Three steps towards the future. A summer ago we were free to travel, have fun, go shopping. Today we are halfway (hopefully) from nightmare and the day after, (still) stuck in a bubble of uncertainty. We’re living our first summer in black and white after years of (naive) inconsciousness, at the mercy of false values, clouded by appearance and far from the essence. The cover of Style Magazine – a magazine about style, especially twice a year and this is one of those times – sends a message for the future: the location chosen by the photographer, an inspired Max Vadukul, represents the past to be demolished and contrasts with the volitive attitude of the three young actors: Laura Adriani, Matteo Oscar Giuggioli and Alberto Boubakar Malanchino. The mood of the fashion – simple, basic – suggests a timeless “menstyle”: a step back, towards a discreet, but not nostalgic, elegance. A step back to make three steps forward: towards a better future that, by now, we can only imagine. And that we have to regain and deserve.

Dress as you eat. Tell me how you eat and I’ll tell you how you dress. Vegan = fundalist minimalist. The 100% sustainable denim is ok, but a big no to animal leather. No to chicks, butterflies and tigers prints. Yes to fabric shoes, like espadrilles, and to a general, strong preference for neutral colors. The final effect is, often, a surprising mess, difficult to define: which is better, cause I hate labels. So do vegans. Vegetarians = rigorous creative. It seems like an oxymoron but it’s not. Bright colors matched with extreme care, slim fit or, if the weight doesn’t allow it due to an excessive carbs intake, the vegetarian opts for a vibrant melting pot of silhouettes and a mix of fabrics, from mohair to linen. Omnivorous = serial consumer. Heterogeneous in terms of food and style. Luxurious, empirical, showy. Generous. Everything and the opposite of everything is worth, only self confidence matters. And it’c cyclical: parka and turtle neck all winter long, printed shirt and beige trousers for the summer. The year after: camelhair coat and jacket…? I don’t know, still have to buy them.

Gainsbourg Icon. Serge Gainsbourg, the bad boy of french pop, was said to be arrogant and violent and that his lifestyle dissolute; the label of “beautiful and damned” doesn’t fit him that much, because he was certainly not “beautiful”. But “damned”, probably, yes. Anyway the unkempt appearance it’s still somehow quite attractive related to the idea of a kind of devious and eccentric men, defined as artists and uncommon person, so that he’s become a real icon, and his style it’s being re-proposed to represent a certain nonchalant fashion. Tom Ford In 2002, during his time as creative director for Gucci, designed a collection feauturing extremely comfortable silhouettes made from soft and fluid fabrics like jersey and wool cloth. Although the reviews were enthusiastic, the collection didn’t have the expected results. The same thing happened, more recently, for Zegna collections by Stefano Pilati. I have already written about how oversize fashion still can’t find its way to the general public’s heart, for now. I personally like it, but I recognize its limits.

Hey, Macho. “The cowboy style is an implicit pledge of allegiance to the mentality the myth embodies, which can be denominated as rugged individualism”. This is how Lawrence Wright, American writer and journalist, depicts the Tex-Mex, the so-called fusion of texan genre and streetwear. Differently from what he writes in his book God Save Texas – “The counterpart of machism is that we reject the female side of our nature” -, fashion questions the rules of western iconography and softens a style that comes from  the workwear of cowboys, – “but that still today is chosen by many Texans that actually live in offices or indoor”.