AN    You dedicated an entire book to car lovers. Who are these people and which cars captured their hearts and vision?

FD’A    I published the book years ago because I was interested in how to live with a classic car. I couldn’t find a book that covered this topic, so I wrote one myself. It doesn’t focus on technical details; it’s often philosophical questions covered in short interviews. For example, why does someone on the island of Capri have a Porsche 911 when there are only 13 kilometers of roads on which you can only drive a maximum of 50 km/h? The people portrayed in the book drives all kinds of vehicles, from a Saab 900 Turbo Convertible Monte Carlo to a Lamborghini Countach.

AN    Your mother worked for the writer Irwin Shaw. How did the aesthetics and hedonistic culture of the last century influence you as a photographer and author?

FD’A    I’m somehow still stuck in those times, summarised in my latest book, Klosters. I always wanted to be like Irwin, writing in the morning, skiing in the afternoon, throwing a party with good wine in the evening, and traveling to Paris, St. Tropez, and New York in between to meet friends like Robert Capa, who had many stories to tell. It hasn’t gotten that far; I don’t drink alcohol, rarely travel, and don’t even ski anymore, although I once worked as a ski instructor. But maybe I’ll start everything now! 

AN    What projects are you working on today?

FD’A    It’s a crazy time with lots of projects. I’m currently helping to summarize the photographic work of my photographic mentor Monty Shadow and showed some of his Ayrton Senna pictures in St. Moritz last winter. I co-organize the British Classic Car Meeting at St. Moritz, where I am responsible for the creative direction. I’ll be shooting subjects all summer for an exhibition of my photos in 2025, and then there are two books I’m working on, one about St. Moritz and a second Car Guys book. In between, I have to go to St. Tropez, New York, and Paris… (laughs)