In a fashion shooting production, the stylist mixes clothes and sets them on the basis of his creativity. The fitting of the picture I’ve choosen for this week seems to be a risk: it’s known that two overlaid jackets actually don’t represent an applicable outfit but, in situations like this, wherein the subject has a thin build and blazers are made by soft and unlined wool, the final effect is really interesting. That man reader, little used to editors’ flair and fashion’s oddity, doesn’t have to think that these suggestions have to be taken to the letter: stylist’s skill stays in catching the reader’s attention on fabric’s beauty, prints’ opulence and – why not – photographic effect, that in this case is worthy to be included among those shots that will leave a style mark in fashion photography. In this shoot by Miano, side light creates shades on the actor’s (Fabio Tameni) face and on clothes (by Paul Smith), giving back that magic that only good photographers can give. If you feel like browsing books about great masters – from Irving Penn to Mario Sorrenti- you’ll find the same charm, the same splendour. And the same elegance. Fabio Tameni in Luigi Miano’s picture for Max.gazzetta.it. Clothes by Paul Smith, October 2012.

Over-Styling: a mix that I love! The turtle-neck under the shirt with the tie. It’s a bit unusual to wear as a daily look but it’s so strong for fashion photos. Ph by Jacopo Moschin.

Many men wish they could look like someone else. There’s who prefers Steve McQueen, or Marcello Mastroianni; who dreams to be Jude Law, or Colin Firth. They are male audience’s favourite actors, so I gather that their classic style is the successful one. It’s not a coincidence that styling’s simplicity and shapes’ linearity are the common denominators of avant-garde designers’ collections, except for rare cases. Advertising campaigns and “strong” window fittings are ideas’ displays that strenghten the image’s media power but, in those same shops that propose that creative level destined for selected connoisseur, there are suits dedicated to timeless demand. Choose your attire paying special attention on modernity (“classic” is not sinonimo of antique, but you can’t keep on wearing the long jacket if now it has shortened), and, above all, try to be nothing else that yourselves. Marcello Mastroianni in 1979 on the set of “La città delle donne”, shot by Tazio Secchiaroli.

When the coat becomes an accessory. There are very strict rules about clothing: for example, the last button of the jacket must be kept unfastened and the single-breasted suit must be buttoned only if we wear a coat or a trench on it. But the dress etiquette is more open-minded than yesterday, easing a wider freedom of choice and manners, because fashion, also male fashion, is for its definition renewal and change. Some time ago I read an article written by a colleague, that deprecated some details, two of which particularly stroke me: absolute no to polo shirt’s lifted collar and to the coat (or jacket) leant on the shoulders. I completely agree with the first one: the lifted collar is a sign of ostentation and arrogance, moreover of little refinement. The outerwear leant and not worn, that is usually  a result of a temporary situation of comfort, can reveal a certain kind of nonchalance that disgress in dandysm. A self-conscious posture can afford to wear a piece of cloth as an accessory: it could be a very chic attitude, especially if the subject is chic. Aaron Olzer, photographer and movie-maker, in a picture by Luigi Miano for max.gazzetta.it

Da sempre l’abito è stato considerato una sorta di tela da pittore, come il corpo umano. Nelle culture sbrigativamente definite primitive, pitture e tatuaggi sulla pelle raccontano lo status sociale dell’individuo o la sua abilità nella lotta e nella caccia, secondo un repertorio sterminato di valenze simboliche. Dal corpo all’abito: tessuto, pelle e maglia, rappresentano una tabula rasa da arricchire di disegni, colori, lavorazioni – intarsi, jacquard, trafori –  tra assonanze e contrasti cromatici. Non fanno pensare ad un quadro le marsine del “giovin signore” settecentesco o i gilet del dandy vittoriano, ricamati a motivi floreali o decorati da figure di animali? La diffusione del cotone ed il progresso delle tecniche di stampa, a cavallo della rivoluzione industriale, accelerano la tendenza. Per duecento anni la mussola a piccoli disegni, relativamente a buon mercato, fornisce camicie maschili, già prodotte in serie, alle classi lavoratrici.  Fantasie più severe e più sofisticate – righe, check, pied de poule, Principe di Galles, tartan –disegnano l’uniforme dell’uomo borghese. Senza dimenticare che “la pittura dell’abito” ha costantemente guardato alla pittura in sé. La moda “ruba” tutte le correnti dell’inizio del ventesimo secolo: Dadaismo, Cubismo, Costruttivismo, Surrealismo, Astrattismo, Futurismo. Se non ai singoli maestri: Mondrian, Vasarely, Mirò, Dalì, Warhol. In questo interscambio la creatività applicata alla moda tiene sempre in considerazione le “altre” culture, come punto di riferimento sistematico nella scelta di motivi e fantasie. Recuperando tra l’altro elementi figurativi primordiali: body art, tattoo, stampe batik e lavorazioni yakut, disegni – elementari, ma coloratissimi e di forte impatto – delle stoffe prodotte dalle tribù africane o nativo-americane, dell’Oceania,  delle Ande. Questo fenomeno nasce poco più di quaranta anni fa, sostanzialmente in concomitanza con il recupero da parte degli Afro-Americani della consapevolezza delle loro radici. E da allora rappresenta un leit motiv della moda contemporanea. Si parte dalle camicie a macro-stampe ipercolorate dei primi Settanta per arrivare ai grafismi decisi ed astratti di Prada di inizio millennio. Ed ora, al blouson in nappa di Emporio Armani, in cui intarsi incredibili riescono a sommare tra loro motivi pied de coq e suggestioni etnico-tribali, vagamente guerriere. Giorgio Re

Clothes have been always considered as a painter’s canvas, as well as the human body.

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