Breaking the rules. Who knows me well, knows that I can’t stand social occasions: I limit my participation to the bare minimum. Then there’s the matter of outfit. Legend has it men are helped: “A beautiful dark jacket, white shirt, bow-tie or tie and you’re ok”, First of all, we’re bored to dress in the same way too; then, not necessarily only ladies can transgress. Can you try to break the rules? Yes, but only if you are already eccentric in everyday life. So, how to break the etiquette’s code for a social event? Take a look at the collections: there’s a triumph of check fabrics, from the micro-printed to the tartan, and there’s a big celebration of colour that leaves space to the most daring matches. And a lot of fashion accessories, and “little” objects of desire, but destined to a vertical decline soon. Picture by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

Forever Rock.

“I remember when rock was young”…sang Elton John in Crocodile Rock. This song is fourty years old but sounds younger. It sounds so up-to-date, that the word “rock” usually recur, especially in fashion shows’ reviews to describe (often improperly) fierce, strong and youthful attitude and fashion. A very successful style between young people, that keeps on being liked by much older men, those who maintain a style of dress consistent with a borderline way of life (at least in appearance). Fashion designers John Richmond, Ennio Capasa (Costume National Homme), Hedi Slimane (ex Dior Homme, now Saint Laurent Paris) and Roberto Cavalli are some of those that stick to rock appearance; others, in a more or less manifest and irregular way, deal with the subject mixing classic clothes with the black leather perfecto and pointed toe boots, as Balmain did for several seasons. Elton John’s outfit (right), who launched the song with the LP “Don’t shoot me I’m only the piano player” in 1973, conveys the idea fairly well. Elton John in a picture by Norman Parkinson taken from the book “Bespoke: the Men’s Style of Savile Row”.

Seconda intervista per The Men Issue e per max.gazzetta.it in collaborazione con Jaguar: Bill Shapiro, creative director dietro del menswear Moschino. Siamo partiti dall’Hotel Bulgari dove ho incontrato il fotografo Dennison Bertram per definire gli ultimi dettagli di un fashion shooting. Dopo, attraversando la città siamo arrivati fino alla sede di Moschino, dove abbiamo registrato questa video intervista guardando e commentando con Shapiro la collezione autunno/inverno 2013-2014.