(Revisited) Icons. Is there a way to update an iconic style? It’s difficult, because the icon has a precise symbolic meaning, which is “untouchable”. The English poet Thom Gunn (1929-2004) chose to move to San Francisco to come out. In those years, the Sixties, even in the States this matter was a taboo (it doesn’t mean that now it’s a bed of roses…). In the picture on the right we see Gunn in a biker-casual outfit: checked shirt, gun belt and jeans. An iconic attire, in fact, adopted by many Hollywood stars, from Steve McQueen to Jude Law (when he’s far from the red carpet, of course). It reminds us the costumes of Brokeback Mountain, just to stay on the topic. Well, this week I throw down the guantlet: I try to “debunk” that old-fashioned image with a base close to the original, but with a modern styling. Look at the pictures, and tell me if I’m wrong. The English poet Thom Gunn

 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.