WHY DO YOU LIKE AND COLLECT MATCHES?
I like many things about matches. I love their smell, especially the smell when you burn them. I love the vintage feeling that they give to an easy gesture like lighting up a candle. I like to surprise people with matches, when somebody usually asks me for a lighter. Also, I love their packaging, some are like a little portable piece of art.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ONES AND WHY?
My favorite matches are always linked to a place and memories lived in that place. @lippbrasserie in Paris, my favorite beef tartare, my favorite escargot. Because of Covid-19 I haven’t been to Paris in so long (thinking there was a time where I was there almost twice a month.) Brasserie LIPP is the place to go celebrate the success of a fashion show, but also the place for Christmas Eve Dinner when in Paris with my mother. Other favorites are matches from Trattoria da Lucia in Rome. Nothing is more rustic and authentic than a Trattoria in Trastevere, like Da Lucia. Matches are the best souvenir to keep that feeling close to me when I’m a bit homesick. Third favorite, Acquasanta Restaurant in Brooklyn. There is a young seminarist on the packaging (“acqua santa” means Holy Water in Italian). I just love how vintage, southern Italian it looks, with a touch of blasphemy. It also reminds me of one of my favorite movies from Pedro Almodóvar. Last favorite are the @diptyque long matches. They are scented and have an amazing ‘70s pattern on the box.
WHEN AND HOW DO YOU LIKE TO ENJOY YOUR MATCHES?
I love to enjoy my matches to burn my candles and my incense sticks at home. But matches are also a great asset in the flirting game when somebody on the street asks me for a lighter instead.
