We dressed the American style. Today at the Metropolitan Museum in New York opens the first part of the exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion; the second one – An Anthology of Fashion – is going to open in May 2022. In terms of self-celebration the Americans are champions; just like the French. Lucky them. But in terms of fashion, luxury brands are rare exceptions. On the other hand they’re brilliant communicators, brave and skilled in marketing, but not always able to leave the mark with memorable collections. “American fashion” is, indeed, more referred to an idea of style and talks about a self-referential culture, everything but inclusive. “American fashion” is Brooke Shields in Calvin Klein denim, Ralph Lauren’s Hamptons, the Studio 54 star system celebrated by Halston. It’s a mood. Not by chance the ambassador of fashion worldwide has been an Italian, Franca Sozzani. Anna Wintour has never been able to bring Italian and French designers on New York catwalks, like she’d like to (for years).

Yacht club. That kind of menswear inspired by the sea can be easily defined as timeless. Yes to jackets (for the yacht), windbreakers (for the sailing boat), pullover made of cotton (for both), accessories for watersports. And, for the most elegant, yes to the classic double-breasted blue navy blazer with contrasting buttons for the happy hour. Why are they timeless pieces? The striped sweater reminds us of the pictures of Dalì with Garcia Lorca in the 20s. The windbreaker reminds us of the legendary Jacques Cousteau in the documentaries of the 60s/70s. Actually, the steel cronograph can be also worn in the city, as the white trousers, that perfectly match red and blue (but never wear them all together, they immediately make think about the french flag). In terms of shoes, espadrilles are allowed only at the seaside. Jacques Cousteau on the Calypso, ex minesweeper of the Royal Navy, after a diving exploration.

British College. The illustration by J. C. Leyendecker (right) conveys the features and the codes of a timeless style, from the British campuses: the first signs of men’s fashion of the 20th century. The drawing is of 1929, and it was the adv campaign of the Interwoven hosiery factory. I’ve already written about the importance of socks. As you can see, even our forerunners were very careful about details. Look at the rest of the look: apart from the pipe (I haven’t seen one for decades), it is in accordance with the taste of several modern brands, that propose the eternal college style in sweater or blazer version and the wide trousers with turn-ups. And finally the slippers. That, horrible for some and gorgeous for others, are the number-one-accessory in the list of fashionistas. Right, an illustration of J.C Leyendecker for Interwoven (1929)

Baggy and loose shapes are back in fashion. … Continua a leggere →

Facciamo finta di non sapere chi sia Brad Pitt. Supponiamo di vedere il suo bel volto per la prima volta sulla copertina dell’ ultimo Style (novembre 2011). Mettiamo che, dopo averlo visto, ci chiedano di stilare una classifica dei 10 uomini più belli del mondo. Se lo chiedessero a me, non lo metterei tra i primi dieci e neppure nei primi 30. A meno che tagliasse i capelli, si curasse la barba (o la togliesse del tutto) e fosse vestito diversamente da come appare in questa foto: il confine tra comfort è sciatteria è dannatamente labile. Brad ha superato i 30 da un bel pò, età limite per sedurre con lo stratagemma del bello e dannato; e a niente ormai serve il vecchio trucco di posare tirando su la fronte con la mano per attenuare le rughe e alzare la palpebra che dopo i 35 comincia la sua biologica discesa gravitazionale. E’ ufficiale: Brad si è omologato alla folta schiera degli inutilmente sciatti. Un po’ per colpa della moda che da anni illude che si può sembrare più giovani vestendosi da giovani: credetemi, non è così.  … Continua a leggere →