Pitti Immagine to change dates for its 2021 edition

Rumours had been running for some time, and yesterday there was the official announcement: Pitti Immagine will not be held in January, as previously announced. The Men's, Filati and Bimbo fairs will instead take place in February 2021, from 21st to 23rd, bringing trade fairs and special events in the heart of Florence, between Fortezza da Basso and Stazione Leopolda. 

Pitti Immagine was one of the first major Italian fashion events to be hit by the health emergency, so much so that it was forced to cancel this year's summer edition. The decision to further postpone the return of the event was explained by Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti, to MFF: "The confirmation of the January slot has become very difficult, given that the latest decree postpones the suspension to December 3 of international fairs, without however having any guarantees that the block will not be extended ". In short, there was too little time to realistically think of putting together a fair like Pitti.  

However, the choice of these new dates for the event is not casual. "[...] We followed three criteria: placing ourselves in a useful period for sales campaigns; preserving the identity of each event and, at the same time, giving a strong signal to the system, both in terms of the supply chain, which represents a specific value of Italian fashion, both on that of the Italian calendar of fashion presentations (hence the decision of the three days preceding the opening of the fashion week of Camera della Moda in Milan) ", explained Claudio Marenzi, president of Pitti. 

A strategic asset in recent months when the event did not take place was Connect, a digital platform on which Pitti has invested heavily and that will not lose its relevance even during the days of the fair. "We will open the Connect digital platform to exhibitors well in advance, on which we have worked hard in recent months to enhance order collection and expand editorial coverage. We are organizing a significant promotion of our online commercial system that will reach the best buyers from around the world ", continued Napoleone. 

Given the situation, the next edition of Pitti Immagine will be anything but normal, and not only because of the necessary safety measures. First of all, for the chosen period, the third week of February, in which the sales campaign of the collections will already be advanced, but above all for the proximity to the Milanese FW calendar. However, it could prove to be a winning solution, a synergy between the main players of the Italian fashion sector that could represent the symbolic restart of this industry.