The style of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte

They're difficult days, for Giuseppe Conte. In the past few weeks, the Prime Minister of Italy has found himself in a tough spot: the general confusion due to the pandemic of Coronavirus. But after all, Italy called: following a debut that seemed a little undertone, he's suddenly become the symbol of all the narrative concerning the spread of the virus in Italy (and in the World, too), along with his tailored suits and his pocket squares. Everybody loves Conte. It's the start of a real Conte-mania: the Prime Minister has gone trend topic on internet and he's now the king of memes, he has fan clubs and he's even of trending on Pornhub's most searched videos.

The style of Giuseppe Conte may be recap in three words: traditional Italian tailoring. Someone from nss magazine staff also said that two words would be enough: all formal. In fact, his dressing in impeccable and he represents the quintessence of Italian tailoring. His best look by definition is a perfectly cut blue suit, that he always matches with sober ties and the classic pocket square. He betrayed this innate elegance just once, for his first "celebrity moment": it was on February, Sunday 23rd, 2020, when he went live on almost every show of the Italian broadcast television (interviewed by Fabio Fazio, Mara Venier, Barbara D’Urso and all the superstars of Italian infotainment television) and opted for a simple white shirt and a grey wool pullover. This was the one and only time that the Prime Minister (also called "the Premier") allowed himself to be a little more casual.

It was until the Nineties that in Italy the politicians didn't allow themselves to try to exceed with their style. The one and only law was the tailoring. It was Silvio Berlusconi who changed the rules and the palette of their outfits: after him, there's been place for the white vest worn by Umberto Bossi to the iconic double-breasted suit by Berlusconi himself, but also for Mario Monti's loden and the Fonzie-like leather jacket by Matteo Renzi, then the uniforms styled by Matteo Salvini.

This progressive "casualization" of politics has been right stopped by Conte, who turned back his eyes to a more formal style. A style that reflects his personal and professional life: he was born in Volturara Appula, a little village made of 400 people near Foggia, Puglia, in a place where many luxury fashion brands set the production for some of their most precious and expensive creations. In Puglia the tradition of tailoring is capital, and it is indeed for men like Conte: after all, he is a University professore before a Prime Minister - and his style is perfectly coherent with his professional attitude and a personal life, where he has not time to loose.

The Italian Premier has completely rejected the more casual style of his predecessor Matteo Renzi, who went on stage without tie and with sweaters; on the contrary, he chooses a classic style made of dark suits (his favorite colors are blue and grey). He always wears micro and perfectly cut ties, but with a more vivid nuances than the ones of the good old times. The difference lies in the details: basic cufflinks and an iconic black crocodile watch have already made him iconic, while oxford shoes, pocket squares and a cheeky haircut (that's been the subject of a huge controversy, just because his hair are dyed) are just some of the elements that guides him to the rules of the New Mascolinity, the new idea of a man who can take care of himself and of his aesthetic without having to feel ashamed of it. The fact is: Giuseppe Conte is the perfect 21st Century Italian dandy.

The web has gone crazy. A lot of users wrote on social media that his speeches to the Nation have become the "favorite TV series" for all the Italians, a trend that is confirmed by numbers: the broadcast of his two speeches has reached the 70% share, for a total of almost 22 millions of viewers (over a public of 32 millions). Twitter is full of memes dedicated to him (come as the Japanese anime version illustrated by Marco Albiero). Concerning less traditional platforms, his name has been on the top researches even of Pornhub (wich will be free for the entire month of March), where it's possible to stream some videos of his political speeches (obviously it's not pornographic content). On Instagram there's even an account named Giuseppe Conte's Little Girls that in a few days has reached almost 300.000 followers.

On his side, Conte is very active on every social media: his official Instagram profile (@giuseppeconte_ufficiale) posts every day and several time a days (and has almost 1000 posts), while his Twitter account (@GiuseppeConteIT) has more than 400.000 followers. 

It's not clear what makes him so appealing for such a huge number of fans, but in some ways Conte has the charme of the "cool professor" and the one of a 90s Hollywood movie star that is trying to make the best out of his past glory. And one thing is fore sure: he knows how to handle success.