Menswear looks from Milan based fashion brands were on display throughout the city from Fashion Shows to Presentations in stunning settings. Being a Fashion Capital, Milan offers a myriad of designers producing clothing, shoes, bags, and other accessories for the well-dressed man of the season who desires relaxed tailoring. Menswear fashion taste is consistent; a definition of male elegant sex appeal and seduction combined with soft fabrics, some collections were muted while others were a mix of hues and patterns. A luxury accessory here and there can do wonders for a look, Milan lived up to its reputation for leather goods with shoes and bag in all shapes, colors, and sizes.
I was proactive in Milan from the time I landed to the time I left, racing around the city with a smartphone app (installed on my second day) or asking police and super friendly metro station workers for directions was a fun way to get around the city from one location to the next for an interview or conferences held by Camera Nazinale della Moda Italiana. Public transport in Milan is excellent, from the romantic vintage trams to the modern underground system. Walking around can took a bit of skill because of the city’s triangle planned streets, north and south seemed one but I managed.
Eat your heart out Downton Abbey! The surroundings of the presentations were impressive, and in some cases, stunning. Medieval palaces, 19th century villas in the heart of the city, fashion storytelling with an arc of fineness. Yes, I was awe inspired looking over a shoe collection with a 400 year old tapestry in the background. Moving forward to the modern locales, which were equally impressive included: garages, roof top cafes, and a shop with an 8 meter mannequin, there was not a single dull place to view next Spring’s looks.
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Shoes Glorious Shoes, we were anxious to see them all.
Jimmy Choo decided on a masculine effect for 2017.
Giuseppe Zanotti colors and more colors with washed silks and decorative elements.
Bally Shoes get a new groove with added embellishments to the brand DNA.
Fratelli Rossetti classic styling mingles exotic leathers and tassels.
Tod’s is known for low key style with luxury details.
Christian Louboutin‘s collection were about making a statement.
Rush, rush from one place to another I decided to use a small camera for Milan Fashion Week , the Canon Ixus. I slipped it in and out of my bag during appointments for fast pictures. It was a great fit.
The city on the Thames made strides with collections that showcase its fast lane style moving from gender free looks to oversized shapes. What makes London Fashion so electric is the quirkiness of its designers with their ability to throw any and everything at the wall. There is a refusal to allow one type of aesthetic to command the scene but rather it borrows or absorbs to in order to define its own sense of the masculine form.
“We Russians are crazy and that is normal.” This is a quote from my Q&A interview with Russian photographer Vladmir Sichov. For over 30 years Vlad has covered the world of sports, politics, celebrity, and fashion before retiring.
Born in Capital City of Kazan, Tartarstan, 800 km from Moscow, Vlad bought his first camera in 1965 while studying at the university. As he would tell me, “nothing really mattered after I started taking pictures.” Street life in the Soviet Union was his subject. Sichov was a member of the unofficial art scene of the Soviet Union.
In 1979, he emigrated to the West landing in Vienna then later moving to Paris. While there famed photographer Helmut Newton saw his images prompting him to urge Paris Vogue to give Vladamir a tryout leading to a 2 year stint as a photographer for the publication.
In 1980, his stark pictures of everyday existence in the Soviet Union help propel him to become the most published photographer in the world with numerous editorials in magazines ranging from Life, Paris Match, and Brunte.
Having recently moved to Berlin from Paris, I met him for a café and a conversation about his extensive career filled with fascinating stories about his life, capturing moments set against different historical backdrops.
Why did you become a photographer?
I lived between the rail station and market in an industrial city named “Kazan” in a country that no longer exists. People were always walking by, now they drive, but back then life was at my window. I bought myself a Soviet Camera, Zenit, when I was a student in University 1965 in a Jazz band playing the saxophone. After I got my camera, I was hooked. I had to buy black and white short end film stock from cinema students. Kodak film was too expensive.
Pskovo-Pecheeky monastery, 1972.
What was it like being a photographer in the Soviet Union?
I spent time in jail. Many of friends were dissidents, not a part of the system. I had exhibitions in my apartment of unofficial art from 1973 to 1979 with artists who were not accepted by the system.
Mikhail Odnoralov
You had to leave the Soviet Union.
“If you live in a cage you want to see what is outside.” I did not have the privilege to leave because I was not in the circle. You could leave for Israel so I got an invitation from there because I knew people. I got to Vienna where I was stateless and had nothing. When I had exhibitions in the Soviet Union diplomats came to my flat so I had friends from the outside. I waited in Austria for a diplomat to smuggle my works to the West. When I left the USSR (1979) a person could carry nothing except what was on your back. I was the first photographer to leave the USSR with my archive.
Sviyajsk, Tatarstan, 11.04.2014
Suzdal, 1974.
Moscow, USSR, 1972-1979.
After your time in Vienna you went to Paris?
Yes, straight to I met Sipa News Agency from there to Paris Match. The editor liked my work. Back then the press was managed by people who had a passion for news, fanatics who worked 360 days of the year.
What is your connection to Helmut Newton?
Helmut saw my work in Paris Match. He convinced Paris Vogue to give me a test shoot. In the September 1980 issue I had 40 pages of Haute Couture. Fashion was a new world for me. During my life, my friends were people outside the system. Then suddenly, I met Lagerfeld, Saint Laurent, and Rykiel.
The wardrobe of a fashion prince is not complete without a bespoke suit, elegance married with individuality. Huntsman on London’s Savile Row has been status symbol for 165 years. With par excellence skills of tailoring the sartorial team has been sort after by to royalty, aristocrats, captains of industry, and Hollywood Celebrities.
From heritage tweeds to collaborations with Alexander McQueen the famed store has stayed true its history while being modern, recently launching new wears. A Classic is always in style!
The store front of the legendary establishment.
Each suit has a base of over 30 measurements, we sketch the silhouette of the client at the base fitting stage.Tweed is something that is very much at the centre of British Bespoke tailoring coming historically from a country life.
Spring Looks
Huntsman suits become status symbols due to a combination of exquisite tailoring.
