Step into a fever dream of sun-drenched skies, vibrant hues, and timeless charm. Photographer Alicia Waite takes us behind the scenes of our PASSEÌO campaign, captured at the enchanting Casa Lawa in Sicily..
HOW WOULD YOUR LOVED ONES BEST DESCRIBE YOU?
God knows… Probably loyal, down to earth, (over) emotional… and I love to have fun - I’m generally a ‘yes’ person.
WHAT LED YOU TO PURSUE A CAREER IN PHOTOGRAPHY?
Even though I’ve been obsessed with photography as long as I can remember and have carried a camera of some sort since I was about nine years old (back then it was a single use of some kind that I bought at the pharmacy), I came to professional photography quite late. When I was young I never realised women could be photographers so I pursued a career in fashion journalism instead and worked at The Daily Telegraph and Elle UK before moving from editorial to working in-house for brands on marketing and content. In 2017, I left my job as Head of Content at an accessories brand to go freelance, and set up a consultancy to help labels with their content strategy and production, before realising I wanted to be shooting it all myself. The consultancy became a straight photography business about five years ago now in 2020 so life came full circle - back to the camera. Sometimes I regret not pursuing it earlier but I’ve learned so much about the fashion industry, branding and marketing in my journey I think it’s really informed the way I shoot now.
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LOCATION FOR THE PASSEÌO CAMPAIGN?
We shot the campaign in a beautiful Sicilian guesthouse called Casa Lawa, which is an old grape press on the foot of Mount Etna. It’s owned by Lukas Lewandowski, a creative director and chef who has made it a technicolour dreamscape hidden behind a metal factory-like door up a non-descript little lane on the east of the island. He runs residencies for chefs all through the season, so all the guests sit down together every night to eat fresh pasta and the catch of the day prepared by whoever is in town that week. It feels like a family house - I absolutely loved it.
In an Instagram scroll - like almost everything now. Another photographer I admire had been there to shoot for her book about Italy and all the colour and design elements really captured my imagination - I wanted to go there personally to travel and explore the surrounding area, but couldn’t help but think of how incredible it would make as a location as well.
ANY TRAVEL TIPS FOR EXPLORING THE SURROUNDING AREAS?
You definitely need to rent your own car as Casa Lawa is in the middle of nowhere, but near lots of great places. The guesthouse is right at the foot of Etna so you can go on walking tours up the volcano and take in the view of the Ionian Sea from there. If you want typical Mediterranean beach scenes - umbrellas, crystal water, lots of beautiful tanned people living La Dolce Vita - Taormina is less than an hour away. The amphitheatre is beautiful and well worth a visit for a wander around and the seaviews from the top. I’ve been working on a long term personal project photographing churches and burial places all over the world so we made a pilgrimage up to the most beautiful Chiesa Madonna della Rocca which is perched on top of the hill looking over the bay - it’s a trek but well worth it. Then you can finish your day with a drink on the terrace at Belmond’s Grand Hotel Timeo before driving back south to the Casa for your daily feast.
