Back in style. A good photographic book to have is Linda McCartney – Life in photographs (Taschen). It collects the pictures taken by the wife (dead in 1998) of Paul McCartney; there are moments of domestic life, portraits of Twiggy, Rolling Stones, and obviously Beatles. Every picture is a little story; it transmits a timeless feeling. One, in particular, portrays a less popular personality than the Fab Four (in this picture, the Beatles wear a kind of fashion that reflects the vintage style of many contemporary collections): Tom Rush, that Rolling Stone defined as the precursor of the songwriters. Rush’s portrait by McCartney shows a location and a style that merge each other. And that can be today’s house and style. About “today”: the s/s 2017 sees the debut of the first menswear collection by Stella McCartney, daughter of Linda.

Comfort Code. The “conservatives” of classic clothing wrinkle their nose. I visualize their horrified expression looking at this outfit by John Varvatos worn in 2006 by Iggy Pop for his adv campaign. Pop wears actually a shirt and a tie. But the leather waistcoat, the sleeveless studded jacket, breaks the codes of formal wear. For fashionistas this is neither new nor shocking. For all the other customers – the main part, I think – this matching is justified by the personality, but it’s not appropriate. But wearing a leather waistcoat under a wool jacket we can even avoid wearing a coat in midwinter. And here a very captivating feature for men comes into play: the practicality. Especially if you don’t love long coats (a must-have for this season) and you usually drive a motorcycle. Think about it. Comfort and fashion together. Why not? The singer Iggy Pop in the adv campaign of the american designer John Varvatos, 2006 (detail).

Master of style. John Cassavetes: a rare mix of beauty and talent. Between the 50s and the 80s he acted in about thirty movies and directed a dozen of independent movies. They were “special” movies, often filmed in interiors, like theatrical pieces. Conceptual films and intellectual scripts. Cassavetes, indeed, is not so famous, mainly among young people. The only movie that reached the public approval and made him popular as an actor at the end of the 70s was Rosemary’s Baby, by Roman Polanski. And the only well-known one he directed was Gloria. A summer night, interpreted by his wife Gena Rowlands. She had the same destiny. she is little known even if she’s as talented and beautiful as others more famous colleagues. Cassavetes has always been in the shadows, like all the greats of the show business and he was (in my opinion) unconsciously sensual. He had an innate and discreet style, he was confident wearing a suit as well as a classic/informal outfit. John Cassavetes (on the right) with Peter Falk. Picture from the book John Cassavetes by Jim Healy and Emanuela Martini (Il Castoro Publishing)