M JULY 2006

Over Styling. Super Warm. De Luxe. Stunning reversible parka by Louis Vuitton and denim trousers by John Galliano. Photo by Matthew Brookes, Styling by Serge Girardi. Model Roch Barbot.

SCHEMA LIBERO MESCOLANZE

I enjoy taking risks mixing up styles from different eras. I am fascinated by the good results one can obtain by mixing different styles, in fashion but also in design. In the late 80s I used to match shirts and waistcoats by Romeo Gigli with ties and trousers by Armani. I just adored the contrast between different fabrics, Gigli’s cotton peach skin fabric and Armani’s crispy wool. I also love how these materials fit differently: tight-fitting the first one, loose fitting the second. The same goes for design: at the Angelo’s bistrot in Milan, there are original floors in warm shades from the 40s and austere 50s german school chairs together with modern artworks which have been realized on panels by the two danish artists Uffe Frank and Sonny Asemota. They are apparently very distant visual codes and expressions but once together they are surprisingly relatable to each other. In the picture a corner of the Angelo’s bistrot in Via Savona, Milan.

SETTE MAGAZINE EN VOGUE L’UOMO VIRILE METTE IL PULLOVER A PELLE


In a collective immaginary, when worn on bare skin, a pullover can bring back to mind sensual memories from the past. From Visconti’s and Rossellini’s neo-realist films till Bertolucci’s Last Tango. The feeling of roughness and rawness of the wool rubbing against the skin in definitely masculine. Is not the case that it’s a way to wear knitwear which through the years has been seen over and over on the runways. Without a shirt, the fabric caresses the figure, it makes chest and shoulders stand out and also makes your movements more fluid; besides, body structure and personality permitting, it’s a very fashionable style wearing a shirt inside the pants, as seen on many fashion magazines from the past. The limits of tollerance, regarding how deep the neckline should be, are quite labile, but if it goes way too far down from the base of the neck the result will not be very masculine. A man with confidence that is comfortable with his masculinity, could wear a silken scarf as a chache-col, or even better , leave it undone as a scarf inside the sweater. with a nice three buttoned blazer or simply under a coat.
 
Picture by Mauro Balletti for Harper’s Bazar, 1995.Total look Dolce & Gabbana.

MIX DI FANTASIE

La stagione in corso, che ha sfilato in passerella a gennaio, è il preludio dell’anno zero: dal prossimo vedremo – attraverso le collezioni primavera/estate che i magazine cominciano a pubblicare nei primi numeri del 2013 – che la moda uomo ha davvero voltato pagina. I primi dieci anni del 2000 sono stati di collaudo: da oggi si può parlare di coerenza stilistica, sebbene ogni maison abbia presentato e prodotto vestiti così diversi da azzerare completamente il vecchio concetto di macro tendenza. Tuttavia, in questo mix di proposte disparate e apparentemente lontane tra di loro, c’è uno slancio comune verso il futuro come non si vedeva  da più di vent’anni. Lo styling di queste foto di backstage, scattate durante un servizio fotografico in uscita a dicembre con abiti e accessori in vendita adesso, dimostra e anticipa un estro che appartiene ad una nuova era, fondata – speriamo – sul liberalismo e sulla bellezza.

This current season, (last january’s fashion shows) is a prelude to the year zero: by the next one we’ll notice -through the next S/S collections and by what magazines will publish by the very first issues of 2013- that menswear has really turned the page.The first ten years of 2000s have been a test. We can finally talk about stylistic coherence, although every maison has been introducing and producing pieces so very different from one another that the old concept of macro-trend has been reset. However, within the mix of suggestions which seem to be apparently so different and far from each other, there is such a strong push for the future as we haven’t seen one in more than 20 years.This backstage pictures has been taken during a fashion shoot that is going to be published in december, with accessories and clothes that are for sale right now, the styling discloses and reveals an inspiration which belongs to a new era, established -let’s hope so- on liberalism and beauty.

 

Cardigan Missoni, abito e cravatta Bottega Veneta, occhiali Bottega Veneta by Safilo, camicia Etro, orologio Vacheron Constantin

Giacca, pantaloni e scarpe Salvatore Ferragamo, gilet MSGM, camicia Dries Van Noten, borsa Gucci

Dolcevita ZZegna, pantaloni Etro, occhiali Montblanc

Maglione Louis Vuitton, dolcevita Lanificio Colombo, pantaloni Frankie Morello

Pantaloni e scarpe Prada, calze Missoni

Total look Prada

Abito, gilet e camicia Giorgio Armani, orologio Chopard

Giacca Giorgio Armani, abito ZZegna, camicia Etro, orologio Vacheron Constantin, calze Missoni, scarpe Prada

Giacca Gucci, gilet, camicia e pantalone Prada, dolcevita Lanificio Colombo

Abito Etro camicia e cravatta Bottega Veneta, cardigan e borsa Gucci, cappello Borsalino

Location Albergo Pietrasanta, Palazzo Barsanti Bonetti, Via Garibaldi 35, 55045 Pietrasanta, Lucca – Italy.

Un ringraziamento speciale alla sig.ra Barbara Pardini.

Model Peter Lissidini (Elite)

HARPER’S BAZAAR UOMO 1997

Fashion shooting inspired by Rodolfo Valentino. The fashion of that season was perfectly close to 20’s. Ph. Davide Cernuschi, total look Vivienne Westwood.