A journey in the light. Clothes Giorgio Armani, picture by Alistair Taylor Young, Styling Luca Roscini.

Far and wide. Giorgio Armani, 1982. Ph. Aldo Fallai for L’uomo Vogue. Look at the baggy shapes you see today in the shops’ windows: lots of them show suits, raincoats, coats, shirts, sweaters and trousers that remind the lines of this Armani collection, that dates back to 33 years ago. No, I don’t want to write the nth tribute to Giorgio Armani, but it’s instinctive to say: “Everything started from there and there we come back!”. An ultimate back to the roots? No. In two seasons this trend will be replaced by others. But let’s stick to the present; today we’ve recovered the pleasure of wearing large clothes, that are more comfortable and elegant than the too fitted menswear that has been in fashion for years. But pay attention to baggy trousers; when you sit down your ankles show up looking like breadsticks, and give a disproportionate appearance: the risk is to give this impression also when we stand up; so avoid loafers and pointed shoes and prefer monkstraps or brogues with wide and round shape.

Milan in the middle. Milan, that Milan written and interpreted by Lucio Dalla in 1979: “Milano you change many banks, Milan wide legs, Milan that laughs and has fun…”. 36 years have passed by. From May on, the city is in the public eye, it’s the middle of the world. Thinking about Milan, talking and writing about it: this always moves me. I won’t ever change it with any other. Rather, if I have to change my life, I’ll move to the seaside: a small town, surrounded by nature. But the best city remains Milan. For months it will be full of Chinese, Japanese, American, British, French, German people. Someone will even come from Australia, Korea, Russia. Eyes on. “…Milano what a strain…”. Is it going to be a success? I hope so. The legend has it that Italian men are the most elegant. I don’t agree with it, but let’s try to stoke this legend. And wish it could become the truth. The new skyscrapers of Gae Aulenti Square, in Milan.

In double-breasted. This week’s picture is a frame of the movie I believe in you, set in London during the postwar period. The main character wears with self-confidence the double-breasted jacket, that way of dress of the gangsters typical of the late 40s, that oriented the fashion of great designers such as Armani and Versace. The gangster figure – from Scarface (the original one, directed by Howard Hawks in 1932) to Borsalino, Chinatown and dozens of other popular movies – has a particular appeal that in the collective consciousness refers to a specific style. Today the double-breasted lasts and is the guarantor of an elegant and refined, not necessarily too formal, attire. The lapels are shawl or peak, but narrower than then. To respect the proportions, the shirt has to have a little collar. The same for the tie. A frame from the movie I believe in you, 1952