Pitti Uomo announces Grace Wales Bonner as guest designer for June show

Pitti Uomo has announced Grace Wales Bonner as the next guest designer for its 102nd edition in Florence this summer.

The menswear trade show will showcase the spring 2023 collections from 14 to 17 June at Fortezza da Basso, with the British fashion designer to present her eponymous label's spring/summer 2023 collection with a live fashion show-event.

Commenting on the opportunity, Grace Wales Bonner said in a statement: "I welcome this special opportunity to express Wales Bonner’s vision of cultural luxury at the historically important institution of Pitti Uomo."

Lapo Cianchi, Pitti’s Director of Special Events and Communications, added: "We have been familiar with the work of Wales Bonner since she debuted, attracted first and foremost by her cultural sensibility and multidisciplinary approach that comes across in her collaborations with artists and other stylists while appearing in each one of her collections.

"We then followed the evolution of her menswear fashion proposal, the gradual grafting of the elegant sartorial structure on the development of fashion design and sportswear elements, a style which, if borrowed from the world of music, could even be called soul."

Established in 2014 as a menswear brand, Wales Bonner launched her first collection following her graduation from Central Saint Martins. Her label, known for its blend of sportswear and tailoring designs, has received numerous awards including Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards (2015), the LVMH Young Designer Prize (2016), Winner of the British Fashion Council/ Vogue Designer Fashion Fund (2019) and CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year (2021).