The Pitti Uomo cannot be kept down and once again shows how important the gathering of the industry in the Florentine Men’s fashion fair is, while wars and trade disputes determine the world view and the consumption mood is pressed.
Even if the start seemed a little slower, the Pitti Uomo showed itself at the latest from the second day of the fair in full radiance and with good frequencies. Pitti Immagine Managing Director Raffaello Napoleone, who already perceived comparatively more national and international buyers on the first day, was pleased about this.
Industry meets in Florence
The increase perceived by the trade fair chief is also confirmed in the numbers. According to the forecasts of the trade fair organizer, which were published on Thursday, the fair is likely to take 11,500 to 12,000 trade visitors: in the inside and a total of over 15,000 visitors. The 108th edition of the Pitti Uomo would be at eye level with the Juni edition 2024.
“Pitti Uomo is a symbol and a concrete instrument for promoting and developing trade – and in every economic stimulus phase, even in times of change, as we are probably experiencing,” said the trade fair chief. “The resonance of the buyers from over a hundred countries on five continents is the best we could hope for.”
Philippe Celeny is satisfied with the visitors: inside at the fair. Even if the first morning appeared a little weaker and the frequency on the corridors particularly reserved on the Digel sales chief Digel, the figures similar to the January issue of the Pitti were booked. Around 600 buyers got an insight into the brand’s collections on the three and a half days, which with 100 square meters had significantly more space than in the previous version of presenting their casualwear and more classic looks. Especially buyers: inside from Germany and Italy, but also from France, England and the USA were visited.
For office and leisure
The menswear increasingly relies on a hybrid approach in the casual area. The buyers: Looking for an alternative to the jacket, as can be heard at Digel, but also at the shirts specialist Olympus. Overhirts made of linen and softer mixtures for blazers are well received. Alphatauri, the Casualwear brand of the Austrian mixed group Red Bull, now shows a sporty approach for the hybrid jacket with an integrated hooded jacket.
The pants are now becoming continuous in the mainstream to combine the casual look for the office and leisure. The German clothing provider Drykorn relies on a light jacket with a zipper in the casualwear and combines them with suit trousers with a wide leg. In the assembly, she presents such a cut with a tight blazer.
The brand shows these silhouettes under the umbrella of the “Harbor Club”, in which the imaginary port worker meets the businessman and thus workwear on businesswear. With this approach, the brand, based in Kitzingen, entered the right waters, so that the mood was quite positive, reports Chief Sales Officer Benny Jandl.
Of course, the typical maritime strips should not be missing, which have found a place on shirts for SS26 in a casual form and a wide variety of widths in some brands, including at the Streetwear brand ICECREAM, at the Denim specialist Replay and at Olympus. The pattern rounded off the transition between job and leisure, especially for the class -safe brands.
Young brands in particular show that fun can be more and more part of the original formalwear with their reinterpretation of the tie. Whether at the Spanish Streetwear Brand SSSSTUFF, which you, as a voluminous eye-catcher, as part of a buffer inspired by the business shirt, as a leather look in excess in the young English label śilpa or as a cut-out variant at the Korean guest brand Post Archive Faction, find an individual way to reinterpret the classic accessories.
In the qualities, the mainstream also opens up more for higher quality knitting polos with higher prices, explains Elias Banai, who is responsible for North German sales for Olympus. For the company, the focus is on sales, since the overall situation remains difficult and the shirt specialist also has to adapt to the rope in the current direction. Some of the dealers: inside had a not so good start to the current year. Nevertheless, Olympus remains optimistic and hopes for a better second half of the year.
Sports friend: inside
Last season, the fair put running in a spotlight, now it is the two -wheeler. With the integration of the Becyle bike fair, which was launched for the Tour de France start in Florence last year, the current edition with Pitti Bikes was all about bicycle.
Accordingly, some bicycle specialists found themselves within the outwear segment. But some other brands were also inspired by the topic. Including the German Streetwear brand Prohibited, which presented a lifestyle cycling jersey-without a performance claim-in a bright pink and was able to attract between five to ten new partners: inside for order dates and to inspire up to 30 interested parties: inside from the German-speaking area, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Overall, sporting activities play a major role everywhere on the exhibition center. Fashion is drawn closer to the wellness topic and people just want to be well dressed when they do sports, says Napoleone. Even the traditional clothing providers are becoming increasingly open to the area and use the Activewear fabrics for their collections.
Whether when installing the Italian sportswear brand Ellesse, at which visitors were invited to the match with XXL tennis rackers, Champions Time travel through their own history in sports such as basketball and boxing or bikkemberg cooperation with the Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy to revive the football-inspired brand root.
Ex-soccer professional Luis Figo was also involved. His brand of the same name was devoted to a casualwear collection inspired by the Golf, but a significantly smaller ball than at his active seasons.
The Portuguese brand based in Italy relies particularly on reserved colors such as beige and cream tones. A picture that emerged at many stands. Various green shades, brown tones and various grades from blue also shaped the picture. At Drykorn, among other things, a “Burned Red” was also used. Overall, the color palette seemed to come from autumn rather than from a happy spring.
From Scandinavia to Korea
Like the brands, the fair is constant change to go over time. This year, the sport replaced the pet brands that were part of the Pitti last year and equipped the four -legged friends with fashionable accessories and pieces. But at the handlebars of the Pitti Bike, they wanted to stick to the next season for the time being.
In addition, there are more and more international collaborations that bring their local talents to Florence and thus strengthen the global flair, which of course also contribute to the buyer from almost 50 different countries.
At half -time of the third day of the event, the number of registered foreign buyers was: inside 4,400 – an increase of three percent compared to the previous year. The number of Italian buyers who visited the fair remained at the level of the previous summer edition, the trade fair organizer said. Of the approximately 740 brands that exhibited at the fair, 46 percent were from abroad.
This season, for the first time, in addition to the separate areas for Chinese and Scandinavian brands, a curated area of Korean brands was part of the fair. Brands such as Ordinary People and Ajobyajo present themselves with Code Korea, who have so far mostly showed their collections at fashion shows in Seoul and now want to open up to the European market.
The trade fair organizer Pitti Immagine, meanwhile, could not imagine presenting himself with an Italian delegation at a foreign trade fair, said Napoleone. The fortress walls of the Fortezza Da Basso exhibition center want to stay true to their unique atmosphere and stand out from the crowd. You would have already had numerous offers from New York to Paris, but Pitti prefers to focus on your own format and try to stay true to yourself even in difficult geopolitical times.