Special effects. “Susy Benner decided to improve her ballet level in the most famous dance school in Europe, the Friburg Academy. She arrived in Germany from New York at 22:45…”. This is how the nightmare of Susy/Jessica Harper starts. Suspiria (1977), 2nd only to Deep Red (1977), is one of Dario Argento’s best movies and represents his passage from thrillers to horrors. Creepy soundtrack and special effects (with the limits of that years) that set new standards. The photography by Luciano Tovoli is a very strong connotative element: bright colours, invasions of shades of red and blue. The academy’s wallpapers with surreal patterns were inspired by the drawings of Maurits Cornelis Escher. A pop and at the same time claustrophobic opera. A must-see.

Leaves’ colour. In his case, that kind of photography defined as still-life couldn’t have a most suitable name. For 35 years Karl Blossfeldt (Schielo 1865 – Berlin 1932) photographed leaves, seeds and flowers. Images that the german sculptor and photographer used to show his students how nature’s shapes, adapting to environment and weather, acquire different and fascinating morphologies. Blossfeldt, indeed, said: “Plants don’t have to be evaluated with an insensitive and mere functionalism, but their shapes develop on the basis of logic and adaptation and with their primordial strenght push every part to obtain the highest artistic expression”. His first photographic volume, Unformen der Kunst, was published in 1928 and today it’s still considered so much modern, that it suggests the hazard of a new form of modern art linked to the idea of “back to the roots”. The New Futurism? By now content ourselves with wearing the colour of nature. In this season’s collections there are garments for every taste and complexion. The opera omnia of Karl Blossfeldt

Beautiful and damned. He’s the “Joe” mentioned by Lou Reed in Walk on the Wild Side. That recites: “Little Joe never once gave it away/ Everybody had to pay and pay/ A hustle here and a hustle there/ New York city is the place where/ They said hey babe, take a walk on the wild side”. We’re talking about Joe Dallesandro, american model and actor, beautiful and damned: around fifty movies to his name, from 1967 to 2002, that didn’t achieve success. But he’s popular. Made famous by Andy Warhol and Paul Morissey, that hired him for his cult-shorts (Flesh and Trash), between the end of the ’60 and the early ’70. And by that Je t’aime moi non plus, that celebrates its 40th anniversary, shot with Jane Birkin. Marked by a borderline way of life, between clubs and the street, today Dallesandro is 67 years old, he has two sons and has been married three times. He’s still beautiful. And his style is still iconic. Joe Dallesandro in the poster of the movie Trash by Paul Morissey (1970).

Skateboard Etro s/s 2015

Associare Etro al paisley è automatico: la casa milanese ha rivisto e rielaborato il classico pattern in tutte le salse e su una vasta gamma di capi e accessori. Ha lanciato, tra gli altri, il concetto di Easy Paisley, declinato in classici per il tempo libero; e cosa può simboleggiare la “easiness” meglio di uno skateboard, oggetto peraltro tornato grandemente in auge negli ultimi anni? A cura di Angelica Pianarosa, Foto Michele Gastl.

The match Etro and paisley is inevitable: the Milanese brand has revised and reworked the classic pattern in every possible way and on a wide range of garments and accessories. It has created the idea of Easy Paisley, in the form of classics for the spare time; and what can symbolize easiness better than a skateboard, object that, furthermore, has been brought back to fashion in the last years? Edited by Angelica Pianarosa, ph. Michele Gastl.

New Vintage. On the right you can see Lew Ayres. The movie that made him a star, All Quiet on the Western Front, is of 1930, the same year of this picture. Ayres, pacifist, during the Second World War tried to enlist in the Red Cross: the military authorities refused. He declared himself to be conscientious objector and he was sent in the Pacific as a paramedic. He almost won the Oscar with Johnny Belinda (1948) but his career was already signed by the “shame”. Man of refined manners, he was refined in dressing as well. In the art of photography, the black and white gives back an unbeatable class. It’s easy to guess that Ayres’ look was in the shades of beige and khaki. His shoes, probably, were black. The modernity of this look is amazing. Despite 30s’ fashion is not a trend of this year’s s/s collections, that timeless style emerges in some shapes, volumes and shades. It won’t be difficult to find a similar jacket. It’s perfect, worn like this, with a pair of dark brogues and the shirt opened at the second button. It might be worth copying this outfit, which is wonderful. The american actor Lew Ayres in a picture of 1930.