From the sartorial classicism of the Italian tailors installed in the central pavilion to the refreshing creativity of the English designer William Palmer, finalist of the last ITS competition, Pitti Uomo aims to show the diversity of men’s fashion. And while the industry’s leading trade fair, held at the Fortezza da Basso in the heart of Florence, is primarily designed to foster business connections between international brands and buyers, it also serves as a platform for creative and marketing inspiration.
In this sense, the parades, as well as the presentations and events that take over the Tuscan city, are as integral to the appeal of Pitti Uomo as the commercial offerings of the participating brands. This early-season event has become a setting for many designers.
It was on the stage of the Teatro della Pergola that Simone Rocha lived “the most beautiful day in the process of creating a collection: the day of the show.”
A regular on the London fashion scene, the Irish designer presented a collection of great subtlety for her first men’s show. She fused her delicate aesthetic with masculine codes: under loose leather coats or cotton jackets, the models, who crossed the stage before descending to walk decisively among the audience, wore checked shirts or transparent linen blouses combined with satin or broderie anglaise shorts, or long, loose skirts. She completed the looks with bouquets of mauve flowers, white organza boas and elegant bags. Lace, pearls and embroidery appeared on tunics and aprons, or more discreetly on sweaters with motifs inspired by Florentine murals, as well as on a white suit that skillfully displayed the designer’s mastery.
“I wanted them to express something tender but grounded in reality,” she explained, eager to present a commercially viable collection, as her brand has boutiques in London, New York and Taipei and is available in numerous department stores.
To do this, he played with the contrasts between key pieces of the formal men’s wardrobe and his experience in sensual women’s clothing. His rugby shirt, in the iconic Florence purple, paired beautifully with satin boxers. The combination was risky, but it was nuanced, giving rise to a collection imbued with a remarkable sensitivity, exemplified by the final look, composed of a silk organza tunic-apron with inlaid lace decorations, combined with Prince of Wales check wool trousers, which offer a clear nod to a wedding dress.
The designer closed an excellent Florentine chapter, before the industry moved to Milan. In fact, the fair had given carte blanche to Jiyong Kim’s Korean brand; The designer previously worked at Lemaire and Louis Vuitton during Virgil Abloh’s tenure. In an impressive installation, the brand showed off its expertise in sun dyeing, an approach that allows each era to tell a different story, much like wine, with each vintage. Large canvases several meters high covered one of the walls, allowing visitors to compare the impact of the sun on different materials. In the center of the space, arranged around a pool, around fifty identical coats were displayed, illustrating how the effect of the sun on a garment evolves from the first day to the hundredth day of exposure. The installation was accompanied by the presentation of its Spring/Summer 2027 collection, along with details of collaborations with brands such as Puma and Alpha Industries.
The sun was also a theme for the Danish brand Girasol. A regular at Copenhagen Fashion Week, the brand led by Ulrik Pedersen opened on Wednesday with a show in the theater, an ideal setting as the afternoon sun illuminated the façade of the imposing building and its esplanade.
The international cast hit the runway in the heat, moving to a live performance by piano duo August Rosenbaum and Jakob Littauer. With a penchant for rock ‘n’ roll references and 1970s and ’80s styles, the Girasol team continued to explore this rock-influenced aesthetic with one standout item: the cowboy boot. A leather jacket and pants set was worn directly against the skin; baggy or deconstructed suits were paired with generously unbuttoned satin shirts; Three-quarter length coats are layered over pajama shorts. And there was a firm obsession with denim, expressed through a vibrant color palette and remarkable precision in cuts. The sunflower brought a ray of Scandinavian color to the Italian summer.
Even when the fair closes its doors, the spirit of Pitti Uomo continues into the night. From the inauguration of the “Gucci Storia” exhibition at Palazzo Gucci, which revisits the links of the house with its hometown, to the cruise organized by Sebago, without forgetting the numerous activations in the city’s boutiques, all of Florence beats to the rhythm of fashion.
Until Dsm Kei Ninomiya’s night show, which reviewed the punk universe. The brand, which complements the ultra-creative world of Noir Kei Ninomiya with a more commercial approach, revealed its interpretation of the movement, featuring tartan skirts and jackets, deconstructed formal suits, playful uses of safety pins, distressed effects and leather jackets. A carefully thought out presentation deepened the immersion in its punk references.
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