Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.
Fiat heir and Agnelli scion Lapo Elkann has experienced a lot of ups and downs in his 30 years. Once destined to succeed his legendary grandfather Gianni Agnelli, Lapo’s career trajectory came to a crashing halt when he overdosed in the apartment of a transsexual hooker in Turin in 2005. He has since sobered up (according to some reports) and moved to New York after the lukewarm launch of a sunglasses line called Italia Independent.
Through it all, however, he has remained impeccably dressed, garnering a pole position on Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List, and was recently named Dandyism’s first ever Dandy of the Year. He accomplished this mainly by wearing his grandfather’s beautiful bespoke suits, a stylistic bequest any man would have a hard time living up to. Lapo pulled it off however, with added flair of his own - until lately.
This Fashion Week he let down the side big time. At one event he turned up in a smelly-looking t-shirt with writing on it (the horror), and later made the scene at Madonna’s Gucci benefit in this naff Nehru-jacketed number (he’s pictured here with Gucci creative director Frida Giannini). For god’s sake, Lapo, get a haircut and go back to raiding grandpa’s closet. You’re starting to give dandies a bad name.
—J.P.S.
