Everything
“Elegance; it is something abstract, you can’t touch it, but whoever is gifted with it, they are gifted with great charisma.”
Giorgio Giangiulio through his work as a writer for Plaza Uomo and his blog, The Style Story Teller, teaches us how important it is these days to build knowledge and information before we share. Hailing from Italy, the style consultant has made a name for himself through Instagram, posting his first images from October 2013. Just under six years later and the ever-growing influencer knows a thing or two about not only the platform but the industry surrounding digital media.
Sourcing information on social media is free and easy, but nowadays with access to thousands of web pages it has become a writer’s duty to lead by example and share the right informations to the new generation. Giangiulio, passionate for men’s style and creativity has come to know such notions. ICON sat down with writer to pick his brain on fashion, social media and his life in Italy.
ICON: What’s your background and how has your passion for the fashion industry, and more specifically tailoring translated into a career?
Giorgio Giangiulio: “This question always brings a smile to my face. I think I was born with this passion, it’s something I have always had in me. I’ve got some photos from when I was four-years-old, wearing a blue blazer, shirt and a tie. I remember feeling totally in the zone and comfortable and I liked the way people were looking at me – impressed by so much care in the details at such a young age. Things didn’t really change 30 years later!
Over the last three decades I have learned a lot. I am inspired by many mentors and I have created my own style. The most beautiful fact about my fashion journey is that I never stop learning and improving, because at the end of the day our style is a language that says so much about us without words . Transforming my passion into a profession was something totally unexpected. Before, my friends used to come to me for fashion advice, now the audience is much bigger thanks to social media but the meaning is still the same.”
ICON: Giorgio, what’s your opinion on working on digital platforms and social media? I am always curious to hear successful people’s approach towards it.
GG: “Nowadays we have an app for everything. We live in such a dynamic era, everything is in constant evolution and changing fast, marketing especially. Before, you used to go too the news stand to buy the latest edition of Vogue, today with a simple click you can get all the information and inspiration you want by following the influencer of the moment. This is a great thing. Everyone can communicate for free and everyone can source information. The negative side comes when the people with large audiences lack in knowledge; communicating the wrong things. In my opinion, influencers these days have a responsibility to study and share the right messages, especially towards the young crowds, they have to lead by example.”
ICON: What defines a real gentleman?
GG: “The definition of gentleman is the same as 50 years ago and has nothing to do with clothes. It is a mix of aspiration, sensibility, research of the beauty. You have to be yourself. It is a way to look at life and live it in your way, it is a journey. The art of dressing well, or style, during this journey is a consequence, not the goal.”
ICON: I consider you a really important flair that represents the authenticity of Italian style in the world. What do you want to communicate through your blog and writing?
GG: “Made in Italy for me doesn’t just represent a product, but a lifestyle and a dream. When you’re buying a piece made in Italy you are buying a piece of ‘ la dolce vita’. You’re buying the desire to be Italian. Made in Italy is a mix of creativity, pure craftsmanship and art all coming along together.
My communication is based on this; the pride to be Italian and to be authentic. To be considered an influencer gives me a lot of satisfaction and the drive to improve everyday into the mission of sharing the right message.”
ICON: I love the inspirational quote at the start of your blog by Honore’ de Balzac. “The principle of elegant life is a high thought of order and harmony, destined to convey poetry to things.” Can you explain its meaning to you?
GG: “I love this quote as it captures precisely the sense of elegance in its simplicity. Elegance is harmony, discretion, balance. Elegance is something you can’t physically define or touch but, it is abstract but whoever is gifted with it, is gifted great charisma.”
ICON: What are the most important values a fashion writer must have? Taking into consideration of how crowded the market is. I feel like every second person is a writer these days but majorly lacking in substance.
GG: “It’s not easy to answer this question. The writer’s role changed drastically in a negative way in the last few years. The market wants short articles and boring titles, quality is not required anymore as long as the views keep flowing. I myself came to refuse [writing] articles for fashion magazines where I was asked to talk about tailoring houses with 50 years experience. It is like trying to fit the ocean in a bin.
I will answer this question with another question. Is it about writer’s without substance, or the papers that don’t want substance, due to the digital explosion? For example, a giant of the editorial world like Conde Nast founded a talent agency, and at the same time cut the printed magazines in half.”
You can follow ICON’s Street Editor, Roberto Malizia on instagram @this.is.malice
