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The Pitti Immagine Uomo 94 menswear shows featured a new pavilion, "I Go Out", for brands interpreting outdoor style in an original way, combining looks and performance, functionality and design. Here, a T-shirt by Mountain Research
AKA Studio Collective
I stopped covering the international menswear shows after two decades because the sheer number of womenswear collections became overwhelming. But I still like to dip into the masculine world of fashion – especially now, when the meld of the technical and the streetwise has such urgent, mixed-gender appeal.
The MCM showcase at Pitti Uomo 94
Proj3ct Studio
After a quick trip to Pitti Uomo in Florence, I realised that new attitudes and demands are sweeping away the neat tailored clothes and colourful mix-and-match neckties that once formed the foundation of a man’s wardrobe.
From the 1,240 participating brands (45% from abroad), today Pitti Imagine tries to reflect the new generation’s searching for meaning in what they wear and how it is made. The result is what can best be described as fashion’s climate change.
At Pitti Uomo 94, Herno celebrated its 70th anniversary and proud Made in Italy history with the presentation of its "Library" collection
Studio Nonamephoto
Sease: Clean Ocean Clothing
Combining 「sea」 and 「ease」 creates the name of this new brand from Franco and Giacomo Loro Piana – grandsons of the founder of the famous Italian fabric company, co-owned by LVMH since 2013. Symbolic of a new attitude, the duo is creating a streamlined sporty menswear that mixes wool and nylon – in a ratio of 70 to 30% – using no chemical substances. They also have pieces in 100% recycled polyester.
Windbreakers by new brand Sease, founded by the young generation of the Loro Piana family, Franco and Giacomo Loro Piana
Francesco Guazzelli
「This project was always in the back of our minds, and once the Loro Piana story was set, we developed this brand around passions and our everyday life,」 Giacomo explained. 「Most of us live in the city; we work, we are very busy, very stressed. It’s good that at the weekend we can go out and release the pressure and get in touch with nature. We started from passion and then went back into the city.」 He and his brother Franco showed me a sailing kit of shirt, swim trunks, shoes and a wind jacket, explaining that from this outerwear inspiration the brothers developed clothes for everyday, while others were inspired by skiing or yoga.
The elegant "Solaro" sailing kit by Sease Sunrise at Pitti Uomo 94
Sease
But more than swimming trunks come from inspiration by the sea. The brothers explain that being around the sea puts us in touch with the 「disgrace」 of pollution. 「When the costumer makes the choice, that is what makes the difference,」 Giacomo said. 「Sustainability has to be a way of doing business, not just a way of doing marketing. We do our best to educate our customers so they can make the right choice. They are the ones who are really changing the consumer’s path.」
Christopher Raeburn: A Creative Call to Arms
A digital projection of a leafy forest climbed across a blue sky at Pitti’s 「I Go Out」, an area at the Fortezza da Basso dedicated to the great outdoors. The 20-plus designers here focused on nature – including its salvation – and none more so than Christopher Raeburn, the British designer who is dedicated to recycling and to creating a fair balance between man and environment.
Christopher Raeburn in his own words: 『A creative call to arms around climate change. I think we’re in a really interesting moment where we are all part of the problem and we know that. Lots of people say to me, 「Oh I don’t really know what I can do to help」. But the good thing is that we are all part of the solution. It’s a design-led solution because if we design things in a really good way then it already solved a bit of the problem. So unsurprisingly everything you see here is either remade, recycled or reduced. Re-made is all made in our own studio; recycled is lots of PC plastic and
「It’s a creative call to arms,」 said the designer, displaying patterns developed from NASA images of our planet taken over a 30-year period.
「I think we’re in a really interesting moment, where we are all part of the problem and we know it,」 Christopher continued. 「Lots of people say to me, 『Oh, I don’t really know what I can do to help.』」 But the good thing is that we are all part of the solution. It’s a design-led solution, because if we design things in a really good way, then it already solves a bit of the problem. So, unsurprisingly, everything you see here is either re-made, recycled, or reduced. What that really means is that ’remade』 is all made in our own studio; and 『recycled』 is lots of PVC plastic and cottons manufactured. We just try to keep things simple.」
Cavalli: Athleisure For a Heritage Brand?
For the "Roberto Cavalli Special Guest" collection at Pitti Uomo 94, animal print received a modern, abstract treatment by Creative Director Paul Sturridge
Giovanni Giannoni
Roberto Cavalli is a proud name in Italian fashion history, with a particular connection to Florence, the original designer’s home. But now that its founder has only a minority stake, the new Creative Director, British designer Paul Surridge, has set out to modernise the brand without losing its core values of richness, grandeur, and decoration.
First there was the choice of venue – the Certosa del Galluzzo – an ancient monastery in the Tuscan countryside with its grey stone floor covered with carpet in vivid blues and reds in a geometric pattern. The designer kept the decorative effects, but propelled them into the 21st century, as the brash glamour of earlier years was replaced with animal or python prints, rather than embroidery or genuine fur. 「Snake, high velocity and injection moulded,」 Surridge revealed. 「It wasn’t actually snakeskin – it was three-dimensional rubber!」
At Roberto Cavalli, Creative Director Paul Surridge takes a bow after his presentation for Pitti Uomo 94
Proj3ct Studio
Artisan effects came with stitching, but all eyes were on the elaborately designed sneakers that would have stolen the show, had the collection not been so strong. As the designer put it, 「Tension for the future is embedded with awareness of the past.」
Z Zegna: Tennis Game, Set and Match
Imagine playing or watching tennis in smartly tailored, yet pliable, clothes that can be slung into the washing machine when at home. Z Zegna, the sporty side of the Italian house of fine tailoring, has achieved this. And the company has proved how 「smart casual」 can be a menswear fashion reality.
The Z Zegna Summer 2019 collection, presented at Pitti Uomo
Z Zegna
Alessandro Sartori, the Artistic Director of the brand, has made sense of the sporty line, which has been shown in previous editions of Pitti Uomo as a wardrobe for sailing boats or for hiking in forests. The more surprising aspect was the vivid colour, with shades of red or plum that could have done with a bright white shirt to create a background for the more intense shades.
Birkenstock: Treats for the Feet
The Birkenstock presentation at Pitti Uomo 94 put the shoes through their paces when rain showered down on the outdoor catwalk
Birkenstock
Other executives might have quivered at the sight of menacing clouds gathering over the historic Giardino Torrigiani in the centre of Florence. But Birkenstock shoes are made to cradle the feet and protect them from rough land, so CEO Oliver Reichert watched the rain fall, then stop, and the show started.
With models wearing simply-cut clothes and that sturdy but increasingly stylish footwear, Birkenstock not only proved that it has developed a modern look for what are often described as 「Jesus sandals」, but also introduced its new Birkenstock Natural Care cosmetics line, including foot treatments containing cork extract.
Birkenstock has shed its socks-and-sandles image and now appeals to a new generation for successfully combining style with comfort and durability
Birkenstock
Moncler: Introducing Hiroshi Fujiwara
At "Moncler 7 Fragment by Hiroshi Fujiwara" at Pitti Uomo 94, the presentation took the form of a rave
Francesco Guazzelli
Remo Ruffini, Chairman and Creative Director of Moncler, has a talent for finding unlikely venues. So when the soaring stone courtyard of the 14th-century Museo Nazionale del Bargello started roaring with music, it seemed like guest designer Hiroshi Fujiwara would start his show. But the elusive creative, who worked previously with Comme des Garons, is not only a designer, but a musician, producer and DJ. So there was more sound than clothing in this 「Moncler 7 Fragment Hiroshi Fujiwara」 collection that will be on sale at Matches.
The stylish slayer and eternal Italian dandy, Donatello's "David" (1430s), at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence
Moncler
And for an extra treat – only in Italy – Donatello’s statue of David stood at the top of a soaring stone stairway while Michelangelo’s Bacchus and a feast of art stayed serenely out of site from the revellers below.
Celebrating Pitti Uomo 94, designer and music producer Hiroshi Fujiwara (far right) after presenting the latest collection for outdoor brand Moncler - "Moncler 7 Fragment Hiroshi Fujiwara"
Francesco Guazzelli