Reinterpreting Style: Grey Fox at Pitti Uomo

I've just returned from Pitti Uomo in Florence, where I was the guest of Johnstons of Elgin, whose AW17 menswear collection was being launched. I'll write about that in a later feature; here I want to record a few thoughts prompted by my experiences at Pitti.

Image Grey Fox

To call Pitti Uomo simply a vast menswear trade fair would be to miss the point. Based in Italy, it's bound to be coloured by the sartorial splendour of that country. Famous for the well-dressed men, peacocking in the central square and pursued by photographers, the world sees a distorted, yet in some ways accurate, view of the event. It's really about the commercial world of menswear, but showmanship and Italian 'bravura' can't be held back in a country where appearance, 'la bella figura', is so important.

Chatting at Pitti - image Grey Fox

I'd been wanting to get to Pitti since I started this blog five years ago. It was Scott Schuman's (The Sartorialist) images of dapper older men at the event that made me realise that the older man is not lost to style - an assumption it's easy to make in the world where menswear brands largely ignore you once you're past thirty years of age.

Going to Pitti has inevitably coloured my view of style. The experience has furthered my search for style which is the central theme of this blog. How has it done that? I've always realised that style means different things to different men, but I'm learning to accept and use the richness of this variety. To some style is showing yourself off as a peacock, in the modern sense of the dandy*, in flamboyant clothes and behaviour; to to others, style is more subtle, akin to Beau Brummel whose original interpretation of dandyism was more perfection in fit and quality, understatement in design and a way of life than flamboyance. Most of us look for something in between (I know I do), but the two extremes influence us all.  We take elements of a look, however extreme or conventional, in the use of colour or pattern, and apply a selection, an interpretation, to suit our own style and to influence how we dress. 

I will be using some of these thoughts this year. I'm planning a series of interviews with men of style to be called Masters of Style, seeking their advice for buying and styling our wardrobes to suit our own tastes and personalities. I'll also be giving you some of my own ideas as to how we can use the clothes we have more effectively, looking at our existing wardrobes in a novel way.

Meanwhile, have a  look at these images taken at Pitti and see if they inspire you in any way.

*I'll shortly be reviewing Rose Callahan's most recent photographic examination of dandyism which shows these extremes to perfection. Click here to browse or buy We Are Dandy: The Elegant Gentleman Around the World.