Pitti announces intention to keep June dates despite coronavirus crisis

Italian trade show organiser Pitti Immagine has today announced that it is “working hard to open June’s fairs on the dates announced,” with menswear show Pitti Uomo due to take place on 16-19 June in Florence, and childrenswear show Pitti Bimbo set for 25-27 June, 2020.

The physical fairs will be supported by the e-Pitti Connect digital platform, with a brand new and advanced version launching in June in order to offer new functionality, more content and remote interaction modes.

In a statement, the show organisers said: “We are fully aware that this fair season will not be like all the others, it will be an exceptional season, combating the fear and the emergency - not in order to remove them, but rather with the aim of facing them, and realistically laying down the foundations for a relaunch that is as rapid as possible. For this reason, we have decided to invest.

“We are, in fact, working on a dual track basis, physical and digital, with innovative and complementary services to boost the efficiency of the relationships between companies and buyers.”

Despite the defiant announcement, the organisers will continue to monitor how the crisis develops. It added: “We want to continue to be a stable and safe point of reference, without concealing the difficulties and monitoring the evolution of the situation in Italy and around the world day by day, hour by hour.”