Triumphant Milan. “This book is not only an itinerary through some of the most beautiful entryways of Milan’s buildings, but also an emotional journey where the sense of chic lies in the balance between color and minimalist splendor”. This is the beginning of the book Entryways of Milan (Taschen), edited by the german art director Karl Kolbitz, with a writing of the fashion designer Stefano Pilati, that in his collections for Yves Saint Laurent and Zegna has always proved that he knows how to conciliate with balance colors and shapes. The entryways photographed, no less than 144, have been built from the 30s to the end of the 60s in areas that until 20 years ago where considered adjacent to the historical centre but not central. Now that Milan is one of the most interesting cities in Europe again, the suburbs are an integral part of a metropolis that lives of tourism, thanks also to art and design. Talking of fashion: today brands look for a futuristic placement, releasing from past references, apart from some intrusions in the 70s and 80s. And the 30s.

Man, underneath. Men’s care about underwear has become as quite important as menswear. Several years of adv campaigns shot by popular photographers like Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Aldo Fallai for “signature” underpants and tank tops like Armani, Dolce&Gabbana and first of all Calvin Klein, has emphasized male’s body and given the right importance to a category of garments that was considered unimportant until the 60s and 70s. Choose the underwear that suits you best, depending on your body shape. Boxer shorts or underpants? It depends on you build but mainly on how much you feel comfortable with one or the other. And T-shirt or tank top? It’s the same thing, considering that – if they’re made of stretch-cotton – they helps to shape and improve even a flawed chest. Talking about the pajamas, in winter I prefer tracksuits, while in summer I like the classic one, with buttons, in fresh cotton poplin and preferably light blue.

 Black returns. Total black has been celebrated by many designers such as Prada, Costume National, Dolce&Gabbana, Armani and Helmut Lang. In particular, french brands have glorified it, from Stefano Pilati, when he was creative director for Yves Saint Laurent, to Dior Homme, Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Jean Paul Gaultier. And what about the far away 80s, when the cote dark-intellectual reigned, thanks to the japanese brands Comme des Garçons and Yohij Yamamoto. Today black is living a second life. Above all in leather, that “joins” fashion even sewn with wool, as the case of Valentino. Black leather evokes a sport imagination linked to motorcycles’ world, but it celebrates firts of all an erotic idea: just think about the pictures by Robert Mapplethorpe. If black leather’s trend will become established, I’m sure that black will return in fabric and knitwear soon. I hope not in shirts.