She was the queen of Italian fashion and worked with great artists of the likes of Fontana and Calder to create unique clothes. Mila Schon tells us about her friendship with Ascari and gives Ferraristi a few tips on dressing for various occasions
In one of her final interviews, Mila Schön, one of the first big names of Italian fashion, talks about her passion for Ferrari, her memories of Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio, and how a ferrarista should dress. ‘One should never speak of fashion but of style,’ announces Mila Schön. The clothes designer is stretched out on a wicker chaise longue festooned with ecru cushions, under the portico of Colle Manora, her country house in Monferrato, 45km east of Turin and, crucially, not far from Italy’s fashion capital, Milan. She is giving one of her last interviews; the 91-year-old died days later, on 4 september. ‘Personal style is the reference point for how one makes choices for various situations and circumstances,’ she continues. ‘So, before deciding what to wear, one needs to know the context in which one is to appear. Of course, the tailor can offer help, as he is rather like an analyst.’
Schön speaks with the grace and authority of someone who knows she is acelebrity in her field. For her eponymous label – celebrated for its understated designs and precisely tailored clothes – is one that has made Italian fashion famous throughout the world. she has achieved this as a BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) woman of Milan, with an innovative talent and intuition that has even led her to collaborate with high-profile artists such as Alexander Calder and Lucio Fontana.
Dubbed the ‘signora of elegance’, her class remains unchanged, even if she now views the world that has made her a household name among fashionistas with the detachment of someone who, due to the cruel laws of time, has had to hand over the reigns of power (the label in now owned by fashion group Mariella Burani).
Today Schön wears white trousers, white moccasins – ‘women really should try to wear high heels as rarely as possible’ – a black-and-white, floral print, silk blouse, and a necklace and bracelet in warm yellow gold, all complemented by a perfect tan and immaculate, shining hair.
Schön is intrigued by the subject we have suggested: how should a Ferrarista dress in different situations, and what are the key looks? It’s an area of understandable interest, since cars and motor racing have always been a part of the designer’s life.
Her husband drove GT cars, as did her son Giorgio. ‘Ah, yes, we were great friends with Alberto [Ascari], we got on really well. In summer, at Santa Margherita Ligure he’d pick me up every morning and we’d go out for long drives as far as Paraggi – fast, without talking, so that we could breathe deeply,’ she recalls fondly. ‘He was a careful and methodical man. He would never get in a racing car if he didn’t have
his clothes, his things – and the first time he did, he was killed.’
For a moment she lowers the blue eyes that look at you intently, almost as if she is checking that you are listening. The death of Ascari, the man who would take her to races as a lucky charm and with whom she holidayed at Cortina, along with Vittorio Marzotto and Eugenio Castellotti, is a memory that still makes her sad. ‘At Monte Carlo, after the race we went to visit him with Castellotti. They’d taken him to a hospital up on the hill. He was sitting on the bed. He was fine. “Were you so hot you had to go for a swim?” I asked him. He smiled, a kind of smile of relief from a driver who, while he was competing in the Monaco Grand Prix, had been hurled into the sea from his racing car, the Lancia D50 he’d driven after leaving Ferrari.
The divers had pulled him out immediately and now he was under observation. I left him there, as I had to go to Paris. I was still [in Paris] the following Wednesday when they telephoned to tell me he’d had a fatal accident at Monza.’ Schön’s flashback reignites memories of the death of Maranello’s first World Champion. Nobody has ever found out why Ascari asked to try out Castellotti’s Ferrari 750 Monza; Castellotti, the friend who had visited him in hospital with Schön and who couldn’t say no to him. And nobody can comprehend how a man who made the ritual of dressing a kind of religion, with attention to every detail from his distinctive blue helmet down, would want to run irrationally into the arms of a fate that had clearly been determined just a week before at Monaco.
The summer sun is setting at Colle Manora (Schön’s home doubles up as a winery producing the local Barbera as well as international varieties). The white blinds, designed to keep out any mosquitoes that dare to appear, are lowered. We return to fashion. ‘A Ferrari lover should derive his own particular elegance from the simple fact of having chosen the most beautiful car in the world, holding it close to himself and paying it extra attention precisely because it is so special,’ says Schön. ‘At a race meeting, a sporty occasion, a Ferrari owner has to play his part when he dresses. For example, his trousers should be of exactly the same colour as the car: red car, red trousers; yellow car, yellow trousers. Exactly the same colour. Accompanying the trousers should be a shirt with narrow white and dark blue stripes and a classic collar, and a blouson jacket in soft dull leather; not too showy. The jacket should be black if the trousers are red or yellow, or brown suede if the trousers, and therefore the car, are blue or black. Driving shoes, classic car shoes, in black or brown. And don’t forget a light cashmere scarf in a colour that matches the trousers. To match their companions’ colour scheme, ladies might wear black or white trousers with a leather jacket in red, black or beige. Low-heeled shoes, of course.’
Once the race meeting is finished this Ferrarista might have an appointment on the golf course, at the tennis court or with friends for drinks and dinner. In which case, he should opt for a ‘blue blazer with coloured or white trousers – beige and cream are always the right thing’, says Schön. ‘A white or blue shirt and a fairly narrow tie, with a knot that is not too large and is rather loosely done up. Never too showy. And then the pocket square in the breast pocket – never, never in the same pattern as the tie. Matching, but different.’ Those who never wear a pocket square may feel a little uneasy with this suggestion. Not only because the shops where you might find one are becoming increasingly few and far between, but also because an accessory like this should either be worn well or not at all.
‘It should be unstructured, not folded, visible but not sticking out too far,’ advises Schön. ‘The area to display is the central part, which is the most attractive, and never the edges. And it absolutely must be made of silk.’
And what about Prince of Wales check? ‘For daywear, it’s lovely and elegant in brown and black, with a tie in a single colour,’ Schön nods with approval before adding, ‘and let’s not forget shoes. Made-to-measure shoes are a special pleasure.’ That’s men sorted, then, so how should women dress in these situations? ‘One can never go wrong with black, or a colourful dress, worn with either all white or all yellow jewellery. These must suit both the clothes one is wearing and the circumstances one finds oneself in. If the jewellery has stones then these must be the same for the necklace, the ring and the earrings.’
And evening wear? ‘A dark suit in a single colour or chalk stripe, double-breasted if desired,’ the designer suggests. ‘A shirt without pocket, perhaps made-to-measure, with initials placed not too high up. If it is a black-tie event, then the dinner jacket should be a classic one, worn with a low shirt collar and, perhaps, a hand-knotted bow tie. You see, it’s much more elegant than a ready-knotted one.’
The sun creeps below the horizon. We are expected at dinner very shortly. The conversation reverts to racing drivers of days gone by. ‘At Reims, there was a party after the Grand Prix,’ Schön reminisces. ‘[Juan Manuel] Fangio came and asked me to dance and Alberto [Ascari] said to me “Don’t you move!” There was so much competition between the two of them. For the sake of peace and quiet I replied, “Thank you, but I don’t dance.” But then it was Ascari who wanted to dance… No, no, I turned him down as well.’
We switch back to clothes. ‘In sporty situations well-cut jeans are necessary. For younger people, the shirt can be worn outside the trouser, even by ladies. Sleeves must be long and rolled up to just below the elbow.’Hats? ‘Borsalino, and in summer a panama with black hatband. Beautiful.’ And in winter? ‘The overcoat should be loden for sporty days and camel hair or vicuña for more formal occasions.’
The more Schön talks, the more I feel compelled to analyse my own style choices. How many times have I committed fashion faux pas? It’s as if Schön, a little tired now and with a slender cigarette perched between her lips, can read my thoughts: ‘you can study the best example of how to dress by watching American Gigolo with Richard Gere. The way he lays out his suits, shirts and ties on his bed to find the right combination is perfect. Dressing oneself is not difficult, but neither is it easy. In fact, there are three ways of dressing. Simply avoid the first two: badly or excessively. A little moderation always helps in this respect. In doing so, you will always find yourself on the side of those who dress well.’
PUBLISHED IN Home, Styles BY Antonio Ghini ON 12.17.2008
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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