Gainsbourg Icon. Serge Gainsbourg, the bad boy of french pop, was said to be arrogant and violent and that his lifestyle dissolute; the label of “beautiful and damned” doesn’t fit him that much, because he was certainly not “beautiful”. But “damned”, probably, yes. Anyway the unkempt appearance it’s still somehow quite attractive related to the idea of a kind of devious and eccentric men, defined as artists and uncommon person, so that he’s become a real icon, and his style it’s being re-proposed to represent a certain nonchalant fashion. Tom Ford In 2002, during his time as creative director for Gucci, designed a collection feauturing extremely comfortable silhouettes made from soft and fluid fabrics like jersey and wool cloth. Although the reviews were enthusiastic, the collection didn’t have the expected results. The same thing happened, more recently, for Zegna collections by Stefano Pilati. I have already written about how oversize fashion still can’t find its way to the general public’s heart, for now. I personally like it, but I recognize its limits.

The elegance of mixing. Softness, romance and disorder, three keywords that depict a man that’s inclined to handle his own look, and to take the risk of not being completely in line with the codes of traditional menswear. In this column I’ve already written about what I think in terms of a more contemporary attitude, but I understand that mixing genres could be not so accepted by the Italian general public. Elsewhere this mix has been legitimized for quite a long time. But, you know: we’re one of the most conservative countries in Europe. But don’t say that Tony Musante doesn’t embody a universal and traditional masculine aesthetics. And yet, the “frilly” accessory doesn’t jar. This week’s picture portrays him in the backstage of Anonimo Veneziano, directed by Enrico Maria Salerno, out in 1970, one of the first (Italian) movies that focused on the hypocrisies of traditional family. Upstream and nonconformist, indeed.

We’re so formal. Do we have to expect a back to formal? Yes, we do. The codes will be different, but the suit will be a trend of f/w 2019; so we can say that the most loved style – the classic, indeed – is coming back, again. To understand how fashion is a countinuous series of quotes of itself, we need a quick review: what happened in the 80s? From the street style of the 70s, all about denim, fringes and fitted shirts, the silhouette was redesigned by padded shoulders and lots of colors, lots of excess. Maybe too much. Ten years later the new diktats avoid color and prefer the total black, and slim volumes for jackets, trousers and also ties, that passes from 12cms wide to 4. What happens today: we’re coming from an extreme street-style. Well, now we’re starting to aim for more tidiness and rigor. The first signals? The blazers with visible stitching and a lot of black. Is time to wipe the suit agin. Or to buy a new one.

The exception to the rule. Timeless beauty. When elegance and charisma coexist, there’s not much to talk about, the picture talks for itself. Mr Irons, on the set for Style Magazine december 2015, was dressed really…normally: pullover, a scarf, dark jeans. The only almost clashing detail, but typical of the american taste, that belongs to the clichè of a great and a bit capricious actor: pointed boots. It’s ok. They’re ok. But you have to be tall. When I was a boy I often dressed like this, I liked it: a pullover, five-pockets in bleached denim and the above-menioned “camperos”. At eighteen you can wear almost everything. And then I was in perfect harmony with the trends. Jeremy Irons can wear almost everything because he’s a global star! Today the boots under the jeans are honestly outdated. But Irons doesn’t make fashion, he makes movies, he does it well and we like him. Total respect. But if you aren’t him, please, wear a pair of desert boots. Jeremy Irons in a picture by Brigitte Lacombe for Style Magazine.

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)