Donna Moderna, the magazine edited by Annalisa Monfreda will be on newsstands tomorrow, Thursday 3 December, with a special issue dedicated to the Italian national rhythmic gymnastics team. The six members of the team, also known as the Farfalle (Butterflies), given that their discipline makes them seem as if they had wings, are featured on the cover and in an exclusive fashion shoot.

Winning, positive, combative women: their stories stand out for their strength and determination, which has seen them enter the collective imagination and brought prestige to the country.

“Women’s sport, which rarely receives adequate media attention, is giving us great satisfaction. For years Donna Moderna has aimed to keep the spotlight on this world and support the battle for equal opportunities that women athletes in all sports continue to fight.” declared Annalisa Monfreda.

In the last Olympic four-year period, these gymnasts, managed by the National Technical Director Emanuela Maccarani, have also entered the history of international rhythmic gymnastics, with two gold medals, one silver and two bronzes at the World Championships, one gold and two silvers at the European Championships and qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games two years ahead.

The cover features Alessia Maurelli, captain of the team, who talks about herself and confides to Donna Moderna: “It is true that of all sports, ours stands out for the aesthetic aspect,” she explains. “But I prefer the term warrior for us.” In fact, it is with the hashtag #guerriere (Italian for warrior) that Maurelli posts the photos of this formidable group of athletes.

In the Mondadori Group’ magazine’s fashion feature, the six athletes are portrayed in exclusive and refines shots, sometimes accompanied by their much-loved equipment. Each photo presents a different style, a trend of this autumn/winter season.

The girls wear outfits that represent tartan, black & white and colour block styles – or rather lively and intense colours, that are mixed in extreme combinations – as well as total black and with fringes, another seasonal must. Make-up is by BioNike – beauty partner for the Donna Moderna shoot – and is light and delicate like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, but also high performance; a characteristic that distinguishes the athletes.

The issue’s storytelling continues online: on the website and the Donna Moderna social media profiles where users can find interviews with the athletes, a video story in which they are wearing the clothes, as well as tips and advice from the six athletes about fashion, sport and beauty.

Also onboard this Donna Moderna project: BioNike, the Official Sponsor of the Italian national rhythmic gymnastics team and Beauty Partner of the Italian Gymnastics Federation with the Defence Color line; Fastweb, whose institutional campaign features the Farfalle that represent the connection, power, speed and precision of 5G technology; Freddy, technical sponsor and official supplier to the Italian Gymnastics Federation.

Through the magazine and its digital channels, Donna Moderna, DMBeauty and DMNow, the Donna Moderna brand reaches a net total audience of 14.6 million users every month (Nielsen Media Impact, data fusion March 2020), to which should be added 2.7 million fans on social media with the engagement of 1.6 million (Source. Shareablee last 30 days), confirming its position as a point of reference in the women’s segment.