Surviving (and leisurely enjoying) the men’s fashion weeks in Milan and Paris was easy these past two weeks. ■ A lot of the usual labels decided to not do anything this season, and our team happened to be quite a big delegation. Less, and more! ■ To begin at the end: SAINT LAURENT, three days ago, Tuesday night in Paris. Amazing! The consistency of it: suits, shoulders, softness. The surprise of butch wader boots with everything. It was one of those super inspiring spectacles that may not make you run to the store and buy yourself a whole new wardrobe (who can afford to live like that?) but it tells you to:

■ get some roll neck jumpers in happy colours
■ wear more double-breasted
■ embrace your personal style, and own it!

In the (currently very active) fashion grapevine, mastermind ANTHONY VACCARELLO is being mentioned a lot – would he go somewhere else? I hope not, he’s just so good at SAINT LAURENT right now.

Greetings from STEVE LACY, our magazine’s most recent cover star, who attended the SAINT LAURENT show. Readers of our profile may wonder if there’s already a date on the horizon for his long-awaited new album? “I keep starting over and over again,” said STEVE, “but it’s going to be incredible. It’ll be this year’s best album.” Ah, so at least the album will be out in 2025? “Well, errr…” said STEVE, “let’s see.” Patience, readers!

A week ago today, a phenomenally great (and sadly final) DIOR show under designer KIM JONES’s guidance, with a collection that felt like couture-for-men and gloriously minimal at the same time. ■ You never know what of all those gorgeous shapes will make it into the actual wardrobes of you and me, but as a vision of menswear today, it was a lift-up that we all can use, desperately. ■ Congrats to Mr. JONES, and excited to see what happens next after seven fab years at the helm of DIOR.

Double congrats, in fact, because a few hours later a Legion d’Honneur, France’s version of a knighthood, was bestowed on KIM. ■ International fashion royalty, ANNA WINTOUR, held a speech for KIM. Ms. WINTOUR may be a formidable figure, but turns out to be quite jolly and deadpan when she’s in the mood. ■ She described KIM as an avid collector of everything and anything: he apparently buys first editions of VIRGINIA WOOLF or DUNCAN GRANT “in the way that the rest of us buy Diet Coke, or toothpaste.” A wonderful event.

Quite a roster of bigwigs turned up for KIM JONES’s knighthood celebration, including the incomparable disco singer, actor and artist AMANDA LEAR! ■ Fun fact: AMANDA and the designer met 20 years ago when Fantastic Man asked KIM to style her for a great fashion series (in our 2nd print issue). “You could say I launched him, basically” said Ms. LEAR, bursting out with laughter. ■ And why does AMANDA herself not have a Legion d’Honneur under her belt? “I turned it down twice, darling. I’ve never done anything for France!”

Milan fashion week was particularly short and quick, to the point that you wonder how long men’s fashion week is going to continue there. ■ If one day PRADA and ARMANI decide to stop showing, no one will travel to Milan any longer. And why shouldn’t it change? ■ Despite all the industry-rocking discussions that enveloped during the pandemic, it’s fascinating to see how conservative the fashion world is, and how little things change… Anyway, the EMPORIO ARMANI show was great, with its kaleidoscope of hippie colours, generous silhouettes, hints of China and just an overall joy for life.

That’s an easy question to answer: the new book to read is EDMUND WHITE’s long-awaited sex autobiography, The Loves of My Life, out now. I photographed and interviewed the writer in 2006 for our sister title, BUTT, but I don’t think I’ll have made it into his memoir…