The art of matching. Selecting the proper accessories that matches your look seems easy, but even a little detail can ruin everything. To reduce the risks, respect the rule that want every accessory, from hat to socks, to be in pendant with the outfit; and no mistakes allowed even concerning the fabrics: there are also rules about matching different materials in the proper way. For example: don’t match cashmere with shearling, yes to shearling with tweed. Rather is better to opt for a complete change of fabric: nylon hat with camelhair coat. But personality is required, as well as for wearing red socks with a blue suit or sneakers with jeans: this is so obvious that the sneakers have to be really, really special. But if you have classic tastes, stay classic: blue with blue and denim only with desert boots.

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

The right intuition. Years ago I had to find an idea to unite the entire issue of the magazine I directed: every two months, the magazine had a single subject that involved every part of it, from the various columns to fashion, up to news and even the horoscope. I was in Paris for fashion shows, and Paul Smith displayed his collection in a swimming pool: chlorine smell, the dives sound, and the idea arrived, water. What I mean is that you can be everywhere, in every circumstance and you can have an eureka moment that solves a little enigma when you least expect it. A scent, a noise, a colour, sometimes can be enough. Who has a mind open to every spark, especially who – like me – has the privilege of having a creative job, can have the right intuition everywhere. Paul Smith was right, when he entitled his volume “You can find inspiration in everything”, and in his honour this week we’ve shot some pieces of cloth among the most brilliant and fascinating that I found in the winter collections. The cover of Paul Smith’s book.