Matteo Greco, chance and creativity
In the world of fashion, chance is a constant that accompanies the start of many careers. The same happened to the Milan born Matteo Greco, he started as a journalist, and then moved into the world of styling, working with major publications like "Maxim Italy" and "L'uomo Vogue", with an eye for innovation and a romantic affection for the paper press which combined to create the newborn "The Greatest" of which he is the director.
Many young people dream of a career in the editorial world, attending schools, courses, internships, can you tell us how you started?
It was pure coincidence. I graduated at the Cattolica of Milano with a major in Arts & Humanities, I wanted to be a newspaper correspondent and be sent around world. Instead I met the director of "Slurp Magazine" which took it in his editorial staff, initially as a journalist and slowly making me do some stylist work. The end result was that he liked me more as a stylist then as a journalist, so I continued to improve more and more, until the opportunity came to go to "L'uomo Vogue" where I stayed for about two years. So I have not attended any course or any schools, from my point of view the best school is working on the field.
In April 2012 the first issue of “The Greatest” was released, the men’s fashion’s magazine of which you are the editor in chief; are you afraid that it can be anachronistic to launch a paper magazine?
I believe and feel that more and more young people have a need for new incentives. Anachronistic is a magazine that has no new content. So the problem as usual is not the form but the substance. I think there is still a strong desire to have something to hold in your hands, to glance through, to smell: all this is not anachronistic but simply beautiful. The magazine, moreover, is supported by a site that we are still creating in which there will be a platform dedicated to the world of video. I think that something half way, between past and future, is always better: take from the past to improve the future.
What is the novelty expressed by “The Greatest” compared to the already existing men’s magazines?
"The Greatest" is a great point of view on fashion. It is totally self-produced in Italy by talents who work/live in Milan or in Italy. The fact that it is completely produced by people ranging from age 24 to 35, I think is already a new concept for Italy and up to date in Europe and worldwide. Compared to the existing magazines, we have our own point of view on menswear: the man we are proposing is young but very stylish and cool. We strongly believe in the beauty and in the art that each of us carries within himself. We give carte blanche to talented people, we only ask them to be themselves. Personally, I think it is a novelty.
In about a month Milano Moda Uomo will start, what do you expect to see at a moment when the market is in such a crisis?
I think that we can all say that men’s fashion is much more boring than women's fashion. Just compare a woman wardrobe to that of a man and you will easily understand why. I hope that designers, especially those that have their strength in men's tailoring, will be able to study or even - why not - invent, new proportions and new cuts for men’s suits. I hope to see a really interesting research on fabrics and prints. Those from whom I expect something really interesting are Umit Benan and Jil Sander.