BEAUTY: Clothing--Thom Browne

Thom Browne. Milano Moda Uomo. Spring Summer 2027.

This absolutely delightful collection using Browne's classic vocabulary sprung up from the idea of gardens and all the life that occupies one: dragonflies, bees (aside from beekeeper hats, we see literal representations of bees but also garments with a honeycomb motif), butterflies (and designs of their wings arching across jackets), grasshoppers, and ants (click on Look #16 to see some tiny ants on the short red sweater vest). Stalks of blooming lilies and the lush silhouettes of peonies appear. And the fairytale of The Princess and The Frog weaves its way in, but according to Browne, this time it is The Prince and The Frog...lily pads on a pond, tiny embroidered frogs on neck ties, and Browne himself taking a bow in a giant frog head!

All this on light, breezy coats along with skirts both kilt-like and pencil, in spring-y pastel deliciousness. And I think this is the first time Browne has sent jeans down a runway (see Look #16 again ). But the most fun: the black rain slicker and the beautiful white bridal look at the end of the show! Watch the video below.

https://www.thombrowne.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Andrew Faulkner

Painter Andrew Faulkner is a neighbor, just across the Bay in Sausalito, and his work is informed by the landscape views of our Northern California coast and surrounding area. I love how the images are abstract but still retain a sense of the natural views (and light!) you would see on a hike around the area.

His work makes me flash on a lovely quote:

“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
--John Muir

Top to bottom: Coastal Break; Coastal Quilt; Dune Slice; Earthy Field; Embark; Field Break; Rolling Fog; Rose Hedge Trail; Steel Bay Farm; Tide Pools

https://andrew-faulkner.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dolce and Gabbana

Hot on the heels of Pitti Uomo in Florence, we have Milano Moda Uomo. And we can always count on Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabbana to mine the rich cultural, social, topographical, religious, and visual culture of Italy, and in particular, their homeland of Sicily.

For this collection of 80 looks (D & G have always been prolific), a sense of the sea and shore and prints with Sicilian citrus and antique postcards waft through woven jackets and eyelet lace pants and shirts. Although the collection starts off with plenty of looks in black (very Catholic of them), it blossoms into something from the heyday of Italian cinema, between the 1950s to the 1970s. There's a bit of "La Dolce Vita" (look at the cuts of some of the trousers and suiting) and a bit of 1970s mod prints. There are plenty of jackets, shirts, and pants encrusted with beads and jewels. The addition of easy-breezy beachwear makes it a holiday. Tutto fantastico!

And take a look at the incredible, over-the-top beaded and encrusted shoes, looking like altar pieces from a Baroque church. Some feature the coral motif seen on garments! Click on the photos below for a jaw-dropping close-up!

https://www.dolcegabbana.com/

Happy Summer Solstice 2026!

Happy Summer Solstice 2026!

The longest day of the year. Enjoy.

After today, the days grow shorter as we begin our descent into autumn...

I Miss My Dad

Take one if you miss your dad too.

BEAUTY: Clothing--Simone Rocha at Pitti Uomo

This year's guest designer at Pitti Uomo (the twice-yearly international fashion trade show in Italy) was Simone Rocha who showed her first exclusive menswear collection...even though she has been showing menswear sprinkled into her womenswear shows for about four seasons now. So this was a wonderful opportunity for Rocha who said, "To be able to bring my vocabulary, distill it down, and refocus it in this way has been a very exciting process, and the whole experience here at Pitti has been fabulous. I’m very grateful to Pitti for having me as their guest designer."

She used Florence, the city of Pitti Uomo, as a springboard for inspiration and studied the classic 1985 Merchant and Ivory film "A Room With A View" based on E.M. Forster's novel of the same name. Soaking up the costume design of the film which takes place in the early 1900s, Rocha said, "This is my Irish man [referencing one of the characters in the book and film] and he’s arrived in Florence and become the main character." This Spring-Summer '27 collection was shown in the performance space of the Teatro della Pergola, a 17th-century opera house, and she used one of the floral prints she found in antique trunks in the theatre on ties and embroidery on garments. Indeed, Rocha was able to employ her now-standard vocabulary of lace, ruffles, bows, pleats, and the pearls and rhinestones of costume jewelry in a nice hybrid of classic UK menswear, with a curious--and cool--addition of work aprons in leather, and spiked shoes! I love this collection for the way it pushes boundaries but also, strangely, exists simultaneously within them...

https://simonerocha.com

The Peacocks of Pitti Uomo, June 2026

Pitti Uomo, the twice-a-year international clothing trade show in Florence wrapped up today and the buyers, fashion journalists, and industry figures who attend are often as interestingly dressed (sometimes more so) as the clothing inside the Fortezza da Basso. The courtyard outside provides a perfect spot for watching these peacocks come and go... seeing as this is the summer edition, street style outfits were lighter, looser, and much more casual, but many of these men are Italian (some of the best dressed men in the world), so the classic suit still reigns. And say hi and congratulations to the newly minted Doctor Bruce Pask in image 18!

All images below by Acielle | Style du Monde for Vogue

All images below by Jonathan Daniel Pryce for WWD