In the post-feminist era at the beginning of the 80s, women felt like enhancing their beauty and men, driven by vanity, started taking maniacal care of their looks as well. At that particular time, it was not about awareness but most likely about showing off. The messages that the designer’s kingdom, Milan’s fashion quad, was sending out have been creating a new breed of ever-tanned bodybuilders with hair slicked back and hardened by Tenax, who used to wear obviously only designer clothes. In Milan, they used to gather around Mc Donald’s, but it was really happening everywere and not just in the capital of Lombardy, heart of Italian fashion. And made in Italy it was. Magazines had different points of view about style: on the one hand they had to satisfy the trend, on the other hand fashion directors and fashion editors had to fulfill their personal vision. That vison was way classier than those trends, in fact it was suggesting a different kind of beauty: pale skin, inner attitude and also a bohemian posture in order to contrast the arrogant stride of those prevailing machos. What about female models? Instead of chosing the super-beautiful ones we used to prefere the androgynous kind, to dress them up as a man. Picture by Claus Wickrath for L’uomo Vogue, July 1987. Dresses by Enrico Coveri.

Every passing decade leaves different shapes of clothes behind. In the past I already wroteabout the beauty of knowing how to mix and matchvintage with modern pieces, even suggesting fabrics and trends that we haven’t seen in a while. Of course, there’s always something that cannot be proposed ever again, like the Varty and Cleaver’s typical nuance of white (the couple of designers who has made Byblos glorious in the 80s), that was their signature sign;  in an ideal world, where we would have the chanceand the space to preserve our clothes in perfect conditions, one should never get rid of their pieces!The latest kaleidoscopic fashion shows are pushing the bouderies, in favour of creativity. A great example of repechage would be ashirt in a very light and soft corduroy fabric with a smooth velvet tie, so that their rubbing against eachother wont reduce the natural movement of fabrics. Since velvet is quite a thick material, the jacket to wear should be made in a lighter fabric as a consequence. Perhaps a wool crepe or a silk and wool blend one. And maybe who knows… even the white ankle lenght longcoat could always make its comeback..

Image by Davide Cernuschi, from a 1997 Harper’s Bazaar Uomo issue. Woolen suit, velvet shirt and tie by Giorgio Armani.

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.

AN ARMOUR NAMED TRENCH

The proper name is trench coat, a water-resistant piece of clothing that can replace your coat. The first one was realized by Burberry in 1901, commissioned by the English War’s Ministry. Since then, it seems like the trench became very popular among people involved in the justice system (or at least in the collective immagination), from the movie “Casablanca” till Antonio Di Pietro, unconvincing model for an italian GQ editorial of some time ago. The list can go on and on, from Bogart to the Honorable, Colombo and Sheridan, Alain Delon in “Tony Arzenda”, Michael Cane in “Dressed to Kill”, Donald Sutherland in “The eye of the needle”.The trench do have a warlike appearance: considerable lapel, military insignias, the waist belt, the double breasted buttoning and the over the knee lenght, always. All of this features together can give you a feeling of self-protection and an assertive allure. Only one flaw: it keeps you too warm in the spring and not worm enought in the winter. But here’s a trick: all you need is a removable padded or woolen internal lining, that you can put on and off according to the weather. On top, actor Filippo Timi is wearing a trench coat shot by Stefano Babic. Instagram picture from Max magazine (2008).