ITALIANY is a visual celebration of influential Italians in the United States, manifested through a series of bold black-and-white portraits. Wandael explains, “I was inspired by the Italians I photographed throughout the years and felt compelled to create this initiative in hearing stories of their aspirations and strong drive to succeed. Each individual story in this exhibition tells a highly personal account of an Italian living and working in the US, but together these stories tell a broader narrative about the impact of Italian style in the United States.”

The exhibition is in partnership with Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Italy’s No. 1 premium beer as the first part of the brand’s two-year Storie di Stile campaign that spotlights stories of talented Italians in the United States and their impact on style and culture. Some of the Los Angeles personalities featured in the exhibition include composer Carlo Siliotto, film editor Elisa Bonora, actress Elisabetta Canalis, design director Cinzia Simone of GUESS, interior designer Diamante Pedersoli, film producer Stefano Gallini-Durante, actress Francesca Fanti, artist Luigia Martelloni and more. 

Wandael, like many other Italians living in America, will always call Italy his home. He was born and raised in Bolzano, Italy and studied photography and architecture at the University of Ferrara. After practicing both in Berlin and Los Angeles, Wandael decided to exclusively follow his true passion of photography. Subsequently his work has appeared in magazines such as Vogue Italia, Uomo Vogue, Russian Vogue, Russian Elle, Amica, The Observer and The Telegraph. Wandael has exhibited in Europe 

and all across the United States, including a permanent collection at the FIT Museum in New York.