Current style shot 20 years ago. A 1994 Harper’s Bazaar Uomo cover that could be, from many points of view, a current fashion picture. Let’s start with the screaming headlines. We read “Pelle in technicolor” (that means “Technicolor leather”), and Miuccia Prada’s next f/w collection seen last January in Milan, where classic colours of menswear and yellow and light blue leather jackets merge, immediately comes to our mind. “Sofisticati e moderni in grigio e bianco” (that means “Sophisticated and modern in grey and white”) suggested an usual and soft color-matching, but trendy at that time, if we think that we had just left the eighties’ excess: and, nowadays, Corneliani has proposed wonderful charcoal suits and coats, mixed with pure white poplin shirts. And then, “Warm coloured & Easy Chic Knitwear”, and think about how colorful knitwear – now- is a protagonist, as well as the outerwear. At the end, look at the picture: pointed collar shirt, today re-edited by Roberto Cavalli, and checks, that almost every designer has proposed again. The “slim fit” suit reflects a current trend that comes and goes, but resists in time anyway. Basically, only the grooming and the light used for this shoot – a “ring light”: a circular neon tube that cool the colors- reveal the decade. All the rest of it, still belongs to present, even if twenty years have gone by. Harper’s Bazaar Uomo, September 1994. Picture by Davide Cernuschi, clothes by Paul Smith.

A picture of 1995 by Francesca Galliani. Total white and luxury accessories: printed coloured silk tie (Hermès), crocodile brogues (Bruno Magli), watch (Cartier) and cufflinks (Antonini). Model Nick Scotti.

S/S 2011 was the first season of all over prints, a trend that lasts. For S/S 2014, patterns have become more geometric, but colors are still bright. Picture by Giovanni Gastel. Jacket by Etro and scarf by Alexander McQueen.

Peaked lapels and silk twill gave a unique magic to this white single-breasted jacket by Gucci: nowadays it’s still fashionable. The satin scarf by Jean Paul Gaultier Homme added charme to the dandy appearance we wanted to recreate. Picture by Cristina Meriggi.

When the artist revisit fabrics – Connection between art and fashion is a subject that might be improperly considered: fashion is a creative expression that might have clear artistic contents, but remains far from Art anyway. However, his value doesn’t refer only to clothing sphere: fashion interact with architecture, interior design, show biz and sport, and even with food, corrupting practically every side of our lifestyle. Talking about that side, stricted related to clothing, fashion designers are often  inspired by pictorial art, and mention the various artists faithfully, as the case may be a past collection by Dolce&Gabbana, dedicated to Jacques Louis David paintings. Other cases may be ideas, that suggest a certain decoration, or patterns or shades of colors that refer to a specific artistic trend. Paul Surridge, Z Zegna’s creative director, has designed wonderful flannel suits printed with a pattern inspired by Picasso’s geometry, like the one you can see in the picture, by which he talks to a trendy-oriented audience, that likes surprising and shaking up codes in compliance with classic menswear. A detail of ZZegna suit, f/w 2013/14 collection.