Sport and fashion have a lot in common: nowadays is not hard to find athletes being dressed by designers and see fabrics that are generally being used for sportswear being used for everyday wear. Prada in the 90s has been the first experimenting with technical fibers and fabrics in outerwear and even in shirts that became stretched. It was Armani with Dolce & Gabbana and again Prada to design the uniforms for many sport disciplines. Dirk Bikkembergs since 2000 has dropped fashion design devoting himself to a “sport-couture” line. The bond between this two different worlds, a part from technical considerations, has surely helped eradicating the theory that labelled mens fashion as a gay thing for years.”The fact of having been dressing athletes for years, has helped getting men interested in the trend, smoothing the rough edges of that discriminating feeling” (cit. Stefano Gabbana).This week’s picture in a perfect example of how such an almost-fetish object as leather shorts, additionally black, can suddently become doable if used in a real context. Ex striker Nicola Ventola wearing Thierry Mugler’s napa leather shorts. Picture by Julian Hargreaves for “Uomo” 2002.

YEARS OF LEAD

The 70s aesthetic has always been dear to me, and is not even just because of anagraphic reasons. I like it because it has been an expression of freedom. That generation had a strong desire to break up with the past and a need to think outside the boxes that was showing through their look. In the meantime the typical italian man, stereotyped as being manly with pomade in his hair, was disappointed. However, it has been a charming style revolution and we still do appreciate it, since cyclically it comes back into fashion. The first brand to ebrace that 70s look has been Louis Vuitton, which in 2000 chose a face for its new campign that could have been spotted out in a student demonstration. The model was Bill Gentle, who’s now a photographer living in the USA. Bill is also the sobject of this week’s picture, from an old 2002 “Uomo” editorial. The styling was all about the years of lead: when handmaded parkas and pullovers were considered “left wing” outfits. Picture taken with Instagram, original shot by Francesca Lotti for “L’Uomo” 2002. Eskimo coat by Fendi and pullover by Yohij Yamamoto.