Rosso Travertine: A Colour Alive
The beach lifestyle has long been romanticised, especially when viewed through an Australian lens. Ask an Aussie how they embrace the ocean, and before you’ve even finished your question, heaps of them would’ve already stripped off their top and dashed towards the surf, greeting the waves with a carefree energy. There is an immediacy in that ritual—bare skin, saltwater, sunshine. It’s instinctive, raw, and unapologetically relaxed.
In Europe, however, life by the water takes on a different shape. The ideal isn’t necessarily to go shirtless but to drape oneself in linen—a fabric steeped in heritage and refinement. A ‘French’ or ‘Italian’ linen shirt, they say, with its airy weave, doesn’t simply conceal or reveal; instead, it performs. It allows air to circulate, skin to breathe, and style to flourish. Its allure lies not only in the looseness of the weave but in the open collar, the suggestion of effortlessness, and the subtle celebration of physique. It’s less about exposure, more about suggestion.
But, of course, these are cultural archetypes—aspirational, exaggerated, and shaped by cinema. A Chris Hemsworth charging through Bondi surf, an Alain Delon strolling along the Riviera, or a Tom Hiddleston on vacation smouldering by the pool—these images, though vivid, exist more in film reels and glossy spreads than in daily reality. Still, they help us imagine what clothing can embody.
So where does our Knitted Shirt fit into this spectrum? If the Freeman Popover is the go-to travel shirt—practical, versatile, and easy—while the towel-cloth popover conjures visions of post-swim leisure (albeit more fantasy than routine), then the Knitted Shirt in Rosso Travertine occupies a compelling middle ground. It is both of these and neither at the same time.
The shirt’s open-knit construction offers breathability, Borrowing the spirit of Italian maximalism, the choice of pure linen in weave yet has the distinct tactile quality of something more structured. Designed for summer wear, the knit is porous and airy, feeling dry, crisp, and cool against the skin. Its design draws inspiration from vintage crochet, evoking nostalgia, while remaining firmly modern in silhouette and function. In practice, this means it works equally well whether paired with shorts for a casual seaside stroll, swim trunks at a poolside bar, or tailored trousers for an evening dinner by the coast. It’s an exercise in contrasts: refined yet relaxed, traditional yet contemporary, utilitarian yet undeniably elegant.
Colour is an obsession of ours, because it’s powerful signalling
The heart of this design, however, lies in its colour: Rosso Travertine. For us, colour is never arbitrary—it is storytelling woven into cloth.
The name draws from travertine, a sedimentary stone long revered for its earthy warmth and organic beauty. My own first encounter with it was nothing short of transformative. It came during those formative years when I was just beginning to move beyond the haze of childhood, awakening to what I now call human consciousness—that moment when curiosity for the world and its materials first begins to sharpen. Standing before the Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe in Barcelona, I was struck by the expanses of travertine: its natural patterns, its horizontal veins flowing like a quiet rhythm through stone. That vision left an indelible imprint on my imagination. In time, what began as fascination deepened into something personal. When we refurbished our Hong Kong showroom in 2020, it felt only natural to honour that memory by placing a travertine table at the heart of the “living room” area, a reminder of the material that first opened my eyes to the poetry of design.
But Rosso Travertine is a variation unlike any other. Unlike the cooler yellows and greys that travertine is often known for, the red variety radiates heat and vitality. Its hues, flushed with pink and shot through with cream veins, feel alive. Travertine, by nature, is history embedded in stone—its layers carry traces of fossils, sediment, and movement. Yet in this red form, it transforms from geological record into emotional register. It speaks not just of time but of temperament: energy, warmth, and the radiance of the sun.
There is also a sense of zest to this colour that defies the stoicism of stone. It calls to mind Sicilian blood oranges, ripened under volcanic soils and Mediterranean light. A blood orange is no ordinary citrus: its skin often looks like an ordinary orange at first glance, but inside, the flesh bursts forth with deep crimson, streaked with fiery tones that echo both life and luxury. Its flavour, too, is an experience—sweetness edged with a sharp, almost electric tang, like summer condensed into a bite. That sour-sweet balance feels analogous to the vibrancy of Rosso Travertine: warm and inviting, but also vivid, punchy, and impossible to ignore.
The etymology is telling: rosso simply means ‘red’. In gemstones, red is often associated with rubies, carnelian, or garnets—stones sometimes pigeonholed as feminine. But red is far more universal than that. It symbolises life, fire, and strength. To bring this into fabric is to imbue the garment with warmth and dynamism, qualities we see as central to summer dressing. Unlike the cool neutrality of grey skies, Rosso Travertine suggests optimism, heat, and human connection.
The finest examples of Rosso Travertine come from Azarshahr in Iran’s Azerbaijan province, renowned for stones with remarkable depth and character. Italian quarries also produce travertine, but the Iranian variation remains especially prized for its singular richness. For us, translating that spirit into clothing was never just about colour—it was about capturing geological poetry in textile form.
In our Knitted Shirt, this manifests as a melange of yarns—red, white, and limestone yellow—that echo the stone’s tonal interplay. Linen’s natural crispness enhances the effect, giving the fabric a dry handfeel that mirrors the tactile authenticity of travertine. The result is a fabric that doesn’t just mimic stone visually but channels its spirit: grounded yet vibrant, timeless yet alive.
