George Clooney designs leather jackets for Belstaff Spring Summer 2008

Men's Fashion week in Milan is almost over. Last night at the Belstaff show many were caught by surprise. A series of leather jackets, designed by George Clooney, was part of the collection. The collection will carry the label “Not on my watch”. It may seem strange for the American heartthrob to design clothes. More importantly, why would an Italian designer allow someone else to design clothes for his line?

There is an underlying theme in everything Italian. That theme is that the value of the individual is more important than things. One of the favorite sayings is, “when you have your health you have everything.” Sure there are Italians who do not value life and get caught up in the keeping up with the Jones but the idea that human life has value is always there. George Clooney and Brad Pit are launching an international campaign to bring awareness of the tragedy in Darfur.

The Not On Our Watch foundation aims to draw attention to crimes against humanity and has recently focused its attention on the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan. The proceeds from the showing of the 'Not On Our Watch' clothes will be donated to the population of Darfur. The cast of Oceans 13 have been campaigning for Darfur for some time and have jointly given $750,000 for humanitarian aid in the troubled region of Sudan.

Still, there is a difference between donating revenues and allowing someone, no matter how famous, to be a guest designer. The line is colonial style leatherwear. George Clooney has a place in Como and spends a significant amount of time in the area. He is also passionate about motorcycles and can often be found riding the winding roads of the hills around Lake Como. The leatherwear is a natural progression for one of his passions. I have not seen the jackets up close but I can only imagine they will be both linear and functional. Perhaps Mr. Clooney has found a new profession. It will be interesting to see if this becomes more than a guest appearance.

Tags: Mens Fashion Italian Designers Milan George Clooney Spring Summer Travel Italy