Pitti Uomo's next edition is set to reach record numbers

June 13th, the starting date of Pitti Uomo, is getting closer and closer. Although it will, as always, be full of surprising presentations, ready to innovate the international menswear panorama, this year more than ever the organisers of the event must be well prepared to handle what is expected to be record numbers, of shows as well as of spectators. According to reports, 825 brands will be exhibiting at Pitti Uomo in Florence, 41% of which will be travelling from abroad. Until 16 June, 350 international buyers will be able to take a closer look at the future of men's tailoring in an event that seems to be truly unprecedented, marked by shows by designers who are changing the rules of the game, such as this edition's star guest designer Eli Russel Linnetz and the five stars of Detroit workwear, B.May Bags, Boswell, Detroit Denim, Deviate and K.Walker Collective, hosted by Carhartt in collaboration with the College of Creative Studies. 

On Thursday, the CEO of Pitti Immagine, Raffaello Napoleone, unveiled the calendar of shows in attendance. «We are overcoming complex years and our barometer is always the number of companies applying,» explained Napoleone, «which have grown steadily since January.» And the figures from Confindustria Moda prove it, with a 24.7% increase in men's fashion exports compared to the previous year. For Matteo Zoppas, the president of the Italian trade agency ICE, the next Pitti is a unique opportunity to further enhance Italian fashion, one of the driving forces of the country's economy. The June edition will also be a great challenge for Antonio De Matteis, the new president of Pitti Immagine elected last February, as well as for guest designer Eli Russell Linnetz, founder of the ERL brand and winner of the Emerging Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Awards in 2021. He will stage a late-night show on 15 June, and will participate in the main installation at Pitti, immersing a replica of the Statue of Liberty in sand, Planet of the Apes style. Chu Suwannapha, the up-and-coming designer from Thailand based in Cape Town, will also present his collection at Pitti by flooding the Sala delle Nazioni with colours and silhouettes that fuse African and Oriental cultures. 

Highlights of the 104th edition of Pitti Uomo include the new Scandinavian Manifesto section, which will present proposals from the major Scandinavian brands, the second edition of the J Quality Factor Brand Project, celebrating Japanese tailoring, and then Consinee and Labelhood, two Chinese companies known respectively as fabric producers and promoters of emerging brands. For the seventh time, the pavilion will offer ample space to the theme of sustainability thanks to the S|Style section, which will collaborate with MIL, Kering's materials innovation laboratory, for a mentoring project to ten innovative clothing brands on the subject of environmentally-friendly development, including Cavia, Dalpaos, Dhruv Kapoor, Isnurh, Jeanne Friot and Steven Passaro. Fendi will then move Pitti to Capannuccia, near Bagno a Ripoli, to show its new factory during the 15 June show. Designed together with British Vogue, LuisaViaRoma will build the Runway Icons display at Piazzale Michelangelo, while Rinascente and Valentino will open their flagship stores, inaugurating them during a dinner and party. Giuseppe Zanotti will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its menswear line, while Doucal and Arena will celebrate their 50th year anniversary.