The long wait of the Italian fashion world is over. Today, in fact, one of the major world fairs of men's clothing begins which, like every year, is at home in Florence, at the Fortezza Da Basso: Pitti Uomo, now in its 87th edition and which will last until January 16th.
To kick off the dancing (four busy days, simultaneously with the London fashion shows), this morning, in the Sala d'Arme of Palazzo Vecchio were the Deputy Minister for Economic Development Carlo Calenda, the President of the Tuscany Region Enrico Rossi, the mayor of Florence Dario Nardella, the president of the Centro Moda Stefano Ricci and the president of Pitti Immagine, Gaetano Marzotto.
For Italian companies in the sector it is something more than a simple (albeit large) fair. Pitti Uomo represents, in fact, an unmissable appointment, capable of dictating, or even reversing, a trend, bringing the whole sector into a new phase.
A new phase which, in this case, seems to bring with it a breath of confidence, as well as some surprises, such as the announcement by Minister Calenda of the distribution of funds destined for the fashion sector, which should be 15 of the 261 million of euros allocated overall by the Government to promote the internationalization of Made in Italy companies. Internationalization that, more and more, has become a vital part of every high-level survival project in the fashion world.
As usual, many brands will be present at the event: 1.119 (new absolute record) will be the houses that will present their winter collections. 40% of these will be foreign, a lot within which stands out, at least in expectations, "Born in the USA", container of the offer of 20 made in America brands selected by Liberty Fairs, which will be hosted in the new location of the Archives in the Fortezza da Basso.
And together with the brands, many of the visitors to the fair will also be international, which, according to forecasts, will number at least 30 people, in line with what happened last year.
The theme of the edition will be Walkabout Pitti, a hymn to walking: “It is paradoxical – declared the CEO of Pitti Immagine Raffaello Napoleone in an interview reported by Milano Finanza – how much we move virtually thanks to the web and how little physically walk. I therefore believe that this guiding theme will be very successful because it is an expression of a need for life in general, also in the light of the spread of a very strong trend towards high-performance luxury clothing”.
Obviously, there are too many brands to list them all: Marni, Hood by air, Alberto Premi Design stand out, but also the show by Andrea Incontri or T.Lipop, as well as Arrivano, designed by Mattero Gioli and Stefano Ughetti. And again, Unconventional, which hosts the latest underground styles, and the various sections dedicated to avant-garde from Sweden and South Korea and the Play, Touch and L'altro Uomo spaces. In short, there will be fun during these four intense days of haute couture.
