Last month we were invited by French Connection to guest post on their blog about the film Men in Black, so our founder Craig Landale got straight to work on a post linked with the art of Sprezzatura.
The relationship between film and fashion is the theme for FCUK’s SS13 campaign titled #makeascene and anyone can get involved to be in with a chance of winning a trip to the Sydney Film Festival. Craig comments:
“I have this rule for seeking out new threads. When trying on something new for the first time, if I feel even remotely self-conscious about how it looks I simply don’t get it. It has to be an instant yes, a ‘my style down to a tee’ feeling. Style is then – to an extent – tied to body language. If you feel comfortable in what you’re wearing then you’re brimming with confidence, and that’s why you look great. That’s what I remember Will Smith’s character explaining to Tommy Lee Jones’ in Men in Black, when he turned to K in his sharp new black suit and shades and uttered the immortal line... ‘You know what the difference is between you and me? I make this look GOOD’”
Will’s got Sprezzatura you see, an idea coined by 16th century couriter and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione that explains how to conceal any effort you’ve made and pull off the day job aplomb.
Sprez means looking awesomely stylish with complete nonchalance. It’s about making it look easy. Think of waking up and seeing your clothes in a pile on the floor from handmade Crockett and Jones shoes, Paul Smith shirts to Palladium boots; you put on the first things you see and forget about them for the rest of the day. That’s Sprez. And why is it, in real life, that plenty of stylish guys over 40 (such as Nick Wooster, Lino Ieluzzi and Angelo Flaccavento) possess this much-desired trait? Because they’ve been in the game too long to be worried about how a 25 year old pipsqueak might think they look, they know by now what style works for them and what doesn’t. They have bags of confidence!
To read the rest of this post head over the the FCUK blog and if you fancy helping us win that trip to Sydney please share our film titled ‘Sprezzatura’. We’re sitting in 12th spot as we write this so not too far off!