Mediterranean Wailing Summer
I went to see the film Parthenope last week. I know you’re probably already confused - Niamh never starts a natter so directly - but we’ve got a lot to cover this week so keep up! I didn’t love Paolo Sorrentino’s coming of age drama, it often felt like an overblown perfume ad, but its 1970s Sicilian setting was undeniably gorgeous, as is its star Celeste Dalla Porta as she winsomely weeps on screen. I left the cinema thinking nothing of it, but since watching this film something in my life has changed. I’m tying scarves in my hair. I’m eating dolmades (tinned, from my local coop). As I write, I’m sipping on a campari spritz and singing along to the film’s central tune, ‘Era gia tutto previsto’ by Riccardo Cocciante. I make no pretence, I have no clue what Riccardo is singing about, but as I enter minute four of his husky italian croon I’m certain that I’m feeling what he’s feeling. There’s only one conclusion to draw: I’m having a Mediterranean Wailing Summer.
You’ve heard of Hot Girl Summer, you’ve heard of Grandma Core Summer, but what, you ask, is Mediterranean Wailing Summer? This very real (not at all just made up by me) trend is all about imagining what you would do if you were going through a messy break up on the Southern coasts of Europe. Wear a large trailing skirt made of scarves? Brilliant. Eat very good bread and olive oil? Perfect. Do all of the above while listening to The Winner Takes It All and ugly sobbing? Master level Mediterranean Wailing Summer. Want to join me on the Costa Del Sob? Here are my top tips for getting into this (completely real) trend:
Are you anywhere near a body of (ideally salty) water? Start swimming in it right now. You’re halfway through a cigarette? Doesn’t matter, take it in with you.
Are you anywhere near a patch of sunshine? Stand out in it. (spf first though, Mediterranean Wailing Summer is not about sun damage).
Are you anywhere near a fresh avocado, tomato, or cucumber? It’s a no brainer.
Feelings? You’re letting yourself feel them. Wail and sob as loud as you can as Riccardo sings to you about his/your grief.
Greek yoghurt? It’s a choice, it’s a religion, it's a lifestyle.
Outfit? Anything made of string, crochet, or linen. We’re wafting through our emotions this year.
Now, I fear some of you may be reading between the lines here. If you are, you may not be entirely convinced this aesthetic is 100% real and trending. You may even in fact be saying ‘Niamh this sounds more like the results of good therapy than a bad Italian film’ or ‘Niamh have you just worked out eating fresh food and actually processing your emotions is good for you, but because it’s not cool to just be yourself you’ve had to invent an elaborate aesthetic as an excuse to do self-care?’.
I obviously cannot possibly tell if that is what you are saying. But if you were, I would respond: ‘so what if I am?’. Am I asking you to spend money on it? No. Am I asking you to drastically change yourself? Also no. Am I feeling better since I created a semi-delusional aesthetic to help me process my emotions and eat vegetables and get sunlight? Actually yes. Maybe Mediterranean Wailing Summer is just for me and not for you. Maybe for you its Cute Girl Journalling Summer or Hot Woman In Therapy Summer, or Dark Academia No-Smoking Summer. Either way, I’ll see you at the beach. I’ll be the one crying into my tzatziki.
Niamh Duncan is an author, theatre maker and knitter living in Norwich, England. Having graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first-class degree in creative writing, she is now engaged in answering life’s big questions, namely how do you pay your rent with a degree in creative writing. In her spare time Niamh loves drinking tea and cocktails (usually not simultaneously) and going for long rambling walks.