Trends by Andrea Vigneri on 23 October 2012

All crazy for the roll necks

The past years have seen Hollywood celebrities in Rome, voluptuous scandinavian beauties, the economic growth and the wild nights in via Veneto, all echoing scenes of the movie “La Dolce vita” directed by Federico Fellini. In fact it is much more than a movie, it is the portrait of an era, an anthology of the costumes, an encyclopedic dictionary that has defined things and created a language; the word “paparazzo” was noted by Mastroianni when, after a night out he took home the blond diva Silvia to her hotel. The tight roll neck owes its fame to this movie, when the handsome and sexy Marcello Mastroianni wore it in few scenes. In the last century the roll neck has been worn by some of the most elegant men, from Tedd Kennedy to Vladimir Ashkenazy, mainly for informal occasions and often underneath a blazer. In the Pal Zileri collection the roll neck is statement look and it can be seen with checked jackets, black jackets, a suede jacket, and with wool shaved or wide braids. If you wear a roll neck you will have no need to use a scarf or a shirt underneath, it would be ridiculous to see the bulges, it would be better to wear it with an adherent t-shirt but it is impossible if you do not have a long neck. It is ideal combined with classic trousers, with casual trousers or even denim jeans; it is very easy to wear it with anything and it can be warn at all times as one of the greatest icons of cinema Marcello Mastroianni.

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Trends by Elena Schiavon on 7 May 2012

Go eco, cycling

Biking is a trend. It is not just a fashion trend; the European Union is listing 10 reasons why we should all cycle. First of all improves your health and makes you live longer, it does not require fuel and helps burn calories.

 

Cyclists and their bicycles take up very little space, are silent and move without producing pollution and, interestingly, people who use bikes to get around have a greater predisposition to purchase and spend more.

 

In times of economic difficulties such as these, there are people who prefer bikes to reduce power consumption, or those who do so simply as followers of the “Giro d’Italia” that took the track on Saturday in Denmark and touches many places of our peninsula (you can follow it here).

 

The movement of pro-bike involves people at all level of society, including people of every age, gender, employment, and goes beyond boundaries of reality and has also joined Twitter with the initiative #savethecyclists.

 

Among the supporters of the two wheels, there are always more people who decide to organize a sustainable holiday; anyone who wants to try this type of holiday can have a look at the Lonely Planet guidebook “Italy cycling”; the most comprehensive on the market, if you want to cross the country and choose different routes, depending if you prefer to focus your journey on food, urban, trendy, countryside or seaside.

The people who prefer this type of vacation do not just want fun on holiday but also try to connect with nature through silence, and places untouched by the masses.

 

In Great Britain recent studies conducted by Mintel discovered that 1 in 2 English people between the age of 35 – 45 with a high income has a higher receptiveness to buy a luxury bicycle than someone with a lower income. The fashion eco trend is really important and fashion conscious people follow it for this reason rather than to use it to get in shape.

 

For those interested in reading more about this hopefully lasting and spreading phenomenon, you can found a booklet called “Bike Snob” at the library, which has lots of funny and sarcastic suggestions on how to maintain and keep your bike.

 

For those followers who prefer a bicycle that combines style, comfort and technical features, you can take a look at the old bicycles produced by Wilier, an old historic cycling house born on 1906. Wilier has reproduced a core line called the “Single Speed Collection”, available in two styles the “Toni Bevilacqua” and the “Pontevecchio”. These two styles combine great innovation with a vintage feel and they are available in blue and black for the Toni Bevilacqua and in lime for the Pontevecchio.

Trends by Elena Schiavon on 3 April 2012

Back to 20s: the spring is inspired by the roaring twenties and the Great Gatsby

It has been the object of three remakes already; a silent one in 1926, then in 1949, then one on 1974 and a fourth planned for the end of the year. The history of the Great Gatsby, character made famous by Francis Scott Fitzgerald confirms and restates the charm of the dandy. Even if the movie directed by Baz Luhrmann (he also directed “Moulin Rouge” and “Australia”) will be released in a year time; we can see photos of Leonardo di Caprio on the set wearing styles from the twenties.

 

Fashion choices of this gangster, who became millionaire, are dandy and Hampton; we can see influences in the spring/summer 2012 collections. In 1975 the costume designer worn an award for the remake directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The colour palette is mainly dominated by light tones, from khaki green to the beige, butter and ivory.

 

As you can see from the pictures there are some distinctive traits of elegance identifiable with Gatsby: the straw hat, which has to be worn only during the day and must be in natural straw (and not colored); the fabric in gros grain colored and the three-piece suit, with the inevitable waistcoat. The jacket, in contrast to a trend in the last few years, must be soft, not fitted, and the fabrics used are linens and cottons. Top of Form Equally the pants are slightly soft and without flap, and bootcut and baggy cuts are never used: the cut is classic and follows the line of the body; the shoes are of course bicolor, preferably in burnt earth and caramel.

 

In the Pal Zileri collections there are dandy outfits, made with sartorial elegance, and a pinch of eccentricity, to follow in the footsteps of one of the most beloved characters in the history of the world of literature.

Pictures | Kika Press

 

Trends by Andrea Vigneri on 20 March 2012

Summer colours 2012

The block colours have reigned unchallenged during the past spring / summer, but fashion designer have certainly not given up the freshness of the colours for this season. Moreover there was a time before the French revolution that men’s wardrobe was very colourful; aristocratic preferred to wear extravagant clothes. Then from nineteenth century onwards, with the advent of the new middle class called Bourgeois and of the new business man, they preferred to wear more serious darker tones. In fact, during the spring season men preferred to wear lighter and brighter tones. The most desirable colour is green in all its shades: water, apple, bottle, and military; while yellow – mustard and lemon – and orange are already seen as more difficult tones to wear; though they can be easily worn with a white shirt and basic accessories. Pink colour and its shades are best worn as scarf, swim suit, handkerchief; while sandy tint, thanks to treated fabrics, seems almost devoured by the sun and evokes tropical scenarios. For the formal look the most desirable colour is grey, thus dumped in some catwalks shows, that it seems even dirty white; the typical blue has been swapped with the vibrant topaz blue that resemble the freshness of the deep sea. Just like Pal Zileri has been inspired by Ischia, location of the iconic movie “Plein Soleil”starring Alain Delon, so here the colour palette has been stolen from the beautiful colours of the island; the grey of the buildings is combined with pink and lavender of the flora, from orange to citrus. Navy blue and the blue waves are broken by yellow sunflowers and marine life, while the sandy colour revokes the life in a boat.Summer is certainty a season, but also a state of mind and clothes to wear.

Menswear by Elena Schiavon on 23 December 2011

Vespa, the birth of a legend

Where would we be without the style and romance of this  simple two-wheeled  vehicle which gives us freedom, fun and friends. Once on its saddle it’s the Vespa we can’t do without.  This cool accessory , which takes it meaning from literally a wasp, as it resembles its shape from above, was  the result of Enrico Piaggio’s determination to create a low cost vehicle to zip people about – but keeping it fun and functional, without huge petrol costs!

As the war drew to a close, Enrico studied every possible solution to get people back in to work and crank up the wheels in his production plants in Italy, and soon enough after trials and tribulations, a cute miniature scooter was born, based on a small motorcycle made for parachutists. The prototype, known as the MP5, was nicknamed “Paperino”, Italian for Donald Duck, a nickname the workers gave this creation for its strange shape. And it was this slightly goofy shape which then needed Corradino d’Ascanio input to redesign it, but Corradino was not entirely in tune with motorcycles, being rather an excellence in aeronautical design, and his sleek eye needed to tackle the uncomfortable and bulky profile, with wheels that were difficult to change after a puncture…even for the girls! And worse still, the drive chain made them dirty – impossibile!!  Passion and perseverance and his wide aeronautical experience, brought him all the answers we enjoy today.

To make the Vespa easier to ride for us all, he put the gear lever on the right hand handlebar, with its 1-2-3 markers we all know so well, and to make the unlucky tyre-changing easier he designed not a fork, but a supporting arm which looks very like the undercarriage of an aircraft . The body got a make-over too, and he designed a profile which would protect the driver so that he would not get rained on, mud splattered or disheveled when riding in his Italian designer, sharp-cut suit to an important date. Corradino d’Ascanio only needed a few days to refine his idea and prepare the first drawings of this new Vespa, which was first produced in Pontedera in April 1946, where today an extensive and fascinating museum celebrates his creation: il museo Piaggio.

And so the Vespa was born, and history was in the making…and we now stand back to consider the newest design the Vespa Quaratasei which marks the celebration year. The lifestyle trends and styles over time have changed and adapted as fashions have moved on and developed around traditions and cultures, but Vespa and its styling in  menswear is built on a quintessentially classic look and the collections we see from Pal Zileri fully reflect the cool iconic figures such as Gregory Peck in Vacanze Romane, Jude Law, Gassman and more, who all have individuality and great classic looks.

In every Pal Zileri collection there is always a new garment for the Vespa driver, which is specifically designed as the Scooterista jacket, developed with a rainproof and windproof garment in mind, using advanced technological research involving the fusion of their signature fine wools and cottons onto a soft “rubber-content” lining, to ensure versatility in the garment for the outdoors, but elegant style in the cut and fit of the jackets. Selected in pinstripes, smart greys and navys, they are an all-rounder for summer weather and winter, the latter being padded with the softest down-quilting for warmth but maximum lightness.

VESPA, THE CINEMA AND THE USA- Vespa was an immediate success all over again: produced in a rainbow of colours and with a strong designed identity, it achieved a market share of 20 per cent of the small, but growing scooter sector. 6,000 Vespas were sold in the first year, 2001, and over 7,000 in 2002. But the Vespa isn’t just an icon and a market phenomenon; it forms part of social history. In the “Dolce Vita” years Vespa became a synonym for scooter, much like Hoover for a vacuum cleaner! Foreign journalists described Italy as “the country of the Vespa” and Vespa gained a place in social history, marked by its presence in hundreds of films worldwide. The tale lives on today, cemented in the iconic movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in “Roman Holiday “, which was the starting point catching the attention of many international actors and actresses, who choose to be seen on the world’s coolest scooter, starring in movies such as  “Quadrophenia”, “American Graffiti”, “The Talented Mr. Ripley” ,”102 Dalmatians”, not to mention “Dear Diary “. In photo shoots, films and on set, the Vespa has been a “travel companion” for names like Raquel Welch, Ursula Andress, Geraldine Chaplin, Joan Collins, Jayne Mansfield, Virna Lisi, Milla Jovovich, Marcello Mastroianni, Charlton Heston, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper, Anthony Perkins, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Nanni Moretti, Sting, Antonio Banderas, Matt Damon, Gérard Depardieu, Jude Law, Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Pete Townsend, Nicole Kidman, Gwynneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, Jamie Oliver and Jay Kay…

If you have not tried one, go take a ride on the back of a friends’ one…you’ll soon know what you’ve missed in life when you pull up on your own Vespa!

 

Rosalind Milano Gallieni