CURIOCITY | Miami with Massimo Casagrande
Miami, Florida
Curiocity Guides celebrates cities, travel, friendships and the joy of the journey. We’ve been around the globe, so you can travel like a local.
“The best part of any journey are the friends you make along the way”
Meet Massimo
Massimo Casagrande is the Dean of Fashion at Istituto Marangoni Miami and a passionate creative in the fashion industry.
Hi Massimo, Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a creative within the fashion industry, Dean of Fashion at Istituto Marangoni Miami as well as founder of the podcast Textural Anthologies. I tend to dip my fingers in all the creative pies and act as mentor and advisor to startups and small emerging fashion brands.
Curiocity Guides likes to celebrate friendships made while out in the real world. Can you share with us your memory of how we first met?
OTL in MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT
I feel like I want to say London, but it wasn’t and I always marvel at the fact that even though we both lived in London during the same decade we never met. It actually took us moving to Miami for our mutual friend to ‘set us up’! We eventually met and it was at OTL here in the Design District.
Let’s get started!
Since we are talking to a fellow ‘Culture Vulture’ we would love your expertise on all the best local spots! To start we want to get our creative juices flowing, what are the top museums or galleries you like to go to get inspired?
Pat Steir Kyoto Chrysanthemus, 1982 Color woodcut - Part of the permanent collecation at ICA
1. My local is definitely and always the ICA MIAMI
3. Parodi Collection one of Miami’s best kept secrets. Paquita Parodi houses one of the most complete private fashion collections. A must for all fashion aficionados
7. The Norton Museum of Art Ok, not technically Miami but a definite must see. European masters alongside great American impressionists.
MARK YANG - ‘Sand Bond’ - Primary
ICA MIAMI
Miami Design District
I can’t talk to a fashion expert and not mention shopping!
You are fortunate enough to be based in the Miami Design District. We love the brilliant architecture here. What are some of your favorite stores to buy or get inspired?
Céline Interior at the Miami Design District
Piadina 305
After all that shopping, I’m hungry. What are your top places to eat?
My lunch bites
Piadina 305 The best and only Piadineria in Miami
Fuchai My Favorite Korean restaurant, small cozy and tasty
Best Italian
Doma
My Guilty Pleasures
Fiorito My absolute ‘go to’. My local since day one in Miami. Unpretentious, genuine Argentinian, and a must for any Maradona fan ;)
Mignonette This place, great oyster bar and seafood selection.
Mignonette
Still haven’t found a place that serves a good Sunday roast though!
And one of our favorites we have to include is…
Mandolin Mediterranean hospitality at its finest situated in a very authentic garden that immediate transports you to the Aegean coast. A mezze heavy menu with so many Turkish favorites. We love the taramasalata!!
The traditional traditions and seasonality of Greek and Turkish seaside food bring the best of Europe to our very own city, located in the heart of the Miami Design District.
Sketch of Mandolin Aegean by Susan Knof
Those all sound so amazing and delicious! I also love Fiorito and the first time I went there was with you!
One of my favourite things to do when I arrive in a new city is take a long walk and just absorb all the new sounds, sights, and smells. Do you have any favorite strolls for people to watch and take it all in?
Miami has some nice little areas, and if you can handle the heat it's definitely worth taking a stroll. I love taking a walk in the MiMo District (Miami’s Upper East side) not far from where I live and photographing the old motels with their 1950/60s neon signs and graphics.
The architecture is so unique to South Florida, and most of these places have been revamped and have a nice scene to them, like The New Yorker or The Blue collar at the Biscayne Inn Motel and my absolute favorite, The Vagabond.
The Vagabond in the MIMO district
Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Coral Gables is a must see, and a nice way to appreciate nature and the surroundings
Fairchild Botanical Gardens
I think as well, especially for any first timer to Miami, definitely have a walk or better yet a jog along the Venetian Islands
Venetian Islands
And then of course, what would Miami be without Ocean Drive? Iconic at it’s best!
Ocean Drive in South Beach
To celebrate a great time in Miami, what are your Top 5 places to get a cocktail?
Margot Natural Wine Bar
1. The Cleat
2. The Corner I love this place, it's the closest Miami gets to Hackney, so for me, feels like home!
3. Mini Bar My ‘go to’ place for a Negroni
4. Margot Natural Wine new kid on the Miami block and definitely worth going, good bites too!
5. Lagniappe You can take the boy out of Hackney, but… love this place, the decor, the live music, the outdoors, the wine selection ;)
*Special mention: Ok, not technically a bar, but Aubi & Ramsa two guilty pleasures in one.
One of the best times for an art and design aficionado to be in Miami is in December for Art Basel, what are some of the best events you look forward to?
Really excited about Art Basel Miami Beach, especially how the last edition was virtual due to Covid-19. Although Design Miami did have a social distanced event called Podium inside the Moore Building here in the MDD.
The Moore Building in the Miami Design District
During that week Miami becomes the focal point of art and design and there are always great events happening. I still remember the Dior menswear show with Kim Jones in 2019 and how they basically took over a whole neighbourhood. And, of course, let’s not forget the banana by Cattelan!
Superblue, an interactive art experience opened in May, so I am looking to see what they will be hosting for art week. Miami has an amazing art scene and such a great bunch of local talent, so for me, it’s mostly about going to the galleries to discover new artists and help promote the local talent.
I am also an advisor for the Fashion Illustration Design Awards , which is a platform created by my dear friend, Patrick Morgan, to promote fashion illustration. We’ve had great projects with Alberta Ferretti, Peter Dundas and Dior, and we are currently talking about doing something during Art Week.
We actually have an exhibition happening in Miami now, called Ultramarine and it’s curated by me inside the Istituto Marangoni Miami building in the Design District. The proceeds of which go towards a scholarship for students to study with us. So if you buy an artwork, not only are you supporting an artist, but also helping a future talent get an education!
Do you want to discover more about Miami Beach? Check out our Curiocity Guide Miami Beach with Susan Knof
I am so grateful that ‘Prof Knof’ has had the opportunity to work with you at the Istituto Marangoni. As an educator, is there any advice you would give to anyone just getting started in art, design, fashion, architecture or interiors?
Passion and endurance. The creative industry is not the easiest, but if you have that passion and drive for what you are doing, it's a start! The world has completely changed in the past 18 months and we have had to adapt to new skills and new ways of interacting.
I see myself how I've had to change how we teach and what we teach. My task as dean of fashion at Istituto Marangoni is to be able to find a perfect way of merging the traditional with the digital. Creating a new hybrid designer who has the best of both worlds.
We are big fans of your work. Can you tell us a little bit about why you created Textural Anthologies and what inspires you most?
Textural Anthologies is a podcast series that explores the personal and professional side of creative individuals in various industries, to discover more about their stories, their journey, what makes them tick, and above all, their creative outlets.
My guests are mostly people I know personally, there are 1 or 2 exceptions, but they are mostly people I have worked with, studied with, partied with or shared something with, so there is automatically a connection between us.
Conducted in an informal way, sometimes questions are prepared beforehand and in other cases, the questions are born naturally from the conversation. There is spontaneity in the content and the main purpose is for the guest to say whatever they feel and want and above all have fun.
As the journalist and writer, Alain Elkann once said, "an interview is a photograph made of words" and I would like the listeners to leave at the end of each episode with a special photo album.
Well said! Thank you, Massimo
If you are planning on getting away check out our curated collection of TRAVEL ESSENTIALS to help make your holiday stylish and stress free.
Check out Massimo’s work!
