Whoever thinks that philosophers are shabby dressers with no sense of style, and that fashion designers are egotistical illiterates only worried about the length of hems, better think again. Emanuele Coccia, the academic sensation whose bold thinking has made philosophy sexy, and Alessandro Michele, whose has invigorated the discourse around gender well beyond fashion, are both telling examples of how inaccurate such assumptions are. Coccia’s style is as flamboyant as his speculative musings, while Michele has an erudite, esoteric way with words.
In a sort of twinning radicality, they have partnered in the writing of a book, . Published by HarperCollins (for now only in Italian, with an English translation coming in Fall 2025), it’s a deep dive into the unexpectedly magical liaison between philosophy and fashion. The book was presented by the authors at Milan’s Teatro Franco Parenti to a full house last Friday, marking the first public appearance by Michele since he left Gucci in 2022.
Conceived and written during the lockdown, the tome is a cogitation on the principles that have underpinned the designer’s influential praxis. The absence of images or photographs is conspicuous: “While the book has become a reflection about fashion along the way, ultimately it’s about so many other things,” Michele said. Divided into seven Stanzas (Philosophy, Ambiguity, Animism, Design, Collections, Hollywood, Twins), the book is structured as a philosophical conversation, with .
