Show report: The word from Pitti Uomo (Part 1)

A first time back to Pitti since January 2020 – just before the dreaded Covid pandemic struck – and TheIndustry.fashion Contributing Editor, Tom Bottomley, was not disappointed. Day one was clearly nowhere near as busy as in previous years, but day two saw things ramp up, with much more attendees giving the place more of a buzz. That is, until the unusual but forecast downpour somewhat dampened proceedings in late afternoon, which saw many dashing for cover, and the exit.

It’s fair to say the show is not the size it used to be, and it seems some brands have been allowed in to exhibit who might not have made the cut previously, certainly when Pitti was in its full pomp. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty of good stuff on show. There were more commercial brands and collections too, but that’s surely also a sign of the times. The mix on the whole felt fine.

This time, for Pitti Uomo 104, the organisers curated a centre piece in front of the main hall featuring a fallen Statue of Liberty, a nod to the final scene in the 1968 film ‘Planet of the Apes’ (complete with cut-out horse in the background) when Charlton Heston’s character discovers his world and land is no more and he is actually ‘home’ after all. It was quite fitting for Pitti really, as it wasn’t going to be ‘like the old days’ but it signalled the start of a new dawn. Rebuilding for the future and all that.

Enough of the romance, here’s part one (part two to follow on Monday) of what some of the exhibitors had to say about the show, the state of business and their new collections.

Tom Glover, Peregrine

Tom Glover, Founder, Peregrine

This is our third time back at Pitti since the pandemic, and we’ve slowly seen it build back up again. The numbers are starting to come back to what we were used to pre-Covid, though the show is maybe half the size it was. Saying that, it’s probably double the size it was this time last year. We’re seeing customers here, and a lot more of our Asian customers are travelling, where as last year they were still being cautious. We’re also seeing a lot more American and Canadian customers back too.

For SS24 we’re doing a lot more linen pieces, including an overshirt and our field jacket which we do in waxed cotton in winter. Shirts are strong for us for SS24. The one I’m wearing is the ‘Sam Stripe’. We have a cleaner version, but the one I’m wearing looks like the fabric has been turned inside out for a point of difference.

We’ve also got our lightweight ‘Woburn’ mac made from a water-resistant Halley Stevensons dry wax cotton fabric – perfect to look stylish in today’s downpour! There’s also our ‘Hastings’ overhead smock cagoule in the same fabric, which has that old school fisherman look with a front pouch pocket and lace system collar. It’s my favourite piece.

The UK market is quite steady for us, but it’s certainly not growing. Post-Covid we saw strong sales and retail was really good when everyone went back in, but the growth hasn’t carried on as hoped. With the recession and the way the market is at the moment – with prices for food and clothing going up considerably – people are being more cautious about what they spend.

We’re seeing a lot of our growth overseas, with the US being the best for us, and then Asia. We partnered with Nordstrom in the US last year and our sell-through has been strong in 12 of their stores. In fact, that business has trebled for us in a year.

We had a store on Regent Street for just over two years, though we closed it in February this year when the lease ended. It wasn’t really an ideal location for us, but when the opportunity came about, during the Covid pandemic, we took it (in November 2020). It’s hard to say how well it performed from a retail perspective because of the timing, but it’s been good from a wholesale perspective, as it’s open doors for us with the likes of Selfridges. We are looking for another outlet in London, it’s just finding the right location. I’d prefer to have a more intimate, smaller location. We’ll hopefully secure a new store in the next year or so.

Alexandre Cleon, Kleman

Alexandre Cleon, Sales Manager, Kleman

Kleman was launched in 1988 and has a background in supplying the French military, which we still do, and selling in workwear stores. Our all-time best-selling shoe is the ‘Padror’, which End in the UK currently sells at £149. It’s a style that used to be worn by French train controllers, and it has a similar aesthetic to Paraboot, but it’s much more commercially priced. We’ve also supplied footwear for the police and fire service. Our shoes are made in France in our own factory, which was originally established by my grandfather, René Cleon, in 1945. He had been a prisoner of war.

We only really entered the fashion market about six years ago. That came about because our now partner in Japan saw a pair of our iconic Padror shoes in a vintage shop in Paris. He contacted us to import Kleman as a fashion and lifestyle brand for Japan. It then started to be sold in multi-brand stores and department stores in Japan. The Padror now comes in many different colours, with leather and suede options – including with perforated uppers. Our second best-seller is the ‘Frodan’, an apron shoe we’ve been making for the past 20 years. There’s also our classic ‘Dalior 2’ loafer, which we supply to Air France, but that now comes in many options for the fashion market. In line with our workwear origins, our shoes have anti-slip rubber soles.

We’ve only really been in the UK market for about four years. We have about 25 UK accounts, but it’s a market that we are still growing in. Our price points mean we appeal to younger customers too, who may like the look of a classic Paraboot shoe but find it out of their price range.

We started showing at Pitti two years before the Covid pandemic, and re-started showing last summer. I don’t think the fairs will get the same level of traffic as before, as many brands have been working on their digital aspect to connect with clients. But Pitti is still an important show for us, as is Welcome Edition in Paris, as customers still like to see and touch the products. We won’t close our books for the season until mid-September, which is quite late. We can do that as we have our own factory and have full control.

Last month we opened our first ever flagship store in Paris. The UK market is important for us, so hopefully we will open a store in London in the future as well, though a store in Japan will probably come before that.

Alexandre Guarneri, Homecore

Alexandre Guarneri, Founder, Homecore

We established Homecore in 1992 as the first hip hop-inspired brand in France. Originally, we made a lot of baggy printed T-shirts, but these days we have full collections. For SS24 we have an additional capsule collection all made by a small atelier in Lisbon, including a hand-painted jacket. The idea is to use a basic fabric but make pieces that look much more expensive.

The main collection is made in Porto, so everything is made in Portugal. It includes some special make-up jackets which utilise off-cuts of old fabrics to create something unique. The main body of the jackets is made from running stock fabric, but then other old stock fabrics are used for patchwork pockets and details. They are stand-out pieces.

We also have a lightweight 80% cotton 20% nylon mix technical navy suit, which has a look of parachute type fabric, but with cotton. The suit can also be bought and worn as separates. The three-button high fastening unstructured jacket with rounded lapels and a ticket pocket is reminiscent of what you would see in Peaky Blinders. But the jacket is unstructured with deep arm holes for comfort. It also features inside pockets made from upcycled shirt fabrics. The jacket lapels are mirrored by the rounded back pocket flaps on the trousers. The wide leg trousers have a single pleat and taper towards the ankle. Overall, there’s a lot of hidden detail, but it’s an easy look, perfect for summer, that can be dressed up or down.

We also have 1980’s surfer style loose fit shirts that come in 100% cotton or 100% viscose, in stripes and colours that co-ordinate with the rest of the collection, and there’s 1950’s style double-pleat wide leg chinos in an Italian twill fabric, and a loose fit long-sleeved T-shirt with a mis-placed chest pocket and raw edges.

We’re getting a good response at Pitti. In terms of the UK market, we have very few retail customers, but it’s something we’d like to grow. Currently we are supplying Owl Store in Harrogate, Frontiers Man in Edinburgh and Morgan in Cardiff and Chester. We were also doing business with Oi Polloi, but obviously not anymore.

Nigel and Sarah Pinnock, NP Agency

Nigel and Sarah Pinnock, NP Agency (72 Margaret Street, London W1). Italian brands new to the agency showing at Pitti include Montechiaro, Lorenzoni and Impulso, while the agency also represents Pitti exhibitors Roy Robson and Alberto in the UK.

The three Italian brands we have recently taken on, Montechiaro, Lorenzoni and Impulso, are all produced by the Lorenzoni family in Italy, who have been manufacturing for over 50 years and are based just outside the small village of Montechiaro – on the edge of Lake Garda in northern Italy, not a bad place to visit!

In terms of Montechiaro knitwear, which was the first brand the Lorenzoni started out with, there are only three manufacturers in the world who can handle the highly complex weaving of the 10, 12 and 14 gauge intarsia knitwear they are doing for the more premium Montechiaro Gold collection for SS24. It has a very retro 1980’s feel and is very colourful. My son, Mitch Pinnock, who is a professional footballer for Northampton Town in League One, absolutely loved the knitwear when he first saw it, and he thinks his footballer mates – which include Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale – will do too. That’s a good sign! The intarsia knitwear will wholesale at around €89 (£76), for a retail price between €229 - €239 (£196 - £205). We will have that full collection in our London showroom for our SS24 appointments.

Impulso, which has more of a nautical feel to it, was the second brand introduced by the Lorenzoni family, while the Lorenzoni brand was more recently added as a more premium offer, with superior fabrics, though still commercially priced. It’s contemporary and something a little bit different. Everything is woven and made in Italy and it’s great that it’s a family business.

This is the first time we’ve been back at Pitti since just before the Covid pandemic, so January 2020 was the last one we were at. We’re loving being back. Sadly, there has been casualties on the Italian wholesale side who are not here. But that has perhaps opened the door to more commercial brands showing. From a UK perspective, that’s good for us. For example, downstairs in the main hall there’s brands like Meyer and Alberto showing, and Seidensticker and Gardeur are also here, not necessarily brands you’d associate with Pitti. More commercial.

The feeling from Pitti in general is positive, everyone who is here is pleased to be back. In terms of UK independents visiting the show, from who we spoke to prior to coming out to Florence it will be next season before they come back. Our agency is based on independents, and I’d say as much as 95% of them are having a good time business-wise at the moment. Some are even pushing back their summer Sale, including Coes in Ipswich which has taken the decision to delay its Sale by two weeks.