A classic is forever. When a garment or an accessory is called with the name of a brand instead of its own, is a sign that that brand has become a part of the history of fashion. The first cases are from the 70s, when even a fabric replaced the word “coat”: the “loden”. And Ray-Ban, that replaced the word sunglasses: “I’ve bought a pair of Ray-Ban”. From then on it has been a sequence of icon-brands like K-Way, Levi’s. It was “I’d like to buy a Lacoste” instead of “I’d like to buy a polo shirt”. Later, the same fate for the trench/Burberry and, in the 80s, “I’ve choosen an Armani”. These and many others, are griffes that, if not in the classic dictionary, could surely be included in a thesaurus.

Beautiful and damned. He’s the “Joe” mentioned by Lou Reed in Walk on the Wild Side. That recites: “Little Joe never once gave it away/ Everybody had to pay and pay/ A hustle here and a hustle there/ New York city is the place where/ They said hey babe, take a walk on the wild side”. We’re talking about Joe Dallesandro, american model and actor, beautiful and damned: around fifty movies to his name, from 1967 to 2002, that didn’t achieve success. But he’s popular. Made famous by Andy Warhol and Paul Morissey, that hired him for his cult-shorts (Flesh and Trash), between the end of the ’60 and the early ’70. And by that Je t’aime moi non plus, that celebrates its 40th anniversary, shot with Jane Birkin. Marked by a borderline way of life, between clubs and the street, today Dallesandro is 67 years old, he has two sons and has been married three times. He’s still beautiful. And his style is still iconic. Joe Dallesandro in the poster of the movie Trash by Paul Morissey (1970).

Sunglasses have been a must-have since the maisons have decided to focus on accessories, realizing ad hoc advertising campaigns. Always keeping an eye on savings though: while they are shooting the colletion, in the same location, with the same sobjects and -obviously-the same photographer, they take some pictures on the side to represent the most desiderable of all designer accessories: sunglasses. Corrective lenses are for every season, but now the same strategy it’s being applied to sunlenses, which are not anymore being proposed only from april to july, the “hot” magazine issues. It’s interesting to think about how our habits have changed, if we take a look at our family album’s pictures prior to the 80s. Before then, sunglasses were only used for practical reasons. Only celebrities used to wear sunglasses even on rainy days or indoor, but as always, society is indulgent with them. Even though I’m not part of the Very Important People, I can’t resist the temptation of hidind my eyes even during the winter, is it that arrogance or insicurity? Mah. One thing is for sure: not taking your sunglasses off while you’re having a conversation it’s a sign of intolerable rudeness.