The 78th Edition of Pitti Uomo: Wrap Up

Pitti Immagine holds what many critics consider the most prestigious fashion happenings in the world, organizing multiple fashion events in Florence, Italy:

Pitti Immagine Uomo (menswear, twice yearly.)
Pitti_W Woman Pre-collections (womenswear, twice yearly.)
Pitti Immagine Bimbo (ages 0-14, twice yearly.)
Pitti Immagine Filati (yarn collections, twice yearly.)
Fragranze (fragrances and essences, once yearly.)
Taste (food and wine, once yearly.)

Prior to the 1950’s, there was no real ready-to-wear market in Italy—what we call in Italy “Pronto Moda”; 90% of all clothing was custom-made by sarti and sarte (‘tailors’ and ‘seamstresses’).

Because of the local conditions in and around Florence, Italy, the Tuscan city became a mighty fulcrum that could raise the current structure of fashion events as we knew them today.

In 1972, Pitti Uomo was born and, by the early Nineties, Pitti Immagine had become an undisputed global leader in the fashion industry.

Now, more than 50 years later, Pitti Uomo celebrates the 78th Edition (15-17 June, 2010) with Jil Sander as special guest, in addition to 972 brands and 30,000 buyers.

The theme of this Summer Edition is Design Watching: “the world of fashion will be making a curious–and indiscreet–foray into the world of design through the ideas and visual-acoustic-verbal notes gathered by a platoon of ‘design watchers’, the spearhead of Pitti People, the international community of the Pitti Uomo buyers, journalists, and opinion leaders.”

Other events include:

My Factory is the new Pitti Uomo project that embodies the new sensitivity that has developed from the busy intersection where fashion, street styles, music, graphics and the new media meet.

My Factory is a new trade segment linked to today’s metro culture where the passwords are experimentation, eclecticism, eco-sustainability and modernity. The focus will be on full and capsule collections by young creatives and products form international brands sold in trend stores and online. Settings by Oliviero Baldini.

The names at this first edition of My Factory will include: Levi’s® Vintage Clothing, Red Wing, Soulland, Beat Generation, Dr. Bronner, Rm Williams, BB Washed, Be Different, Gorgeous, Rivieras Leisure Shoes, Sammy Hand Made In Ethiopia.

New Beats are the debuts at Pitti Uomo—the new names coming from all over the world: from South Korea to Spain and United Kingdom. It features collections by young avant-garde brands that the Pitti scouts found most interesting during their worldwide talent searches.

The names include: Bustler, Groundwave, Il Sistema degli Oggetti, La Portegna, Noonk, Open Baladin, Pop on bags, Serdar Uzuntas, Tee Library, The Mua Mua Dolls.

Who’s On Next is the contest dedicated to new talents–Italian or Italian-based–in men’s fashion, promoted and organized by Pitti Immagine in collaboration with AltaRoma and Uomo Vogue.

The winners are FQR by Fabio Quaranta for ready-to-wear andAI_ by Andrea Incontri for accessories.

Photo top right Tradeshow Courtesy & Copyright Pitti Immagine.
Photo upper left Design Watching Courtesy & Copyright Pitti Immagine.
Photo middle right Tradeshow Courtesy & Copyright Pitti Immagine.
Photo bottom left Who's On Next Courtesy & Copyright Pitti Immagine.

Shudy is a "Shoe Ready" New Beat at Pitti Uomo

New Beats is the area that Pitti Uomo dedicates to fresh designer talent and spanking new debuts.

Now in its 12th season, New Beats showcased 14 emerging brands and rising designers at the 76th Edition of Pitti Uomo. Among them was Shudy, an innovative line of men's shoe wear from Italy.

Shudy is a collection of recycled plastic and rubber-soled shoes, finely perforated for comfort, which comes in a kaleidoscope of multiple colors, ranging from dainty pastel tones to scrumptious sorbets.

The style—a reinterpretation of the classic moccasin. As for inspiration, Shudy looks to the Dadaist and Surrealist champion of art, Marcel Duchamp, and to the movement known as Cracking Art.

The Cracking Art movement was born in 1983 with a strong social and environmental commitment to revolutionize contemporary art through the creative use of plastic materials. Borrowing its name from the process of converting petroleum into plastic—a conversion of the natural into the artificial—Cracking Art seeks to fill the gap between man's organic past and synthetic future by means of recycling plastics to produce provocative art installations.

As for Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), he was a French artist who found mundane objects to present as artwork, such as a bottle rack or bicycle wheel, coining the objects “readymades.” The most influential yet controversial readymades include a urinal that he renamed a “fountain” and a portrait of Mona Lisa with a mustache, to which he ascribed Elle a chaud au cul, implying "the girl was horny!

The connection to Shudy? Shu stands for ‘shoe’, whereas dy is an abbreviated form of ‘ready’. Hence, Shudy is shoe ready!

Recycled, the shoe line is a resurgence of readymades—ready to make a radical social and environmental difference!



Photo top left by Carl Stas, Public Domain at Wikipedia.
Photo middle right from Cracking Art dowloads.
Slideshow Copyright Shudy.

Pitti Uomo's Special Guest: Undercover

Well, the doors have officially opened and closed for the 76th Edition of Pitti Uomo, which was held June 16-19 in the beautiful Renaissance city of art, Florence, Italy.

Although the brands in attendance were far too many to list, you may search them by style, specific item, country, and more on the Pitti Immagine Uomo N. 76 Exhibitors’ List page.

For the next few articles, I will highlight some of the main events surrounding emerging designers.

The special guest at the 76th Edition was Japanese label, Undercover, designed by Jun Takahashi.

Born 1969 in Kiryu of the Gunma prefecture (100 km from Tokyo), Takahashi studied at the Bunka Academy of Fashion. But before graduation, the young student had already developed his Undercover brand, along with classmate Tomoaki "Nigo" Nagao, who went on to found A Bathing Ape, otherwise known as BAPE.

Striking a balance between fashion and art, Takahashi seeks to evoke emotions of terror, youthful unrest, and his own sense of peace with himself as he merges music, cinema, street wear, and Japanese art of cartoon comics known as Manga, which dates back to 1874.



Photo Undercover 2010 s/s collection by Giovanni Giannoni, source Pitti Uomo.

Slideshow Undercover 2010 s/s collection by Giovanni Giannoni, source Pitti Uomo.

"Who Is On Next" was on at Pitti Uomo and the Winners are...

The winners have been announced for the young designer competition "Who Is On Next" that was held for the first time at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy!

First place was swept by the German-born Turkish designer Umit Benan, who presented a collection of menswear that flew the audience back to the jetsetters of pre-revolutionary Cuba!

Congratulations Umit!

Second place went to the Russian-born designer Max Kibardin, who so elegantly blended nature and architecture in to a classic collection of men's shoewear.

Third place was claimed by the Italian-Columbian duo Fabio Sasso and Juan Carlo of Leitmotiv, who featured a menswear collection fashioned by surrealistic styles.

Photo Copyright Umit Benan.

Pascal Gautrand & "Who Is On Next"

Tomorrow is the big day for the 7 finalists of "Who Is On Next," the young designer competition organized by Alta Roma in collaboration with Uomo Vogue, which will be unveiled for the first time at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy.

One of the 7 finalists is Pascal Gautrand, born 1974 in France, who initiated his fashion education at Esaat in Roubaix, going on to study at the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris.

Pascal began his fashion career through freelance, designing a T-shirt collection for the Belgian label Own and producing costumes for the play writer Veronique Caye. So just how did he wind up in Rome?

The French Academy in Rome awarded to Pascal a scholarship, which entails a one-year residency at the historic Villa Medici. Starting in October 2008, Pascal went down in history as the first fashion design resident at the Villa.

Pascal's research in Rome centers on the mass production of unique pieces, which he bases on the heritage of made-to-measure garments in Italy and Europe.

At the competition "Who Is On Next," Pascal will present a collection of shirts entitled Made in Roma, which he developed in collaboration with Roman shirt maker Roberto Marino.

I had the privilege to sneak in a exclusive last-minute interview with Pascal, who was gracious enough to answer my questions:

Can you tell me a little about where you are from and how that has influenced your career?

I was born in a very small city in the south of France, named Mazamet; this is near Toulouse. In the 60's, long before I was born, it was a major center for the textile industry, specialised in wool. This is a detail, but I think this was decisive for me to choose fashion. Being born in this city, I am very much interested in the production of fashion, and not only in the aesthetic of it.

Do you have a certain philosophy behind your designs?

Just designing a new garment is not my point, I believe designing fashion is not only designing clothes but also designing the fashion system.

Tell me more about the Made in Roma collection...
The MADE IN ROME collection is about how, where and who produces the shirts, not only about what they look like; this is why I chose to work with a made-to-measure shirt maker. Roberto Marino only sells shirts to Roman customers who want classic shirts. With this line, we can touch a more global target who are not lucky enough to live in Rome and have a contemporary vision of bespoke garment...

What drew you to fashion design and, in particular, to menswear?
Menswear is more about the same small wardrobe and how smart you are to be able to play with it. Menswear has more constraints than women's wear and this is what I like about it. Creation springs from constraints!!!

Best of luck to you, Pascal!

Photo top center Copyright Pascal Gautrand.

Slideshow 2010 s/s collection "Made in Roma" Copyright Pascal Gautrand.

“Who Is On Next” is On at Pitti Uomo

As the 76th edition of Pitti Uomo soon approaches, so mounts the excitement surrounding the best up-and-coming menswear designer!

Created and organized by Alta Roma—Rome’s fashion week—and in collaboration with Uomo Vogue, Who Is On Next will be held in conjunction with Pitti Uomo. But, pazienza everyone, we will have to wait until June 18 for the winner to be announced!

So just who are these emerging designers On Next?

Seven finalists have been selected: representing four read-to-wear and three accessory collections. Have a look and cast your vote!

Leitmotiv
Designers: Fabio Sasso is originally from the southern Italian city of Potenza and is a graduate of Dams Institute; while Juan Caro is from Bogotá, Colombia, and is a graduate of the Academy of Art.

Style: A blurring of art and fashion, male and female, past and future.

Marvie
Designer: Born 1976 in Perugia, Italy, Maria Vittoria Sargentini is a graduate of the Fashion Design Institute in Florence.
Style: Non-seasonal with a minimalist, avant-garde balance.

Made in Roma

Designers: Pascal Gautrand was born in 1974 and is a graduate of the Institut Français de la Mode. He collaborates with shirt craftsman Roberto Marino.
Style: Custom shirts with patchworks of classic shirting.

Umit Benan
Designer: Umit Benan was born 1980 in Germany and has since lived and worked in Istanbul, London, New York, and Milan. He has a BA from Boston University in the US.
Style: Inspired by Cuba, photographer Slim Aarons, and references to films “Scarface” and “Blow.”

Elia Maurizi

Designer: Elia Maurizi is an Italian shoe designer whose father owns a factory that produces classic shoes.
Style: Eclectic, unisex footwear with influences from the American Fifties and the future.

Hewn
Designer: Italian, based in Florence.
Style: Luxurious shoes and bags in stretch suede, old sued, crinkle, and old romantic cow.

Max Kibardin
Designer: Max Kibardin was born in Siberia, Russia, and pursued his fashion career at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy.
Style: Mathematical balanced approach to footwear, allusions to Alain Delon in “The Swimming Pool,” vibrant colors, and fine exotic materials.

Photo top left Copyright Elia Maurizi.

Trade Show Wrap Up: Pitti Uomo

While larger fashion shows held in New York, Milano, Paris, and London have gained a high level of notoriety, other exhibitions tend to enjoy a bit less attention. Last week, nearly 25000 buyers flocked to the city of Florence, Italy, to view the collections of over 900 brands at Pitti Uomo n. 75.

What I like about Pitti Uomo (Pitti Men's, pronounced "Pete-tea") is the section called New Beats, which is reserved for emerging designers from all over the world. This edition showcased new brands like Unestablished & Rebel, Earth Lab, Cross+Spot, and many more.

If you are a buyer, retailer, or an avid follower of new trends, Pitti Uomo makes the perfect fashion holiday for you! The next edition will take place June 16-19. Check out the Pitti homepage for details to make plans now: Pitti Immagine Uomo