His name’s Scott. The relationship between Larry Paul Scott as a model and as an artist is like that between Sean Connery and James Bond: like Connery has never succeeded in getting free from Bond, so Larry can’t purge him from the image of his face on the first campaign of Acqua di Giò. Then you search for him on Google and you find out that last June in Spain, in Girona, he has carried out his first photography exhibition. Scott’s photography is only in black and white, he has portrayed real people, focusing on the glamour and the trash of the nightlife of New York City, but I prefer his triptychs composed by nature, human beings and architectures, that emphasize perfection, beauty and nature. On Instagram, that by now is the most important agency for photographers in the world, you can find him as @larrypaulscott. Maybe we’ll see him again posing for fashion magazines, but as a talent, no more as a top model or, as he prefers to be defined, as an “ex top model”. Because today Larry is a great artist that deserves to be followed carefully.

Blue tie. The tribute by Giovanni Gastel to Richard Avedon, for Style Magazine (2010). “Severe” light, off-white background. The models’ action counterposes the solemnity of the tribute of a great photographer to a popular predecessor. The models, like they’re dancing, seem not to care about the mess they create in the clothes: the movements dissolve the severity of a normally impeccable attire as the tuxedo is. Out of the fashion sets, in real life, we can imagine a similar ease choosing a different way of “wearing the evening”: for example, breaking black with blue.

Summer remix. Summer, ready, go: last call for elegance. Be careful about fast shopping, the compulsive desire of something new and trendy is often a bad counselor. Be more thrifty! Reflect well, before buying the same old bermuda shorts, shirts, cotton trousers: you already have three or four of them, and maybe you’ve worn them twice. Look at our magazines and at the online fashion reviews without being fussy: “That’s a fashionistas’ stuff”. You’ll realize that many of those suggestions, that look too trendy at first sight, draw inspiration from a timeless style. That same charme that make you claim: “Men were so elegant in the past!”. And then, personalize your choices, don’t trust exclusively on total looks, take the shirt proposed by Tom and the trousers by Harry. Do the same thing for accessories. Choose what is more suitable for you, put the pieces together and the result won’t disappoint you. William Holden in 1939, ph. William Walling.

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)

Breaking the rules. Who knows me well, knows that I can’t stand social occasions: I limit my participation to the bare minimum. Then there’s the matter of outfit. Legend has it men are helped: “A beautiful dark jacket, white shirt, bow-tie or tie and you’re ok”, First of all, we’re bored to dress in the same way too; then, not necessarily only ladies can transgress. Can you try to break the rules? Yes, but only if you are already eccentric in everyday life. So, how to break the etiquette’s code for a social event? Take a look at the collections: there’s a triumph of check fabrics, from the micro-printed to the tartan, and there’s a big celebration of colour that leaves space to the most daring matches. And a lot of fashion accessories, and “little” objects of desire, but destined to a vertical decline soon. Picture by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.