In the 1956 film "Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge" (Totò, Peppino and the outlaws) directed by Camillo Mastrocinque, Italian comedian and actor Totò plays the role of a man married to a rich lady, Teresa (the indomitable Titina De Filippo), who happens to be a bit of a cheapskate.
One day he asks for a fresh shirts and she gives him a bib-like shirt and a pair of cuffs. When he complains she explains that it's unnecessary to have a whole shirt made, after all, most of the shirt gets covered by the jacket. In this way only the parts that can be seen are actually made, saving money and fabric.
Luckily, our wardrobes aren't dictatorially regulated by anybody as stingy as Teresa in this film, but Coronavirus has changed our habits.
All the Zoom meetings, classes and events we had in the last past months prompted us to focus our attention on the parts of our outfits that were visible on the computer, smartphone and tablet screens, so we often opted to wear a nice top, while we neglected the bottom half.
As we gradually go back to normality, it is only natural to wonder why a few fashion houses opted to include in their menswear collections for the next season designs that may still be described as Zoom looks styled by Teresa out of "Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge".
Prada included in its S/S 22 menswear collection three rib-knit cardigan bibs: yet, rather than be donned like sweaters underneath a jacket (Totò style...), these designs are supposed to be worn on top of jackets as if they were scarves.
Fendi went further creating for the same season cropped double-breasted boxy jackets with short sleeves dangerously reminiscent of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Brüno's half suit seen in the 2009 eponymous film about the reckless fashion obsessed Austrian reporter (View this photo). While the designs didn't look that bad when layered on other garments, by themselves they seemed to spoil the serene mood of the collection with its pleasant pastels, going from lemon yellow to lilac and arty abstract prints, and featuring a series of versatile accessories including bucket hat-shaped bags and mini Baguette bags in Plexiglas.
The supposedly fun cropped jackets were maybe meant to add a touch of youthful frivolity to the collection, but the more you looked at them, the more you thought about nightmarish Zoom meetings in the time of Coronavirus combined with that hilarious moment Teresa gives Totò his brand new yet incomplete shirt in "Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge".
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