Elegance is in the Italian blood, and most Italians would unhesitatingly sacrifice comfort to achieve it. Italy is a nation that cherishes outward appearances. Yes, it is great if you have a good heart, but Italians would expect you to have wellgroomed hair, an impeccable sense of dressing and a really neat pair of shoes. Not surprisingly, some of the world’s best sartorial artists are from Italy. Starting from one of the pioneers of modern fashion, Elsa Schiaparelli, to the modern czar of extravagant opulence, Roberto Cavalli, Italian fashion has had it all.

Italian men and women have had some of the best fashion visionaries watching over what they wear: be it clothes, perfume, shoes, jewellery or hair-do, for almost all of the last century. Now Italian fashion is available in India. We present three Italian fashion houses in this issue.

At BTW we are passionate about India’s heritage. In this issue, we meet Maharana Arvind Singh of Mewar.

Besides being a man who personifies sophistication and impeccable taste, he is also one of a small clutch of horse breeders who have saved the fabled Marwari horse from extinction. These horses have several distinctive physical characteristics, which will immediately set them apart from the Thoroughbreds and Arabian horses.

Purveyors of horseflesh around the world recognise the Marwari horse as a truly noble animal and owning one is now a status symbol.