Inspiration Friday: The Empty Space & #Debate2024

Honestly, I don’t know where to start other than enjoy your July BBQ’s because come August thru November, I don’t know what shape the world will be in. In conjunction with those thoughts Vespa has launched “The Empty Space”, which seems appropriate as #Debate2024 finished last night with a big WTF happened there, and I do mean both candidates. Any wonder where RFKjr was? 342 million Americans deserve a strong, world class leader, both were sadly underwhelming, especially if you have ever listened to concise, clear and crisp Vladimir Putin who isn’t a spring chicken either at age 71. And that’s the Russian leader both want to go to WWIII with, along with China’s Xi Jinping and the 3.25 billion people of BRICS? God help us as what have we become?

Ok, back to motorcycles! This week’s 295th Inspiration Friday: The Empty Space & #Debate2024 is about Vespa and their new “The Empty Space” campaign, which is brilliantly creative on one hand and like the Trump/Biden Debate a big head scratcher on the other hand. It’s a great, very imaginative concept using master photographer Johnny Dufort, that I fear is completely lost and over-the-head of the vast majority of people. I studied in the Arts (Graphic Design) myself in an arts high school and specialty art college and wow, I can tell you, this is “high art” and I just get it, but it’s a real stretch. Maybe you’ll “get it” too. Photography aside, it has some great messaging such as: “No Plans. No Maps. Just Ride”, “Yen for freedom, expressing its boundless zest for life” and “riding through barriers and embarking on a new adventure.” I can really get behind those as these expressions represent what motorcycling is all about. Freedom, Adventure and a Zest of Life!

So again, enjoy your summer, July 4th and Canada Day and try not to stress too much out unelected officials with no peace talks sending billions of dollars in undocumented weapons of mass destruction to bomb cities upon your behalf in countries that are inconsequential to the average Joe.

The last thing I’ll say from #Debate2024 is for the past 3 months I’ve been saying Joe Biden will be replaced by Hillary Clinton and Michele Obama. A Hillary/Obama ticket would be very strong and attract both the female and the black vote, again, they say. The Democrat Party I believe setup this debate to create the chaos as they already had a solution. Now suddenly there is a lot of talk about swapping out Biden… so watch that space. Canada is in no better shape with the Liberal’s wanting to replace a failing Trudeau with an unpopular Chrystia Freeland.

Like in book 1984 by George Orwell: “We have always been at war with eurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control.”

Now, time to ride!

Also do not forget to read our 2024 and 2025 Motorcycle Model Guides and check out what’s on offer for 2024 right here on TMW!

VESPA – The empty space. Freedom from the limits of time and space. This is the origin of Vespa.

This is where “the empty space” originated, the boundless space of Vespa beyond the confines of time. A “non-place” that embodies the timeless values of the brand ever since its debut, values that have revolutionized our way of moving and thinking.

An unmapped space – it’s up to you to draw your own map, as you go off to discover new uncharted territories.

“No Plans. No Maps. Just Ride”: the freedom of movement that Vespa has celebrated every day for nearly the past eighty years on roads all over the world.

Beyond the horizon and the seasons, this space designed by Vespa has generated its first new world: a Summer Edit custom designed for exploration, beyond time and space. Beyond barriers. A creative exploration of the human spirit.

Michele Colaninno, CEO of Gruppo Piaggio:

“Every day is a new journey. It brings to mind a ceaseless quest for new destinations and new worlds. This is my desire: give a future to the things we create. I like to hope we will continue to look one another in the eye and that we won’t isolate ourselves in total digital silence. It is important to kindle emotions. Joy, memories, delusions, and triumphs: these are enduring emotions that stay with us wherever we go. It’s difficult today, but not impossible. I am sure we will succeed because Vespa has always been the symbol of a new start. Vespa is more today than it was yesterday, always creating new ideas.”

Exclusive interpretations. Classic clothing with distinctive character. Italian know-how in the ongoing dialogue between hi-tech innovation and artisanal mastery, and evident to the touch in fabrics. Soft, nuanced tones suggest open landscapes and boundless plains whose horizons beckon us to discover them.

A Summer Edit, anthem to fearless self-expression, without limits. Only those who dare push themselves too far will discover just how far they can go. Adventures galore, and a wealth of stories in the photos of Johnny Dufort, British master of “undone glamour”, an artist of digital photos with a surrealistic tone, raw yet always all too human. Dufort has produced a unique and unmistakable campaign: on horseback or on a Vespa, in a natural setting or in the city, models interpret the Summer Edit clothing in a spirit of total freedom.

A new style, exactly as Vespa has represented it since it debuted: newly born, newly unveiled, delivered to dealers on open-sided lorries so that all could admire its revolutionary lines.

A style also manifested in one of Vespa’s most appropriate settings: the seaside. Thus one of Italy’s most iconic beaches, emanating luxury and class, welcomes the first Vespa By The Sea. In a creative takeover, Vespa dresses up the beach of Paraggi in its timeless style and yen for freedom, expressing its boundless zest for life. This is the second expression of Vespa, aiming to fill another “empty space” in this continually expanding universe of new experiences.

The final destination in this “empty space”? Not a specific place, but a new way of being. A new way of seeing the world. Because the world of Vespa is a place of ceaseless discovery, a world that is constantly evolving. The challenge of embracing a special freedom. Also in how one dresses. Even on a seaside terrace.

Be free, be wild.

Embrace the Vespa lifestyle with this Summer Edit inspired by open landscapes and distant territories waiting to be explored. Statement pieces reimagined with a distinctive character in dusty tones suggesting boundless plains, where the horizon beckons to be explored. A marriage of grit and grace, a balance of androgyny and sensuality, an unexpected mode of fearless self-expression.

The bold and original Summer Edit that brings Vespa’s philosophy of freedom to life.

The profile of the contemporary rider takes shape with a Summer Edit that marries artisanal expertise and a constant pursuit of cutting-edge technology.

The empty space.

Beyond time and space, a limitless exploration of new worlds and inspiring destinations.

No plans, no maps, just ride.

Beyond the horizon lies a place where all are free to journey wherever instincts may lead.

To venture there, one must find the courage to cut the ties that bind; let go of the fuss, the trimmings, and hang ups that prevent expressing true individuality. Travel there accompanied by a look that harnesses the essence of Vespa, riding through barriers and embarking on a new adventure.

Vespa is really a fashion brand with two wheels. It’s more in the business of self-expression than it is in mobility, and it produces value in a way that is akin to other fashion brands.

– Financial Times

ORIGIN
Representing the perfect balance between tradition and innovation, classic and street style, the Origin color is designed to appeal to those who know Vespa’s story.

NOMAD
Nomad is destined for those who want to explore the world on the seat of a Vespa.
Inspired by organic, sandy tones, it may be elegant, but is not afraid to get down and dirty.

JET BLACK
The Jet Black color option is designed for riders in search of elegance without falling into banality, and for those who are clear about what they want and where they’re going. Determined and intriguing, Jet Black is destined to have all eyes upon it wherever it goes.

BLADE
Understated and intellectual, the Blade color option has no need for frills or ostentation.
Representing pared-back forms and inspired by the precision of Vespa production lines, Blade epitomises light and substance.

HOLY WHITE
Holy White is all about the extraordinary attention to detail found in the tests carried out by Vespa in the Pontedera factory.
Representing constant commitment to achieving perfection, Holy White is impeccable and flaw-free.

VESPA SOUL
Vespa Soul is the authentic, ambitious soul of Vespa and represents the brand’s new trajectory that looks to the future. This is a colour for riders who want to get from A to B quickly with the elegance and class that has always been associated with Vespa.​