“Handcrafted” takes on new meaning in “One of 100: Maserati and Zegna” (Assouline, 224 pages, 100 illustrations, $195), which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the luxury car brand and a collaboration twice over. First, Maserati and men’s clothing company Ermenegildo Zegna have teamed for the sleek, limited edition (only 100) Maserati Quattroporte Zegna. The pair in turn are joined by Roman-born, New York-based fashion photographer Fabrizio Ferri, who has captured the hands of artists, artisans, athletes, writers, musicians, TV journalists — New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist and Matt Lauer of “Today” among them — to accompany the Quattroporte’s close-up.
It’s fascinating to witness the dialogue between man and car — the curve of a hand echoing that of a fin, open hands suggesting grille-work, splayed fingers indicating spokes, and, perhaps most beautifully, the lines of a palm reflecting the three prongs of the Maserati logo.
As you turn the pages, the hands take on a kind of sign language, a finger ballet.
Photographed in Shanghai, New York, Dubai and Milan, they “represent the past as well as the future,” the book notes.
They say hands never lie. Here manicured, lined, tattooed, expressive, open, they speak of timeless beauty.
— Georgette Gouveia