Show report: Another champion performance from Pitti
World Cup fever is subdued in Italy as the Azzurri failed to qualify for the finals for the third time in succession. Despondent Italian fans are hoping for a change in fortune sometime soon.
The same can be said for British retailers and brands who attended the 110th edition of Pitti Uomo Immagine in Florence this week (16 – 19 June). After the short post-COVID lift, business over the past couple of years has been, to use a word often heard in the aisles, “challenging”.
A restrained “It’s been OK” was about the most enthusiastic response to any question about trading.
Economic malaise, low consumer confidence and more recently significant increases in retail and manufacturing running costs in the UK have conspired to cast a shadow over the branded menswear sector, but once again the bright skies over Florence and the collective energy created by 740 brands on show at the Fortezza da Basso complex and thousands of visitors lifted the spirits.
London-based menswear agent Nigel Pinnock, who had five brands at Pitti, observed, “Things have been tough for the UK independent sector, but you come to Pitti each season, see all these great collections, feel the buzz around the place, and it’s like a shot in the arm. It sets you up for the selling season back home.”
Small stands and big stands make up the Pitti Uomo offer
There was no denying the feelgood factor that the Italian fair created, underlining again its role as the global meeting place for the premium menswear sector. UKFT took 45 British companies to the event as it remains the best place to meet customers old and new. British exporters confirmed that the dull trading environment domestically is replicated in most of the major markets around the globe. From Japan and South Korea to mainland Europe, there is nothing to get excited about. Only Turkey, some parts of the Middle East and the USA were mentioned as being buoyant.
“The Americans still have money and they like to spend it,” observed one international trade veteran. Curiously, US buyers were noticeably thin on the ground at this season’s event.
The Brunello Cucinelli stand remains a major magnet for visitors
The collections on show were for spring/summer 2027 and while this traditionally is the weaker of the two seasons for British and Irish retailers, there was a healthy turnout of all the usual suspects, such as a contingent from the IMC buying group and hard-working independents such as Stuarts London and Richmond Classics from Bournemouth.
Noticeable this season were the number of British brands making their Pitti Uomo debut or returning after a significant absence. In the latter category was Manchester-based heritage manufacturer Private White VC, which was very satisfied with the reception from international buyers from Japan, Scandinavia and Germany on the first day. The business is working on increasing its offer for spring-summer, hence its appearance this week.
New to the show was shirt specialist Thomas Pink, now owned by the Dubai-based Sportlux, a group whose varied fashion portfolio includes cult streetwear brand Off-White, Italian sports name Diadora, Italian premium brand Palm Angels and US workwear icon Dickies (which had a sizable presence at Pitti exhibitor this week). Pink was showing the start of its expansion beyond shirts into a men’s lifestyle collection and head of wholesale Joseph Mason-Mills was delighted with the response, having seen potential partners from as far away as India and Kenya as well as the UK.
In a different niche, but also very satisfied with conversations with retailers from France, Switzerland, Germany and Japan was Christopher Donnelly, co-founder of 1990s cult streetwear brand Gio-Goi and now promoting his Rules of Faith collection of elevated contemporary casualwear. Having sold in Selfridges from autumn 2024 until recently, Pitti was the platform for his search for international coverage.
Christopher Donnelly on the Rules of Faith stand
Despite its reputation as a centre for classic – if stylish and refined – menswear, Pitti likes to embrace the latest advances. Another debutant among British exhibitors was London-based Zyphor, which sells 3D-printed shoes made in China. In Pitti’s small active sportswear hall, I Go Out, director Nuno Fonseca was showing a “recovery” style (to wear after active sports) that retails at about £90 and a more complicated lifestyle option whose prices rise to £200.
“It’s been good to be here. I’ve seen people from Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium – everywhere but the UK,” he reported.
Illustrating that the Florence event is far more than just a conventional selling platform, also in the I Go Out area was Griffin Studio, the influential British outerwear specialist design agency run by Jeff and Karina Griffin. Their son Elvis was manning the stand with the idea of meeting potential collaborators and partners as currently production the long-established Griffin brand is paused.
In an attempt to persuade buyers to increase their spend, traditional British manufacturers are expanding ranges and innovating. Northampton-based Joseph Cheaney, which is celebrating its 140th anniversary this year, was displaying its UK-made sneakers, a range that is benefitting from the input of new creative director Maud O’Keeffe. In similar vein, Cheaney’s Northants neighbour Sanders has added a Made-in-UK loafer with a crepe sole to its range to give more options for the spring-summer season.
In the main central pavilion, London-based luggage specialist Carl Friedrik was showing its new aluminium range, while for more traditional British cases and leathergoods, Walsall-based Beorma, which was formed by entrepreneur Alex Simpson from the collapse of long-established Whitehouse Cox, was pleased with the interest shown at its third Pitti. Heritage brand veteran Jonathan Boston has recently joined the business to drive sales.
Lyle & Scott has 700 stockists in Italy. Pitti is a huge domestic show as well as an international one
The trends on view were all very familiar, with retro sportswear still very prominent. Lyle and Scott had a large presence with Interjeans, its Italian distributor, to serve its 700 Italian stockists, while Original Penguin was using the fair as the launch of what is described as a re-set for the brand. A tight collection of Fashion Icon pieces is included in the SS27 offer.
Looking to make progress in heritage sports in the UK is the Italian group BasicNet, which owns an impressive bag of brands including Kappa, Robe di Kappa and Superga from Italy, K-Way from France, and Woolrich, Sundek and Sebago from the US.
Targeting the UK, Lorenzo Boglione, CEO of the BasicNet group
Lorenzo Boglione, CEO of the family-owned, Turin-based group, sees Germany and the UK as ripe markets as BasicNet already operates well in Italy and France. Carl Davies, previously UK CEO of Perry Ellis (owner of Original Penguin and Farah) has been recruited as UK country manager for BasicNet. Boatshoe specialist Sebago, whose 80th anniversary was marked at Pitti with a party by the River Arno, will be given a higher profile in the UK from this summer.
While some British visitors expressed frustration at the continuing trough in trading, Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton was in typically ebullient form on the brand’s busy stand. It is the third season back in Florence as the business rediscovers its mojo. New stores in Sheffield, Derby and Lincoln, plus an outlet in Lakeside are scheduled to be opened by October.
Superdry's Julian Dunkerton is looking for relevant opportunities
“I am definitely a glass half full man,” he declared. “You’ve always got to look for the current opportunity. You can’t do what you did 20 years ago and expect it to work. If I was an independent retailer, I’d be out at foreign shows looking for brands that aren’t already in the UK to excite the customer.”
That, of course, is one major reason Pitti Uomo exists. Its future direction is now the responsibility of Ivano Cauli, the former general manager and since April the new CEO of parent company Pitti Immagine. He has succeeded the charming Anglophile Raffaello Napoleone, who after 31 years has moved aside to become director of international relations.
With a background in new technology, Cauli will shape Pitti’s transformation for the future. He told Theindustry.fashion he did not feel comfortable with Pitti being the last man standing of the traditional large-scale trade fairs and wanted to collaborate with other events across Europe as well as being relevant to buyers and exhibitors for more than just four days a season.
New Pitti CEO Ivan Cauli
The ongoing success of Pitti Uomo Immagine as international networking plaza is undeniable. It funds the visits of about 800 international buyers and around 115 journalists – including this correspondent – each season, backed by generous support from ICE, the official Italian export trade body.
They might be having a bad patch on the football field, but the Italians remain world champions at running an international fashion exhibition.
