The last uniform. Fashion inspired by military uniforms is a trend surviving through years, especially in menswear. At first designers took from them just the details, like the insignias that Gianfranco Ferré put on coats’ shoulders; later, in the 90s, Prada, Costume National Homme, Jil Sander and Dolce&Gabbana made entire collections based on charm and sensuality of this inspiration using simple and rough fabrics. Then, the fabrics became softer and dyed in blue, beige, even red, neglecting the original color, military green, indeed. Today is a trend that recalls the rock movements of the 70s, far away from the citation of Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Just look at the jacket designed by Kim Jones for Dior Homme photographed by Letizia Ragno for Style Magazine.

It was the spring/summer 2002 season, the second one by Hedi Slimane. Under Slimane’s creative direction, Dior Homme has introduced a characteristic slim silhouette which has since taken off within the fashion industry.

Fashion of Art. From 2010 the philosophy of “fashion of Art” started to spread. The most popular brands diversified their communication strategies incorporating other worlds, making them compatible with fashion. One of the first coexistences of art and design is the glass and steel  slide designed by Carsten Holler for Prada Milan headquarter. Among the most recent there are Dolce & Gabbana’s haute-couture (in Naples) and Alta Sartoria Uomo (in Palermo) fashion shows: they chose two art cities, not “fashion” cities, like Milan or Paris. But let’s consider the “tradition of fashion” and fashion in the strict sense and ask ourselves what will remain of this decade 2010/20.  The phenomenon of the millenials will go down in history; the innovation is not the proposal of a harmonious masculine/feminine and feminine/masculine ideal that has already existed from Jim Morrison on, and that was resumed by Hedi Slimane in 2000: the innovation is in the extraordinary ostentation that, translated in numbers, has taken Gucci back to the top of the most sold brands. Hats off to Alessandro Michele. In the end, in memories will remain the multitude of accessories that has supported and supports fashion’s budgets. Little-great pieces of contemporary art, from eyewear to shoes and bags.

Occhiali da sole, Dior Homme, f/w 2017.

The perfect single. In 2009 A single man, directed by Tom Ford, was out in cinemas. The cinematographic adaptation of the novel by Christopher Isherwood got an Oscar nomination and won a Coppa Volpi for Best Male Actor (Colin Firth, playing the part of the californian professor George Falconer). The novel lingers neither on the care that Falconer has for his appearance, nor on the nearly obsessive attention to details that, instead, represents a key element in the movie. Who internalized the figure of the professor thanks to Isherwood’s virtuosity, and then watched Ford’s adaptation, could have been annoyed by the softened and cold perfection of the character. The same thing happened for his bestfriend, Charlotte, interpreted by a sensational Julianne Moore. Tom Ford projected himself onto Falconer, even if he keeps the dramatic nature of the story. This would be Firth’s look (with accessories) if the story would have been set in 2016 instead of 1962. Tom Ford portrayed by Terry Richardson for Style Magazine (2009).