In the post-feminist era at the beginning of the 80s, women felt like enhancing their beauty and men, driven by vanity, started taking maniacal care of their looks as well. At that particular time, it was not about awareness but most likely about showing off. The messages that the designer’s kingdom, Milan’s fashion quad, was sending out have been creating a new breed of ever-tanned bodybuilders with hair slicked back and hardened by Tenax, who used to wear obviously only designer clothes. In Milan, they used to gather around Mc Donald’s, but it was really happening everywere and not just in the capital of Lombardy, heart of Italian fashion. And made in Italy it was. Magazines had different points of view about style: on the one hand they had to satisfy the trend, on the other hand fashion directors and fashion editors had to fulfill their personal vision. That vison was way classier than those trends, in fact it was suggesting a different kind of beauty: pale skin, inner attitude and also a bohemian posture in order to contrast the arrogant stride of those prevailing machos. What about female models? Instead of chosing the super-beautiful ones we used to prefere the androgynous kind, to dress them up as a man. Picture by Claus Wickrath for L’uomo Vogue, July 1987. Dresses by Enrico Coveri.

Colori vivaci e pattern geometrici: sorprendono le proposte della moda uomo per la prossima stagione estiva, grazie ad un mix di toni accesi per l’abbigliamento ma anche per gli accessori. Grande ricerca sui tessuti, ultraleggeri con tagli laser per quelli tecnici e sovrapposizioni di intrecci per la maglieria, da indossare anche a pelle.

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

ICEBERG

TOMMY HILFIGER

KENZO

PAUL SMITH

VERSACE

KITON

DIRK BIKKEMBERGS

CLARKS

TRUSSARDI JEANS

ETRO

It has been read and known of how music inspires fashion.We don’t hear as much talking about music being ispired by fashion, even though the bond is more visible. A perfect example are those songs that mention fashion designers: how not to remember Rino Gaetano, which in 1978 already couldn’t stand Cardin, Cartier and Gucci. During the next 20 years, the amount of dance songs idolizing big labels, (Gucci on top of them all) has been countless. At the end of the 70s, the tuscan brand along with Fiorucci, has appeared in one of the most popular hits of those days: “He’s the Greatest Dancer” by Sister Sledge. How many of have noticed another name being mentioned right before the two italian brands, a certain “Halston”? The Halston in question is Roy Halston Frowick (1932-1990) one of the best loved designers, famous since 1961. Since the early 70s his fashion work (exclusively for women) became a sex icon and he bacame the most awaited guest at the Studio 54. Still today, there are plenty of 70s references even in menswear.
Fashion designer Halston with Bianca Jagger and Liza Minnelli in the 70s, at Studio 54.

Every passing decade leaves different shapes of clothes behind. In the past I already wroteabout the beauty of knowing how to mix and matchvintage with modern pieces, even suggesting fabrics and trends that we haven’t seen in a while. Of course, there’s always something that cannot be proposed ever again, like the Varty and Cleaver’s typical nuance of white (the couple of designers who has made Byblos glorious in the 80s), that was their signature sign;  in an ideal world, where we would have the chanceand the space to preserve our clothes in perfect conditions, one should never get rid of their pieces!The latest kaleidoscopic fashion shows are pushing the bouderies, in favour of creativity. A great example of repechage would be ashirt in a very light and soft corduroy fabric with a smooth velvet tie, so that their rubbing against eachother wont reduce the natural movement of fabrics. Since velvet is quite a thick material, the jacket to wear should be made in a lighter fabric as a consequence. Perhaps a wool crepe or a silk and wool blend one. And maybe who knows… even the white ankle lenght longcoat could always make its comeback..

Image by Davide Cernuschi, from a 1997 Harper’s Bazaar Uomo issue. Woolen suit, velvet shirt and tie by Giorgio Armani.