Things I Love vol.29

In 1992, I spent my days in awe of DOLCE & GABBANA. From spring to summer, I wore the jute jacket that I previously introduced in this column every day. And even in autumn, she was enthusiastic and said, ``I'm going to wear DOLCE & GABBANA all the time!''
This year, I flew to Sicily early in the new year to look for their clothes, but in the end I couldn't find them. At the Milan Collection, I couldn't get the tickets I had requested and couldn't even enter the show venue. Devastated, I bought the latest collection (Spring/Summer 1992) at a shop and trudged back to Tokyo. Despite such a bitter experience, when I got a video of the collection in Tokyo and watched it, I thought, ``I really want it'' and ``I want to wear it!'' Every day, as I watched the video over and over again, that feeling grew stronger.

What made me do that? First of all, I think the tailoring was overwhelmingly beautiful. I was also impressed by the challenging selection of materials. In addition, this brand's new comfort can be seen for the first time through the sleeves. This was a huge culture shock for me and a timeless emotion. It felt like my previous experience and common sense had been blown away, and a new door had opened. I later experienced a similar feeling when I saw Tom Ford's GUCCI and Hedi Slimane's DIOR HOMME for the first time, but I have never felt as strongly as I did at that moment, ``I'm at fault for not knowing about this.''

I managed to get into the venue for the 1993-94 Fall/Winter Collection held in June of that year, and I had a very meaningful time in Milan. During my stay in Milan, I acquired the Monza jacket that I will be introducing today. Although it is made of leather, I was drawn to its sporty and sophisticated atmosphere, which is different from the hard "leather jacket" image. The luster of the material and the contrast between white and navy blue are beautiful.

When I looked into the origin of the name "Monza Jacket", I found that it was named after Monza, a city located 15 kilometers northeast of Milan. Monza is a city known for the Monza Circuit, where the Italian Grand Prix is ​​held. It is also famous as a ``sacred place'' where Ferrari fans get excited during the race. This blouson could also be used as a racing team jacket if the team name was written on the left chest or back.

At the time, I wore it with HELMUT LANG tuxedo pants, but this time I paired it with PRADA easy pants that I recently acquired. The inner T-shirt and loafers are also PRADA. When I bought this blouson around 1992, I didn't know about the existence of RAF SIMONS, so I didn't mix DOLCE & GABBANA and RAF SIMONS (currently PRADA's co-creative director) together like I did this time.However, from around 1993 to 1994, I started to often pair this jacket with a white turtleneck shirt with RAF SIMONS' ``R'' embroidered on the neck. Where did that turtleneck go? It was difficult to put my neck through the neck because it fit perfectly, but it had an overwhelming presence and I loved it. I hope PRADA brings it back.

■Tomoki Yuma (@stsukezane）
Born in Kyoto City in 1965. Started his career as an editor in the editorial department of Magazine House ``POPEYE''. Currently, in addition to planning and styling fashion pages for magazines, she also designs advertising costumes for artists and musicians. Before the coronavirus, he covered men's collections in Paris and Milan for over 35 years.