Let the games begin: Positive start to the season at Pitti Uomo

Florence shines for the new season. Despite ongoing difficulties that continue to plague the fashion industry, the mood at the Pitti Uomo menswear fair was thoroughly positive.

The industry is happy to finally meet again. Pitti Uomo is particularly important as an international platform, according to Windsor managing director Jan Mangold, who exhibited at Pitti Uomo with the clothing supplier again after attending last season.

The motto of Pitti Uomo 104 was ‘Pitti Games’ and some exhibitors took advantage of this approach, integrating playful elements into their approach, including a ball pool and a basketball court.

"The mood is very strong. People have been looking for a platform to exchange ideas. But that's actually also what everyone here reflects to us," said Benny Jandl, chief sales officer at German clothing supplier Drykorn. "We want to return to conversations, we want to meet physically and exchange ideas and for that a trade fair is not replaceable. That will become even more important in the next few years."

825 exhibitors and around 12,000 visitors - more than 40 percent of them from abroad - were present at the current edition, according to fair organiser Pitti Immagine. Compared to the 2022 summer edition, there were about 20 percent more international buyers and five percent more Italian buyers this week. Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, said these figures indicate the fair's recovery after the pandemic and that Pitti Uomo is gradually returning to pre-crisis levels.

Newcomers

This season also saw the return of some brands like Drykorn and Scotch & Soda and the debut of others.

South African menswear label Chulaap held a small presentation on Tuesday, with designer Chu Suwannapha pulling together and styling the looks as if it were a photoshoot. Suwannapha was happy to be there and received a lot of positive feedback, he reported.

Tobias Schellenberger, owner of the German trouser specialist Rossi, was also pleased with his trade fair debut and plans to return next season. Rossi seemed to inspire an international audience with its appearance and so the representatives were in talks with various buyers, even from the likes of Japan.

Everton McDougall travelled from Toronto to present the slippers of his brand Haus by Everton to an international audience. It was only the second collection of the brand, where models with intense colours like purple, colourful patterns and thick soles particularly stoof out.