Story by Chris Collie, NY Senior Editorial Director
One of the nation’s most in-demand underground fashion designers in New York, Christian Benner is one-of-a-kind. Well,
“underground” may not be the best word for someone who has outfitted the likes of Kate Moss, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars with his custom leather jackets and vintage-distressed t-shirts with an iconic, rock n’ roll feel.
The famed designer whose work has been seen in the pages of Italian Vogue, Rolling Stone, W Magazine, Interview and countless others, granted us a rare interview to learn more behind the genius of his creations.
Supermodel Kate Moss in vintage Christian Benner jacket
Q:What was your inspiration for starting a collection?
I’ve been working in the fashion industry for years, and want to get away from the cookie-cutter pieces you see everywhere. My collection gives people the chance to express their individuality.
My collection gives people the chance to express their individuality.
Q:What would you say is your style aesthetic?
Rock and roll mixed with my personal form of art.
Q:If you could collaborate with any designer, past or present day, who would it be, and why?
Firstly, Jackson Pollock because he never really planned any of his art. He used the canvas to express what was going on in his head, which is my approach when making jackets. I also would have liked to collaborate with Steven Sprouse because he treated clothes with the same aesthetic that I do by retreating vintage pieces and adding his own flare.
Jackson Pollock used the canvas to express what was going on in his head.
Q:Of all the pieces you’ve created, what has been your favorite, that always stands out in your mind?
My Jackson Pollock jacket. I’m really inspired by Jackson Pollack at the moment, and treated the jacket as my own canvas by splattering paint all over it.
Q:Do you see fashion changing toward the consumer preferring more custom pieces; do you believe it’s an extended trend?
The consumer absolutely prefers custom pieces because the consumer feels special wearing something made for them. Most people are usually wearing the same or similar things, so when something is custom, it really stands out.
The consumer feels special wearing something made for them.
Q:Whom would you say is the ideal Christian Benner male or female?
Sid Vicious or Prince.
Q:What do you feel about Men’s Fashion Week finally being brought back to New York?
I feel it’s great. It will allow men to get out of their shell more and see / try different fashion trends.
Q:When was the moment you knew you were destined to be a mainstay in fashion?
I knew I wanted to stay in fashion when I finally got the chance to clear my head and realized that I wanted to create my art and share it with the public.
Q:Do you feel the new era of designers are good for the industry with their new collaboration collections, or is it hurting the individualism that fashion was known for?
Certain brands are staple brands and should keep doing what they are doing instead of trying to monetize and reach more clients through collaborations. New designers are what we need to introduce a new style. It can go both ways … if done right, it could be cool.
New designers are what we need to introduce a new style.
FWO
We want to thank Christian Benner for giving us the time to explore the mentality of such a unique and famed designer. During NY Fashion Week: Men’s, we couldn’t think of a better person to interview who captures creativity, individualism, and what menswear truly is about: a self-expression of one’s style through clothes worn as art.
Valentino’s show “Mirabilia Romae” is taking place in Rome this year, aimed at celebrating their new flagship store, and the house’s Roman heritage — an important source of inspiration for creative directors Maria Grazia and Pierpaolo.
They’re sharing this special moment with fans around the world, inviting them to be a part of the experience.
The Valentino Haute Couture “Mirabilia Romae” show will stream live on Thursday, July 9th at 1:30PM EST, in the player above.
Follow @MaisonValentino, and hashtag the show with #MirabiliaRomae!
Let’s face it: New York (well, to be fair, the entire world) could probably take a little menswear style advice from Italy.
While New York Fashion Week: Men’s is finally making its debut this summer, Italy’s passion for menswear has a long and storied history, including a Milan Mens’ Fashion Week (Milano Uomo), as well as the menswear event Pitti Uomo.
Italy’s passion for menswear has a long and storied history.
Gianni Fontana, aka The Style Buff, is a marketing and communications professional, passionate about clothing, menswear, and style. He’s also the principal of the Milan Style Academy, an Italian fashion school with more than 25 years in the business. He’s behind the family’s brand Fontana 1961, producing handmade ties and scarves, and Belloveso Milano for luxury leather goods.
Almost incidentally, he’s one of the best-known and most photographed style icons in Italy.
Q: Tell us about the genesis of The Style Buff?
When I decided to start my first blog, several years ago, my intention was to represent menswear style and lifestyle from the Italian point of view. A kind of observer that selects and spreads. That’s why I’ve chosen the name The Style Buff. The word “buff” was originally applied to enthusiastic fire-watchers, because of the buff uniforms formerly worn by New York volunteer firemen. Now, of course, it’s used to define a person who is enthusiastically interested in — and very knowledgeable about — a particular subject.
The word “buff” come from the original uniforms of New York volunteer firemen.
Q: What does a typical day look like in the life of “The Style Buff?”
Milan offers a frenzied life. The city is at the crossroads of business, style and art. (As is Italy itself, actually.) Being Italian, I think we have that kind of “crossroads” attitude for aesthetics. Or perhaps it’s inherited from our long history.
In any case, the day flows according to the classic formula: work, leisure and rest. Traveling frequently is when this rule is broken.
Q: You’re well-known for the amazing hats you wear. Is there a specific designer you prefer? Is there another accessory you won’t leave home without?
Yes. It’s true. Actually, “Borsalino” is more than a brand name: it’s a type of wide-brimmed hat. I like SuperDuper hats, too. Accessories, in general, are half the outfit. After hat: shoes, ties, jewelry, pocket squares, etc.
Accessories, in general, are half the outfit. Hat, shoes, ties, jewelry, pocket squares.
Q:What are the most important factors for men when getting dressed?
If my answer seems vague here, but it’s because I do not like rules. Every man should be comfortable in his appearance, looking clean and not too noisy, in conformity with his circumstance. Less is better than more, if you are not confident. In Italian “sprezzatura” is our word for that sense of imperfect nonchalance: when you do not just select items, but you melt your personality into the stuff you wear or carry.
In Italian “sprezzatura” is our word for that sense of imperfect nonchalance.
Q:Name 3 – 5 items EVERY man should own.
A blue blazer, a tie, white pants, a good pair of shoes, a suit and a hat. Not enough, but just the base. I think we can dress well with just a few good pieces. Investing in quality is always a good choice. I own very old items, or buy pre-owned, and I’m proud of it. Everyone should select a vintage item for every outfit.
Everyone should select a vintage item for every outfit.
Q: Each region in Italy has its own sense of style. What sets Milan apart?
Milan is probably more international. In Italy there are well-known cities such as Rome, Florence, and Venice, but these are more visited more for tourism. Milan is the engine of the fashion business. It’s very multicultural, and for fashion, art and design, Milan has the right mix.
Q: Pitti Uomo and Moda Uomo begin mid-June. What sets them apart? And why are they important to the fashion industry?
I’m in love with Pitti. Pitti is an outstanding event that fits nicely into the classic series of international fashion weeks. Traditionally coming between London, Milano and Paris, it plays to a different beat, almost a variation on the theme of fashion that runway shows have accustomed us to.
La Piazzetta: this is the nickname for the courtyard outside the show’s central pavilion. Piazzetta means a small square: somewhere to meet up, for talking or playing. It’s also a favorite place for photographers where, in fact, the best photos are taken, that leave Florence and travel around the world in blogs and magazines.
People meet up in the Piazzetta, talk, compare, exchange ideas, and create new projects. It’s a mood that’s difficult to find in other circumstances linked to the world of fashion. A mood that personifies that feeling that modern social networks have reduced to an exclusively virtual experience. A mood that is worth feeling at least once.
It’s a mood that’s difficult to find in other parts of the world of fashion
Obviously both Pitti and Milano Uomo are important events for Italians, not only for the menswear market. They’re just separated by a thin border that gently divides the classic from the contemporary.
Q:What makes a “style icon” or “best-dressed” man?
Clothes are what we put on, but elegance is who we are, what we have inside. There’s no way to be elegant or well-dressed if you’re not a gentleman. It’s not a matter of money or brands.
There’s no way to be elegant or well-dressed if you’re not a gentleman. It’s not a matter of money
Being a “style icon” denotes a breakthrough: when you are the hub, and others look to you for reference. But you can’t decide to become it, you have to be it.
Q:Who are your top-5 “style icons,” past and present, and why?
Gianni Agnelli, 1979Except myself? Joking! Making charts is not my style, especially for the present. From the past, and among Italians, I will say Marcello Mastroianni and Gianni Agnelli.
Style icons: Marcello Mastroianni and Gianni Agnelli.
Q:Best / top-3 bespoke tailors in Milan?
Definitely A. Caraceni and Rubinacci. They have a long tradition that goes back generations. We also have to consider non-Milanese tailors coming to town for their clients, and some of them have their own ateliers in Milan, such as Sciamat, Dalcuore or SartoriaRipense.
Q:Do you have your eye on any up-and-coming menswear designers in Milan?
All throughout MFW there are so many young and talented designers. The Camera della Moda (Italian Fashion Organization) — and big brands as Giorgio Armani and Vogue — give big support to the emergent ones. One young designer I like is Christian Pellizzari.
Q: How would you describe the difference between American and Italian men’s fashion?
It’s difficult to explain in few words. Italian fashion has a very long and strong tradition. Italian designers set the rules for more than a century. Today the world is more connected; the market has to be considered as a whole entity. There are fewer boundaries than in the past. People travel more, and the Internet sets every culture closer.
American designers are appreciated in many countries. I will say that maybe the style between Americans and Italians is still different. But even this difference is getting thinner, year after year.
Italian designers set the rules for more than a century. Today American designers are appreciated in many countries.
Q: What trends do you foresee in the next year?
We’re still living an understatement period. The economy, globally, is not strong, and fashion is affected by this, too. So “back-to-basics, without excess.”
Q: What’s next for Gianni Fontana?
I’m working on several projects right now. For me it’s really important to face new challenges. My work is divided between consulting, teaching and design. There is no time to be bored!
As we prep for September (and cover a little menswear in the meantime), we’ve decided it’s high-time for FWO (and its sister sites) to get a much-needed design refresh.
Yep, FWO is growing, which is rad-opolis. But after 3 or 4 years of doing this (and tweaking the design slowly, in between 1,000 other octopus-armed tasks), we thought it might be nice to upgrade our overall look. Like, maybe even use actual CSS, instead of hand-coding so much stuff in HTML, like a caveman. (And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, good for you!)
So while this story is about our makeover, we thought we’d throw a little bonus love to one of our beloved sponsors, Toni & Guy.
Once the design is done here (hopefully in the next week or so), we’ll roll it out to NewYorkFashionWeekLIVE and the other city sites.
On our wind-up to New York Fashion Week, we’re looking ahead and backward: backward to the menswear shows of London, Milan and Paris, and forward, as we get ready for special reports from both New York and Milan ready to wear (aka women’s).
To that end, meet Charley, aka Charlene Williams, the gorgeous and talented photographer at GWD.
She is best known for capturing the stylish and fashionable images of the best dressed women and dapper men in Italy, such as: Gianni Fontana, Domenico Gianfrate, Luca Lanzoni, Alessandro Squarzi, Frank Gallucci, Lino Leluzzi, and Nick Wooster, to mention a few.
I had the pleasure to get to know Charley a bit more, and share the experience with our readers.
Q:Charley, can you tell our readers at Fashion Week Online a little about yourself. Where are you from, your background?
[portfolio_slideshow id=7880 width=”400″]
I was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, in a little village called Les-Coteaux, the third of eleven children. I became fascinated with Italy and modeling at the age of eight, after watching a film that inspired me. After graduating from school, I worked three jobs to earn the money to come to Milan and pursue my dreams of becoming a fashion model. Currently, I work side-by-side with my fiancé, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of GWDFabrizio Oriani. I enjoy being a mother and I sing in a choir.
I was one of 11 children. I worked three jobs to earn the money to come to Milan and follow my dreams.
Q:When did you realize you wanted to become a photographer? And what’s most important to you as a photographer?
I’ve always liked photography, but only started two years ago because Fabrizio encouraged me. I became very good, and Fabrizio confirmed that I had a great eye for it. As an amateur photographer, it’s important for me to capture a moment, which is beautiful to my eye, and share it with others hoping to transmit the emotions.
It’s important for me to capture a moment share it with others.
Q:Which social media sites have been helpful to your success or new projects?
The GWD website, Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram have helped me increase my work visibility as a photographer.
Q:What does your typical day look like, when working with Fabrizio at GWD?
Let’s take a typical day at Pitti 87, for instance. We start with a classic Italian breakfast in a cozy café, where we define the strategy for the day (brands to visit, exclusive shootings and events to attend).
We start with a classic Italian breakfast in a cozy café.
We arrive early at La Fortezza to shoot the people entering the fair, and after a couple of hours we go inside to cover the event. We meet new and old friends, expand our public relations network and we definitely have a lot of fun. After such a long day we meet up with friends for a nice dinner in one of the many amazing restaurants in Florence, where we relax a bit before we head to the hotel to post-produce the pictures taken during the day.
After such a long day we meet up with friends for a nice dinner in one of the many amazing restaurants in Florence.
Q:You have a new campaign featured in GWD called “Hat’s the New Black”. What motivated you to get that started?
My love for hats ….
Q:You’ve photographed some of the world’s best-dressed men: Gianni Fontana, Domenico Gianfrate, Alessandro Squarzi, Frank Gallucci, Lino Leluzzi, Angel Ramos, and Nick Wooster, to mention a few. Tell us, what does it take to capture these men on camera?
It’s about the relationship we established and mutual respect that we nourish for each other.
You’ve photographed some of the world’s best-dressed men. What does it take to capture these men on camera?
Q:How would you define fashion?
For me it’s not about fashion … it’s about finding your own style. It’s about experimenting; it’s about what makes you feel good, and it’s also about confidence.
Q:You live in Milan; who is your favorite designer for men and women?
My all-time favorite is Giorgio Armani: the cuts, the textures, the colors … I love it!
Q:What advice do you have for the next up-and-coming photographers?
Follow your heart and shoot, shoot, shoot. There’s nothing better than practice.
Q:Where can people find out more about you and your work?
Anyway, thanks to the addition of New York Fashion Week: Men’s, summer is now officially filled with menswear shows from all 4 fashion capitals.
The season kicks off with London Collections: Men. You can watch a “playlist” on our front page here at FWO, or head over to our new menswear show portal, MensFashionWeekLIVE.com.
Want to buy tickets to the upcoming “Big 4” series of fashion weeks? Or volunteer, work or show your designs?
If so, we have good news and bad news. Attendance rules (and opportunities) vary by location, and are generally based on your connections to the industry. But in some cases there are alternatives for those who want to do a little legwork.
See below for information on how to attend, participate, volunteer or work during fashion week.
ATTEND NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
INDUSTRY SHOWS
Industry New York Fashion Week shows are reserved for buyers and press.
Most buyers and press outlets contact the design houses directly. Bloggers can submit for accreditation to producers like IMG. IMG registration generally opens up a few weeks before the events. Several thousand people apply, and only a small percentage are accepted. There’s also an application fee (usually around $80), which doesn’t guarantee approval. And even if your application is approved, that still doesn’t guarantee admission. It simply allows you to submit to the various designers for their consideration to actually attend shows.
[quote]There’s also an application fee (usually around $80), which doesn’t guarantee approval. And even if your application is approved, that still doesn’t guarantee admission.[/quote]
Of course you can can always watch the shows streamed live, online.
OPEN-TO-THE-PUBLIC SHOWS
More and more opportunities are being offered to the public, via prize giveaways, and opportunities to buy tickets, from people such as Macy’s, emerging designers, and more.
There are also various other companies of varying degrees of legitimacy offering “tickets” to New York Fashion Week.
[quote]In general, we don’t recommend companies selling “tickets” to New York Fashion Week.[/quote]
For the most part, we don’t recommend companies selling “tickets” to New York Fashion Week. Although some of these companies may be trustworthy, and shows may be fun, you’re essentially buying at your own risk. Find out about the company’s track record, first. There’s nothing wrong with seeing these shows, but be aware of what you’re getting.
If you go, have a great time. 🙂
Volunteer at New York Fashion Week
For volunteer opportunities, you might want to try the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), IMG, or individual design houses (start a-Googling).
London’s most prominent series of events are held by the British Fashion Council. As with Mercedes-Benz’s series of events in New York, you’ll need to register on the official site (in this case, that of the British Fashion Council). You’ll also need a verified address in London to register (presumably to show you’ll actually be able to attend if accepted).
But if you can’t get into those events, you’re in luck. Because directly following London Fashion Week is a four-day, open-to-the-public series of events called London Fashion Weekend. And yes, you can buy tickets!
[quote]But if you can’t get into the official London Fashion Week events, you’re in luck, thanks to London Fashion Weekend.[/quote]
Volunteer at London Fashion Week
Want to volunteer at London Fashion Week? We recommend trying the British Fashion Council site. Although we’ve never seen specific opportunities posted there, if you wanted to contact the BFC, that would be the place.
You could also inquire at the London Fashion Weekend site (see link above).
ATTEND MILAN FASHION WEEK
To attend Milan Fashion Week, you’ll need to register at the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, which organizes the shows of Milan Fashion Week.
Volunteer at Milan Fashion Week
The Chamber of Italian Fashion has a job network where you can upload a resume or browse job opportunities. (Yes, we’ve actually seen some there.)
[quote]Milan Fashion Week has an active job network.[/quote]
ATTEND PARIS FASHION WEEK
Even though New York came first, Paris is still considered by many to be the grande dame of all fashion weeks (Paris having been the epicenter of fashion for most of the history of Western civilization).
As with the other fashion weeks, you can apply for accreditation, this time at the French Federation of Fashion. (You’ll note the screening process is more intense, and the language on the website a bit more stern.) You can also try emailing the designers directly, as each season the schedule is posted with each designer’s press contact.
You’ll also need a verified Paris address in order to attend.
But you don’t have to wait for fashion week to see a runway show in Paris. The Galeries Lafayette has runway “trunk shows” (showing new collections debuting in-store) throughout the year, and they’re free to attend.
[quote]You don’t have to wait for Paris Fashion Week to see a runway show in Paris.[/quote]
Volunteer at Paris Fashion Week
Your best bet here is to volunteer for any of the design houses. You can also try contacting the officials at the official Paris Fashion Week website.
We wish you lots of luck in your fashion adventures!
We also have interviews and stories direct from Milan, thanks to our intrepid Milan editor, Laura De Rochas (Twitter | Facebook), who will be visiting Milan Uomo (Milan Fashion Week Men’s).
Here at FWO, we truly believe there’s a sea-change coming in fashion everywhere. Beginning with a renewed appreciation for craftsmanship. You can see some evidence for this trend in our interview with Vicki Vasilopoulos, producer and director of Men of the Cloth.
Here at FWO, we truly believe there’s a sea-change coming in fashion everywhere.
We’re also going to be interviewing Brent Black, purveyor and co-craftsman of the finest Panama hats in the world. (The top he’s willing to sell goes for $25,000. But most of his proceeds go to his weaving school in Ecuador.) Better clothes; social consciousness. Who could ask for anything more?
We’re also going to be interviewing Brent Black, maker of the $25,000 Panama hat. But most of his proceeds go to his weaving school in Ecuador.
Stay-tuned. We have some fun menswear coverage coming soon.
One of the nation’s most in-demand underground fashion designers in New York, Christian Benner is one-of-a-kind. Well,
Q:Of all the pieces you’ve created, what has been your favorite, that always stands out in your mind?
Certain brands are staple brands and should keep doing what they are doing instead of trying to monetize and reach more clients through collaborations. New designers are what we need to introduce a new style. It can go both ways … if done right, it could be cool.
