Forever Rock.

“I remember when rock was young”…sang Elton John in Crocodile Rock. This song is fourty years old but sounds younger. It sounds so up-to-date, that the word “rock” usually recur, especially in fashion shows’ reviews to describe (often improperly) fierce, strong and youthful attitude and fashion. A very successful style between young people, that keeps on being liked by much older men, those who maintain a style of dress consistent with a borderline way of life (at least in appearance). Fashion designers John Richmond, Ennio Capasa (Costume National Homme), Hedi Slimane (ex Dior Homme, now Saint Laurent Paris) and Roberto Cavalli are some of those that stick to rock appearance; others, in a more or less manifest and irregular way, deal with the subject mixing classic clothes with the black leather perfecto and pointed toe boots, as Balmain did for several seasons. Elton John’s outfit (right), who launched the song with the LP “Don’t shoot me I’m only the piano player” in 1973, conveys the idea fairly well. Elton John in a picture by Norman Parkinson taken from the book “Bespoke: the Men’s Style of Savile Row”.

 The white suit is a must have for the male summer wardrobe, but it’s also an iconic garment, that brings us back to past. In particular, the total white has been loved by many celebrities, in that period from the end of the Fifties to the mid Sixties. Visconti, De Sica, Mastroianni, Pasolini, Gassman: black and white movies from that era, that showed a growing Italy in a thorny historic period, during which the working class also dressed with elegance and decency, depicted men full of fascination, with a unique and unattainable style. Both actors and film-makers were “chic”: from that point of view, everything was more special. Today there’s a lack of “good manners”, certainly not of clothes. It needs to retrieve a certain way of behave, it’s not true that “today there are not the clothes of the past”, instead there are not the manners of the past: a good suit is not enough, without politeness and charme. This year there are thousands of white suits, in a large variety of models and fabric: choose yours but, then, wear it with the proper attitude. Actor Fabio Troiano in a total look by Giorgio Armani. Picture by Marco La Conte for Max.gazzetta.it.

The coupling Grey and White is back again as well as the woolen processing in knitwear and in suit and blazer. This photo has been taken by Mauro Balletti 20 years ago. Total Look by Gianfranco Ferrè.

Search on Google for Paul Newman and Marlon Brando’s images. Then search for Ray Petri, the man who realised tens of remarkable editorials for I-D and The Face in the 80s and invented the stylist profession. “Ray, who thought it was hard to look good wearing anything but jeans, Ray who replaced Marlon Brando’s rebel leather jacket with the black synthetic one worn by the pilots of the Us Air Force” (from Repubblica, 2007). Newman and Brando loved to wear denim with white socks as much as Petri did. Although fashion it’s change and transformation by definition. Fashion is surprising. At times fashion can be excess, extravaganza, so while organizing a fashion shoot sometimes it is worth taking risks and then deal with consequences! Just like a designer working on its fashion show also a stylist working for fashion magazines can cause outrage: try to “suggest” wearing white socks under an haute couture suit and insults will rain down although the objective beauty of Gianluca Fontana’s picture is indisputable. If you despise the idea of socks that are not blue or grey, especially in combination with such a suit, you are not entirely wrong. But you’re not entirely right either. Picture by Gianluca Fontana for Style magazine. Suit by Kiton, loafers by Bally.