Valentino Ambassador Loves the Battery, Calls SF 'Frisco'

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Carlos Souza —the long-time model, former Harper's Bazaar editor, and Valentino ambassador— recently spoke with Haute Living about his book, #Carlos's Places, discussing how the project originated and naming his favorite cities around the world. Souza tells the HL that it all started all a few during meetings with Assouline for Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti's titles for the publishing house. "Martine Assouline noticed me posting pics on Instagram... She explored my page and was intrigued with the bright photos highlighting my excursions around the world. She asked me to send through more photos, and after she reviewed 3.5 years worth of images from my iPhone, she decided they would make for a perfect travel book!"

Carlos's passport is filled with stamps from exotic locations, so we can only imagine how hard it must be to choose the best. That said, he names San Francisco as one of the ten most glamorous destinations. "Frisco is full of remarkable museums. I love the architecture, amazing restaurants and staying at The Battery, one of my favorite hotels." The other U.S. locales on his list are LA and NYC, while Gstaad, Paris, London, Shanghai, Rome, Nova Friburgo, and Tyrrhenian Coast round out the international picks.

Obviously it's flattering that this jet setter has so much love for our city. Now if only we can find a way to explain that we don't call it Frisco.

· Valentino Ambassador Carlos Souza's 10 Most Glamorous Destinations in the World [Haute Living]
· #Carlos's Places [Amazon]