While scrolling on TikTok, I came across a video by Elizabeth Minchilli, a culinary guide and established TikToker on the Chinese platform. In this video, Elizabeth films her garden where incredibly juicy tomatoes are growing. It’s a glimpse of life that seemingly embodies one of the hottest trends at the moment: the Tomato Girl Aesthetic. Minchilli herself claims to be the original Tomato Girl, and it seems like the perfect starting point to delve into this trend, which is taking TikTok by storm with over 3.7 million views. From food, like Minchilli does on TikTok, to photographs that capture Mediterranean suggestions, and even dedicated Instagram profiles. Finally, social media takes us away from the fast life and leads us towards a slower life. Let’s discover together how.
@elizabeth_minchilli I’m not very good at jumping on trends, but maybe I’m already there? And just didn’t know it? #tomatogirlsummer #dailyroutine ♬ original sound – Elizabeth Minchilli
What is Tomato Girl Summer?
If we compare it to trends like Barbiecore or Coastal Cowgirl, the hashtag #TomatoGirlSummer on TikTok represents more of a lifestyle, a way of experiencing these summer months inspired by Mediterranean culture, good food, and a simple yet captivating style, reminiscent of icons like Monica Bellucci or Sophia Loren.
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Telling the Mediterranean summer story on Instagram
We all know @vita________lenta, the Instagram profile curated by Gianvito Fanelli, where he gathers a multitude of content on the feed depicting carefree moments in a typically Mediterranean setting. Within three years, this profile has amassed over 400,000 followers. The naturalness of Fanelli’s content reflects the spontaneity of the Mediterranean culture it draws inspiration from—the slow moments and relaxed approach in contrast to the hectic life of the metropolis.
Photographing the Mediterranean aesthetics as we know it
We’ve talked a lot over the years about photographers drawing inspiration from Mediterranean vibes, such as Giuseppe Scianna or Lavinia Cernau. The former captures suspended moments in time, while the latter is devoted to capturing the essence of summer suggestions. But a photographer that we just discovered who represents this type of aesthetic very well is Pietro Lonoce, italian photographer born in ’97. We’ve selected some shots taken from various projects, including Prima di un’estate, Italian Patern Series and Shën.
Food, places with typically Mediterranean suggestions blend with Lonoce’s vision, taking us to his Puglia, but not just that. “Shën” – the series entirely shot in San Marzano di San Giuseppe, in the province of Taranto – tells of the strong Arbëreshë influence. This village boasts the largest Albanian linguistic enclave in Italy. The three key words of this project are faith, folklore, and devotion.
For other photographs from Pietro Lonoce here is his Instagram profile.
