Carla Fracci in this week’s (Italian) Vanity Fair
In 1983 Palmolive were looking for “the face” to represent their products. The look had to be “acqua e sapone” (literally “water and soap”, meaning a look that was fresh and natural). They chose Carla Fracci.
Fracci became their poster girl for several years. Her beautiful house on the canal in Venice is called Palmolive, paid for not with the sweat and tears of dancing, but with gently rubbing her face with soap!
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
