If there is one thing that we can learn from Simona Bertolotto, the Italian influencer from Torin – it’s that it is never too late to dream a new dream. There are also a number of other things that we can learn from Simona, like how to style ourselves away from mainstream fashion, how to be happy in a life with no filters and why age is irrelevant when it comes to starting something new.
At the age of 39, Simona started to experiment with her camera, which led to her creating an instagram page to showcase her photography. Eventually she was compelled to show off her style by taking photographs of her original, vintage driven outfits, mainly inside her apartment in Northern Italy. Today she has over 377,000 fans from all over the globe who await her daily dose of fashion and artistic flair.
“Women have value and beauty regardless of everything”.
Simona Bertolotto
5 Questions with Simona Bertolotto:
Can you tell us about yourself and the city in which you live?
I was born in 1971 in Turin, the city where I live. I have two wonderful children Vittorio and Carlotta and for 18 years I was married. I deeply love my city, it’s rich in history, has a culture that contains many souls, it’s savoy, hipster, austere, innovative, regal and young.
What drove you to experiment with photography back in 2011?
Photography and fashion have always been my two great passions. I was artistically born as a photographer in 2011, in the same year I opened my page on Instagram as @sissiottostyle to share my photographs. My background between artistic and fashion photography passes from a portfolio on Photovogue, the international photographic platform of Vogue.it, with well over 150 images and a series of artistic awards including personal and collective exhibitions in the following years.
Was there a significant moment that led you to where you are today?
In 2017 I opened @sissiottostyle, dedicated to my tastes and my style, at a time when everything on IG seemed so the same and approved. I started by characterizing my gallery with images of “headless” women, to emphasize what they wore and only later, a little by chance, I started to insert myself, first in the stories and then in the feed.
How would you describe your style and what inspires it?
The style that I propose is a mix between research brands, vintage and fast fashion, I try to communicate my vision of fashion in a simple and original way with ideas for contemporary clothing that does not necessarily follow the trends of the moment. I really like my forays into the vintage markets in search of items from the past which I then propose in a current and personal way. I love to travel, my travels are marked by the search for beauty, in all its forms.
“Everything can happen in life, everything can change and at any age!”
Simona Bertolotto
What motivates you to do what you do?
Women are always at the centre of my stories and my shares, I love telling their stories and the ability to transform their passions into concrete and tangible realities. I have two mantras that encapsulate my philosophy: “RIGHT FIRST” this phrase, which I always say every time I make a video or photo, is a message of acceptance and awareness; the error and the defect are a real part of each of us, so no filters or retouches! Women have value and beauty regardless of everything. “NEVER TOO LATE NEVER TOO OLD”: because everything can happen in life, everything can change and at any age! This happened to me first with photography and now on Instagram with @sissiottostyle.
Image credit: Simona Bertolotto |Sissiotto Style
Great Simona!