Pitti Uomo kicks off celebrating Made in Italy

«Italian fashion is experiencing a renewed period of great interest, research, innovation, creativity. Its entrepreneurs have understood before everyone else how important the human capital made of young people, tailors, fashion designers is, how to invest on future talents, and finance schools,» mayor of Florence Dario Nardella said yesterday during the opening conference of Pitti uomo, which until friday will bring under the spotlight 825 brands, almost half of which are foreign. «Thanks to the great alliance between the business world, public institutions, and young people, Pitti is the tip of the iceberg of the health condition of Italian fashion and our city. Covid-19 allowed us to get our priorities back on track, human relations, exchange, emotional and physical living experiences. This is why Pitti is back stronger than befor».

The mayor then highlighted the starting of Fortezza da Basso renovation works, which will be completed by 2028. «Removing obstacles means guaranteeing certain procedures and infrastructural contexts, which is why I can confirm that the redevelopment project is proceeding. We will meet again on July 15 when work on the Bellavista Pavilion will start. It will be the first major intervention that will ensure the continuity of the most beautiful exhibition center in the world, made of history, culture, functionality. In addition, it is situated in the heart of Florence, resulting in a competitive advantage over other cities. It will take 800 days, 26 million euros of investment in a total budget of more than 70 million».

Inside the building, a hall will be able to offer space to accommodate 2,000 people through congresses for an international audience as well. “I am here for the first time to stress the beautiful union between public and private. We showed that we can do amazing things in Italy if we want to. This 104th edition comes after an excellent winter, I thank Claudio Marenzi who preceded me and I expect an extraordinary Pitti. The 43% of foreign exhibitors show the world’s interest in the fair,» Antonio De Matteis, owner of Kiton and new president of Pitti Immagine, echoed him. Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany region, then mentioned the numbers of Italian men’s fashion to stress the exit from the pandemic. «The projection to reach over 11 billion in sales shows great vitality, as we have important investment questions for textiles, tanneries, and footwear in our territory. There is a desire to be present and to create partnerships between banks and luxury brands, so beauty marries with prospects to create opportunities».

This performance seems to continue dynamically in 2023 after the first two months at +21.1% for 1.6 billion for menswear exports, according to the findings of the Confindustria moda study center for Smi-Sistema moda Italia, reiterated by Matteo Zoppas, head of the Ita-Italian trade agency. «Fashion is one of the main export and Made in Italy sectors. Entrepreneurs have been able to renew themselves day after day, and this is what makes us not very copyable,» also stressing «the important return of Chinese buyers and those from the Far East». Sustainability was among the focus topics of the debate, especially after the approval of new rules by the European Parliament on the implementation and realization of the Sdg-Sustainable development goals on June 1st.

«The system is strong but has important challenges ahead, including sustainability. There are 16 chapters that concern us, ranging from producer responsibility to the digital passport, to how the word ‘green’ should be used,» Sergio Tamborini, president of Smi and ceo of Ratti, stated. Getting to the core of the calendar, one of the highlights will be the spring-summer 2024 show by Fendi, a special guest of the event, at its factory, the Maison’s center of excellence in the heart of the Tuscan countryside in Capannuccia, Bagno di Ripoli, which was recently inaugurated. The event will start at 6:00 pm on Thursday, June 15, and will be followed at 9:30 pm by the fashion show promoted by the Pitti discovery foundation of guest designer Eli Russell Linnetz with its Erl brand, in via del Parione. The californian designer will talk about his crossover vision between fashion, design, and lifestyle, also signing a large installation in the central square of the Fortezza.

In the Hall of Nations, on the other hand, today at 2:00 pm the protagonist will be the designer project Chulaap, a label founded in 2015 by Chu Suwannapha. Thai by origin and South African by adoption, he will bring to the stage his contemporary, androgynous, experimental Africa through the art of cutting and decoration. At the end of the ceremony, the Pitti Immagine Uomo 2023 Award was appointed to Piquadro, headed by Marco Palmieri. «You can breathe energy and vitality, a sign of a developing entrepreneurial fabric. There is a growing complexity but also a great desire to compete, there are the right cards to be able to do well in this recovery process. My thoughts today go to our colleagues in Emilia-Romagna,» Antonella Mansi, president of the Florence Cfmi-Center for Italian fashion, concluded.

Class TV to broadcast live from the event

The live appointment from Pitti Uomo is back on Class Editori’s TV channel. Until Thursday 15, Class TV Moda will in fact be live from Florence on the occasion of the 104th edition of the fair with its television studio inside the international space dedicated to men’s fashion. A dynamic journalistic hub with a long series of live television broadcasts, on air on Class TV Moda and Class CNBC on Sky channels 180 and 507, but also in streaming on the Milano Finanza and Class TV websites and on the LinkedIn page of MF and MF Fashion. Many protagonists will take their turns at the microphones of the fashion community television. From Pitti immagine president Antonio De Matteis, who will make his debut in his new role, to the event’s general director Agostino Poletto. Many topics will be covered, from responsible fashion with Giorgia Cantarini, who on Class TV Moda is currently at the helm of the new program Green Revolution, now on its second episode to menswear strategies and the trends for spring-summer 2024 where tradition, innovation, and sustainability are intertwined.

Piquadro Founder Marco Palmieri received the Pitti Immagine Uomo 2023 Award

The Pitti immagine uomo 2023 award went to Piquadro. The award was presented yesterday by Raffaello Napoleone, ceo of the fair, to Marco Palmieri, founder, president and ceo of the leather goods group founded in 1987 with now over 175 million euros in business. The motivations include the ability to have combined design with a vocation for new technologies and industrial processes, as well as a commitment to environmental sustainability translated into the use of recycled materials and the reduction of emissions. Its achievements include the acquisitions of The bridge and Lancel brands, growing success in international markets, and listing on the stock exchange. “I am excited and gratified, a success achieved thanks to my employees,” Palmieri commented yesterday. “Trade fairs not only have a function of making people focus on the city, but they are full of small businesses and young people full of dreams, who come into contact with their future. Social sustainability is also this, those who have talent and a desire to work can show themselves to the world,” the entrepreneur concluded. (all rights reserved)