The men’s and children’s catwalks, under the spotlight in Florence in the month of June, open under the banner of the ‘Pitti Games’ theme, that is, playing with fashion and getting back into the game every time with commitment, creativity, and innovation. These are the watchwords for the companies and events of this edition to which is added another fundamental requirement: sustainability.
Pitti Uomo, from the 13th to the 16th of June, is a concentration of brands, clothing, accessories, and lifestyle collections, events and performances inside and outside the Fortezza da Basso. This June edition hosts 825 brands, 41% of which are foreign. Impossible to mention all the news and events, so here are the main ones.
The guest designer is the Californian Eli Russell Linnetz, who will talk about his label ERL, a crossover between fashion, cinema, photography, and music, in a catwalk scheduled for June the 15th. The special guest is Fendi, which will hold its catwalk on June the 15th at the evocative and recently inaugurated Fendi Factory, the brand’s excellence hub in the heart of the Tuscan countryside in Capannuccia (Bagno a Ripoli), a crossroads of development, innovation, artisan training, and creativity. In the Fortezza, the designer project is Chulaap with a special installation to present the colourful fashion of the brand, founded in 2015 by Chu Suwannapha, a Thai-born and South African-adopted designer, defined as the “prince of prints”. Among the various sections of the Salone, from ‘Fantastic Classic’ to ‘Futuro Maschile’ (Masculine Future), from ‘Dynamic Attitude’ to ‘Superstyling’ and ‘I Go Out’, the S/Style area, dedicated to eco-responsible, innovative, and research brands from all over the world, welcomes for the first time an exclusive partnership with Kering Material Innovation Lab (Kering MIL). The internal research centre of the Kering group, committed to reducing environmental impact, will provide the S/Style designers with a library of certified materials and fabrics for the creation of a capsule that will make its debut at the Fortezza.
The ‘Pittipets’ section dedicated to the accessories and lifestyle of our four-legged friends is also back.
As for the brands, footwear brands are also presenting special collaborations or anniversary celebrations: Doucal’s, for example, celebrates its first 50 years of history with “Mario”, a special edition of the iconic moccasin dedicated to Mario Giannini, founder of the artisan workshop in Montegranaro. In this new loafer, “Golden Cream” yellow is combined with black, giving uniqueness to the packaging. On Wednesday the 14th of June, at Palazzo Budini Gattai, the brand will present the “Loafer performance” event which will set up the company’s craftsmen as stars. In Fortezza da Basso, however, Giuseppe Zanotti celebrates 15 years of the Men’s collection, and on this occasion presents a selection of evening footwear, a true triumph of craftsmanship, to mark the return of formal elegance. The undisputed stars of the show are the iconic tuxedo-loafers with an exclusive design, in precious materials and adorned with crystals.
Pitti Bimbo, from the 21st to the 23rd of June, is a concentration of fashion, accessories, design, and publishing for a 360-degree lifestyle concept. 220 brands feature in this edition of which 75% came from abroad. There are many sections: ‘100% Child’, where styles and trends that come from adult fashion find space, ‘matchy matchy’, proposed by iconic brands and brands, ‘Smart Kids’ with the urban world in all its forms, experiments and crossovers between styles and genres, ‘The kid’s Lab!’, a laboratory for discovering research collections and experimenting with versions of kids lifestyle, ‘Apartment’ with niche and elegant collections, ‘The Nest’ for small innovative brands. In each of these areas there is also space for accessories and footwear. On the catwalk at the fair this time is the Miniconf company, which celebrates its 50th birthday, with its brands iDO, Sarabanda, Superga Kidswear, and Ducati.
