He’s young, good-looking and extremely wealthy. He’s fluent in six languages and the very definition of cosmopolitan, having been born in New York, raised in Brazil, educated in England and France, and now once again living in Gotham. He’s the scion of Italy’s preeminent family (the Agnellis, not the Mafia), and is quintessentially Italian. Style and fashion are in his blood, thanks to his aunt Diane von Furstenberg. He’s linked with sleek cars and even sleeker women. Perennially named to the world’s best-dressed lists, he’s officially a GQ style icon.
But that’s not why Dandyism.net has chosen Lapo Edouard Elkann its first-ever Dandy of the Year.
D.net salutes Elkann because this year he returned from exile. All good dandies must go into exile, either to escape gambling debts or arrest. Brummell and Jimmy Walker did it. Oscar Wilde did it, but too late. The Duke of Windsor did it, but for love. Celebrities and wannabes like Sebastian Horsley don’t go into exile, they merely go to rehab or jail or — worst of all — don’t go away at all.
In 2005, Elkann left his job as Fiat’s head of worldwide brand promotions and retired from the public eye. In 2007 he returned in a carefully choreographed public-relations campaign that nicely coincided with the launch of his latest venture, high-priced Italian sunglasses.
But more impressive is why Elkann went into exile in the first place.
One of Fiat’s two largest shareholders, the paramour of Italian starlet Martina Stella, the handsome face of the revival of the Fiat brand, and the hero of world fashion press, Elkann almost tossed it all away with a near-fatal overdose of cocaine and heroin downed with an alcoholic chaser while partying with Patrizia, a fifty-four year old transsexual hooker, plus two of her business associates, at her apartment in what passes for Turin’s red-light district.
Elkann’s irresponsibility, even if he were desperate for Laposuction, ranks right up there with abdicating the throne for a mannish double divorcé, and dashing your literary career by dallying with rent-boys while you have two smash plays on the boards.
Of course screwing up magnificently doesn’t make a dandy. A dandy must also have elegance and the proper demeanor, and Elkann fits the bill on both counts.
He looks like a dandy should. The 30-year-old’s personal style is eclectic. One day he will be precisely dressed in a blue double-breasted suit, spread-collar white shirt, solid tie and puffed pocket square, or a navy blazer and stripped pants with red socks and brown shoes. On the next, he’ll wear a bold-check suit with scarf, or he’ll spice up one of the impeccably cut suits he inherited from nonno Gianni Agnelli by wearing sneakers with no socks. For daywear he quirkily favors tuxedo jackets in bold and unlikely checks. He’s commissioned a Mediterranean-blue suit from the prestigious Rome tailoring house of Caraceni, executed to his specifications, accented by grosgrain lapels with the proportions of a 1959 Cadillac’s tailfins and a built-in cummerbund waistband, which he’ll wear with velvet slippers.
And increasingly Elkann’s slim frame — the product of the gym, bicycling and skateboarding — will be clad in something creatively casual that discreetly exposes tufts of chest hair and several chains and pendants, such as a double-breasted tweed jacket with an unbuttoned lime shirt, or an unbuttoned pinstriped royal-blue Oxford shirt, with sleeves rolled up, tucked into a dark blue pair of trousers cinched, a la Astaire, with a rope. On his best days, he pulls off a brilliant combination of the classic and relaxed with such combinations as a linen pinstripe suit paired with a denim shirt, thereby achieving that elusive sprezzatura.
As for his lifestyle, Elkann pursues such dandy hobbies as chain smoking and drinking a dozen espressos a day. He’s an accomplished sailor, winning the 2003 Fastnet trans-ocean sailboat race with his older, more responsible brother, aboard Stealth, their ultra-modern yacht. His preferred mode of transportation, when he isn’t forced to drive a Fiat-affiliate Maserati or Alfa Romeo, is a very fast, very big motorcycle.
Elkann is charming and social, though perhaps a bit voluble for a dandy. He exhibited a wry, self-deprecating humor by hanging in his studio a poster for “I Was a Man,” a film about a hermaphrodite that bears the tagline “The Body of a Man, The Feelings of a Woman.”
We especially admire Elkann’s dandyish sense of superiority. Although he made his mark as Fiat’s promotions manager by splashing the Fiat logo on everything from clothing and accessories to comestibles and potables, today he disdains such vulgar display — at least for himself. When it comes to his own clothing and accessories, Elkann says, “No logo, and you don’t advertise for anyone. I don’t believe in imposed luxury. I believe in built luxury. Something you refine with your own taste. Mass luxury is not my luxury.”
Lapo’s luxury makes him a dandy deluxe and has earned him D.net’s acclaim as 2007 Dandy of the Year.
I was initially disappointed before realizing that you could have chosen Tom Cruise.
Nice article, well written and enjoyable. A google image search provides some dandy pictures of the man of the year…a title I’m certain I finished a close second in.
Happy New Year everyone.
Cordially,
Ontwins
An interesting choice. Not sure I’m altogether fond of the denim shirt and white DB jacket combo, or the DJ with the T-Shirt look. But then who am I to judge… Wait! What am I saying?!
I like the idea of creating a ‘Dandy of the Year’ article.
A Dandy of the year. What an idea; elitist, yet appeals to the common taste
As for Mr. Elkann: well, he has the attitude, he has the $$, he even has the love of fashion- sort of [He has that playboy “anything I choose to wear is fashion” attitude]…but I ask myself…is he is truly in pursuit of elegance?
Who were the runners up?
Everyone one else, obviously.
Too bad it didn’t go up for a vote. It could have been like the “who’s the Dandy” column; it would have been fun. Maybe next year.
I am very seriously tempted to end my association with this web site over this announcement.
My Heavens…End your association with D.net over a snide and elitist announcement? why I’m surprised you’ve hung on this long?
For sure he doesn’t drink “expressos”!
I see far better dressed people every day. Brummel said, “If John Bull stops to stare at you, you are not well dressed”.
Vote?
I don’t think you’re getting this whole dandyism thing. My opinion wasn’t even solicited and I’m on the Junta. What makes you think your’s matters?
Italians usually call it “espresso.” “Expresso,” however, is common in northern France. Both are correct.
I didn’t say my opinion mattered…I said it would be fun.
I have no problem with snide and elitist pronouncements. I do, however, have a problem with the naming of a man who does not fit the definition of dandy that this web site has outlined.
I see a problem with the name “Lapo Elkann” as well, as it seems degrading and vulgar. However that is not reason enough to disapprove his selection as ‘Dandy of the Year’.
I would love to know where he lives in New York, this “hip” part the article mentions.
The guy’s name is degrading and vulgar?
That’s a bit of unfair, no?
I didn’t say his name *is* something, instead I said it *seems* degrading and vulgar. And I forgot to mention it seems dull as well.
Congrats. You win. The idea that a man’s name is — or even seems — “degrading and vulgar” is the single dumbest thing I’ve ever read on this site. And over the last four years I have seen a whole lot of dumb.
You, sir, are a bloviating idiot.
So, ¿do you think it’s good for a gentleman to have the name of a mascot?. It’s the smartest thing I have read on this site, you are one of greatest genius of our age. On the other hand I feel so ashamed of myself for being a bloviating idiot.
It is fair to criticize a man for what he can change. It is not fair to criticize a man for what he cannot. Criticizing a man for the name that his culture and his family bequeathed him shows a cultural ignorance and provinciality so deep that it frankly staggers the imagination. It’s just plain stupid.
Again, you get the award for Dumbest Comment Ever.
I’m not critizing him for that, in fact I think he is a good person and probably a good dandy. I mentioned my subjective view on his naming because HRH The Duke of Windsor made a coment that his naming was not appropiate. I’m certain his naming was one of the factors at play that heavily influenced others to protest his selection as dandy of the year. However you don’t seem to get this nor that I think he is reasonable as ‘Dandy of The Year’. You are so simple minded and dull, that I prefer to be seen as stupid by you.
It would help if you wrote in plain English. It would also help if you read the Duke’s comment more carefully. In the Duke’s phraseology, “naming” refers to the act of this website choosing Elkann as “Dandy of the Year” in the first place. It has nothing whatever to do with the man’s actual name “Lapo Elkann.”
Am I right, Duke?
As you can see I’m not a native english speaker, however I will do my best to improve.
I did not realise that. Well, your English will always be better than my Spanish.
You were entirely correct M but as Mr. Antonio has stated in his defence, English is not his first language and we should make allowances for unfamiliarity of usage.
Nicely done. Lapo is a fitting choice, I think, although in some of the photos I have seen he is too fashion-forward and eccentric for my tastes, for what it’s worth. Then again, he is a young guy. I do admire his creativity. Lapo’s professed disdain for logos is a little curious considering the tattoos and Italian flag motifs.
I think I’m going to join Senor Antonio in the dumbest comment ever club. The Name Lapo Elkann sounds like a pig Latin version “a can of Alpo”. If I were born with that name I’d have it changed to something more respectable. I don’t even believe it sounds poetic in Italian/Portuguese or where ever the name comes from; it just sounds eccentric, and I think that was the goal.
Ho sempre giudicato Elkann un personaggio volgare, con una banalità di stile adatta alle masse più villane; è oltretutto un analfabeta, martire (nonché santo assolto) dei e dai media italiani; protagonista di rotocalchi buoni per la spazzatura, sogno delle adolescenti vestiste di plastica rosa, un disonore per il suo elegantissimo nonno. Ciò non fa che confermare l’opinione che da tempo nutrivo sull’attendibilità di questo sito.
Ha ha, I don’t even speak Italian and I got what Andrea was saying.
I think the key is “volgare.”
A Dean Martin classic.
Last year’s dandy or this year’s?
M you forgot “analfabeta” (illiterate). After doing a quick review, I think it’s better to leave Sperelli’s comment untranslated ;).
Sperelli can write passable English when he tries, so I can only assume that he intentionally wrote in Italian so that a majority of our readers wouldn’t understand what he wrote.
My sister’s translation of Sperelli:
“I have always found Elkann vulgar, with a banality of style aimed at mass appeal. He is above all an illiterate (schmuck), martyr and absolved saint of the Italian media. He is the hero of the glossy magazine, the pink plastic dream of adolescents and a dishonor to his supremely elegant grandfather. This merely confirms my growing questioning (opinion) of the credibility of this site.”
Credibility? We have no credibility for this site, save for the genius of creating it in the first place.
Brummell was probably considered vulgar in his time. I don’t see what is the diference between Brummell and Elkann, besides that Brummell was probably a genius and Elkann is only a very talented man.
If what Andrea Sperelli said is true than I really like this Lapo Elkann although he could use a good barber.
Is there a dandy of Gianni’s stature living now? If the answer is yes, maybe Sperelli is correct in doubting the credibility of this site.
Is that a denim shirt Lapo is wearing? God do I hate denim shirts and with a tie for god sakes?!?!
Miguel,
You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Now bugger off!
I alredy knew that. I had the hope Mr. Sperelli was referring to some objective truth, however it might turn out as an entirely biased judgement.
Lapo Elkann, mio ex-concittadino, sul quale non ho nessuno pregiudizio di tipo morale (altrimeni non scriverei di dandysmo), appare su questo sito come “Dandy dell’anno”, ed è stato eletto “Uomo più elegante” da Vogue America (http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/060507/page2.html).
Due considerazioni:
Un presunto intellettuale che si fida di una volgare rivista da parrucchieri come Vogue dovrebbe riconsiderare la sua “genialità “.
Secondo: mai vista iniziativa più cretina di eleggere un dandy dell’anno (il test per sapere “quanto sei dandy” mi pareva già abbastanza allucinante).
Ma vediamo insieme qualche foto di Lapo Elkann:
http://andrea-sperelli.livejournal.com/29087.html
http://www.noveporte.it/dandy/taccuino.php3
You neglected to include this picture with your article: http://tinyurl.com/ytr59s
As we all know, nothing better befits a dandy than a backwards baseball cap.
I hate to admit it, but after seeing the photos Andrea Sperelli posted I have to agree Lapo may not have been the best choice.
Yikes! Backward baseball hats. That is rather an un-dandy looking picture. I’m beginning to wonder if our man of the year title should have gone to me after all.
In the (slightly modified) words of G~ Says: “I ask myself, is he truly pursuing elegance?” He looks as if something (or someone) has been pursuing HIM in these images. But I am certain that the powers that be have deliberated much over their choice. We bow respectfully to their wisdom (but wisely refrain from imitating Fabio).
Merci, Nouveau Edwardian. Cio’ ripaga in parte i miei sforzi. Adieu.
…Dimenticavo: questa la linea di prodotti di marca (griffe) realizzata e gestita da Lapo Elkann: http://www.italiaindependent.com/eng/