Bal Harbour

get the look ilan is still kind of a mystery to people, even though it's very important on the fashion and design map, and that mystery is beautiful," says famed fashion blogger Scott Schuman, from Italy's celebrated design capital—and his adopted home since 2022. "I like having a bit of a veil, being able to create my own story. Milan's about all these really great intelligent eccentrics. It's what Prada does better than anyone else. It's fun to watch someone's style evolve over time. The tricky part is when you don't shoot them, because they're wonderfully Italian and wonderfully vain!" In the midst of a look-at-me social media– driven era, Schuman's selective in-the-moment approach to his craft—which began with snapping street style in New York City in 2005 for his blog, The Sartorialist—feels old-school admirable. Overstudied selfie sticks and tripods be damned. He mentions quickly photographing two women in uniform standing outside the Prada-owned pasticceria Marchesi 1824, who he spied over the shoulder of his friend Giampaolo, without missing a beat of their conversation. Just like that. "I'm proud of the fact that my Instagram and my books are not about me," he explains. "It's about celebrating other people with a well- defined style. And it's not important who they are. Anyone at almost any economic level can look great by putting a little effort into it." Peppered among the mostly anonymous faces are a few notables in fashion circles, such as the late Beppe Modenese (unofficially crowned "Italy's Prime Minister of Fashion") and Italian menswear designer Luciano Barbera. The late maestro Giorgio Armani contributed a foreword to the book. "What fascinates me about Scott's gaze is his clarity: he gets straight to the point, playing with light and framing," writes Armani. "Like me, he is Milanese by adoption, which is why he sees things that others may overlook." The Men's Fall/Winter shows in Milan wrapped a day before our talk, and Schuman's eye is on a shifting silhouette: "I feel like we're going from a Thom Browne kind of slim, shrunken suit to a more relaxed, slouchy look, almost like the mid-'80s Armani period." Hailing from Indiana, Schuman grew up watching CNN's Style with Elsa Klensch and recalls that Armani was the first designer with whom he felt a strong affinity. "He was a design genius—from his interiors to restaurants and hotels," says Schuman. "It was his work and his work ethic. He meant a lot to me, so I kept a little distance, because I always wanted to see him in that way. They say, don't meet your heroes." Prior to The Sartorialist, Schuman worked in wholesale fashion in Manhattan for another late Italian great, Valentino Garavani, and went on to launch an eponymous showroom with emerging labels Peter Som and James Coviello. "That was such a minimalist moment in fashion, while Valentino was a maximalist, so it was tough; yet he transcended fashion, as he was such a character," recalls Schuman. "When I started shooting, I think the reason it worked so well is that I know how designers think, how they'll see something in an abstract way. When I was working on "The Sartorialist India," I visited a market in Mumbai where the guys all come from one tribe and everything they wear is a different plaid, from the lungi to their shirt and head wrap. I could imagine any designer loving the idea of mixing plaids in different scales and colorways." His reverence for designers remains strong, and notes that he often spies his photos on mood boards—he considers that the ultimate compliment. "Bill Cunningham shot in a slightly different way; he found trends and put them together on a page," he says, referring to the legendary New York Times street fashion photographer. "Whereas I just wanted to shoot really cool guys and really cool girls. I think the designers saw the images and were like, That's the kind of girl or guy I want to dress, and that's why it affected them so quickly." Perennially on the go, Schuman wears a personal uniform centered on the Armani formula in a school of blues: A well-fitted T-shirt, a knit crewneck, and trousers, paired with a brown Tods boot or white Converse kicks. Always prescription sunglasses by Ray-Ban or Lozza. Often a coat with loads of pockets to hold his phone, extra batteries, and piles of fashion invites. Where next? Ethiopia, Senegal, Lagos. He's considering his next books, possibly on cultural garb that spans the globe. Scott Schuman showcases a birds-eye view of Milan's most memorable swans in his latest book, "The Sartorialist Milano," where his portraits capture a deep cultural personality. BY INGRID SCHMIDT Sprezzatura in a study "M

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