It’s Pitti Uomo time

A journey through time with the 97th Pitti Uomo

People also come from halfway round the world. Today, Pitti Immagine Uomo is a renowned player on the international fashion and lifestyle events scene. It marked a great turning point for Florence. Indelible memories of the first runway shows held in the Sala Bianca at Palazzo Pitti in the Fifties, which marked the birth of Italian high fashion, mean it has always been considered a fashion capital, and today it is an obligatory destination for all those working in and around the industry.

However, Pitti Uomo, which journalists call the “Florentine fair”, two words that leave no room for misunderstanding, is comparable with the international fashion weeks. Its key players are not so much the biggest designers, but Italian and international companies that present next year’s collections to the press and buyers. It is a combination of the exchanges, meetings and information of traditional trade fairs and current sociological, economic, customs and communication phenomena.

Four days of trade fair and events, runway shows and installations that turn the entire city upside down and communicate with the world. So much fashion and so many events at iconic sites have taken place in Pitti Uomo’s almost 50 year history (it celebrates its 50th anniversary in June 2021 ed). Among others from the upper echelons of fashion, Vivienne Westwood, Raf Simons, Romeo Gigli, Versace, Hedi Slimane, Yohji Yamamoto, Rick Owens, Marco de Vincenzo, Martin Margiela, Carven and Givenchy have all come to Florence, and the list could go on forever.

Flags is the theme linking Pitti Uomo with the other Pitti Immagine events this winter. ‘Show your flags at Pitti!’: a rectangle of fabric where lines, colours and designs intersect with one another. “Pitti is like the United Nations of fashion” says Agostino Poletto, General Manager of Pitti Immagine. “The flag is never a silent piece of fabric, it always says something, endlessly inspiring emotion, because it speaks according to universal messages, like those conveyed by the clothes we wear, and like clothing, it is a mobile symbol of identity, belonging, thought, and feeling” Guest Designer, with a special show/event, will be Jil Sander, the fashion house founded in Hamburg in 1973 and one of the industry’s biggest names. Its shows took Paris by storm in the Eighties/Nineties – unlike others in those years, Jil Sander presented minimalist, clean lines, quality fabrics and neutral colours – a feast for the eyes. Co-creative directors since 2017 are Lucie and Luke Meir who, coincidently, first met as students at the Polimoda Institute in Florence 17 years ago.

Another runway show/event is Random Identities, Stefano Pilati’s first independent venture. Creative director at Yves Saint Laurent for ten years, he has also worked with Armani, Prada and Tom Ford. “Random Identities, says Lapo Cianchi, Director of Communications and Events at Pitti Immagine, arises from an inner impulse of Pilati’s to express himself through fashion, an obsession to dress that is the result of decades of integrity, work and continuous learning”.

Telfar, the brand founded in 2005 in New York, a fashion project which unexpectedly blends aesthetics, art, gender identity and functionality,will feature in another special event. Before the fashion world caught on, Telfar Clemens showed in museums around the world, he has collaborated with brands such as Converse, and his clothes are sold internationally at stores like Galleries Lafayette and Dover Street Market.

Fashion house Brioni will be celebrating its 75th anniversary with anevent curated by Olivier Saillard that will present the Fall/Winter 2020 collection through a unique installation which will pay tribute to the brand’s sartorial heritage. “Florence played an important role in the brand’s 75-year history, it being here that Brioni presented the very first men’s fashion show in 1952” says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine.

So what are the trends for next winter? Ultra-light fabrics with special emphasis on the use of natural, noble fibres, up to date silhouettes, soft lines, meticulous attention to detail, sartorial expertise, elegance, comfort, functionality and wearability. Shades of camel and the royal blue of navy uniforms.