“My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” – Forrest Gump, 1994

As the protagonist of the masterpiece directed by Robert Zemeckis and played by Tom Hanks, I have always thought our life should be considered as a box of surprises, of those with mysterious and therefore exciting content. Here, for its ninety-fifth edition, Pitti Immagine Uomo changed the iconic Fortezza da Basso into a colossal box of surprises: “configured” and mainstream. Pitti Box has thus welcomed over twelve hundred exhibitors and dozens of events (extended to the entire city of Florence) that entertained insiders and patrons during the four-day fair.   From this ideal box of chocolates, we brought out our favorites, the most greedy ones… Nothing but an informal RECAP of the unmissable of this January 2019.

FASHION SHOWS

BEYOND CLOSET – #bikercollege

The collection presented by the brand and designed by the Korean Tae Yong is a shameless tribute to the whole US culture: the preppy collegial and the rigorous one of the Marines, that of the roughest bikers and also the mystical one of the Native Americans. The key to reading is cool and fun, the attitude is young and evocative. Wool, tweed and oversized volumes are the common thread, not missing the season’s cult: the corduroy trousers.

 

Y/PROJECT – #80sbohemienrhapsody

The collection staged in the suggestive grand cloister of Santa Maria Novella and designed by Glenn Martens is undoubtedly the key event of the season: a starting and an arrival point.

Its 80s are sophisticatedly gipsy. The silhouettes are exaggerated, never banal. The garments are eccentric and at the same time essential. It’s a pleasure-loving, careful, sartorial collection where the attention to detail is intentionally shabby.

 

HACULLA – #graffitivampirism

It is a tribute to the street-culture and also to the modern vampire Jon Coon’s FW19 for Haculla. Inspired by the work of the street artist Harif Guzman, the brand reflects its professional evolution by enhancing his qualities through the representation of a solid, provocative collection, obviously stubbornly street (read the interview on our website).

 

EXHIBITIONS

DIADORA – #happy70thanniversary

The famous sport & lifestyle brand pays tribute to its first 70 years with an exhibition project characterized by contemporary art: It Plays Something Else. Curated by Davide Giannella, the exhibition celebrates the brand through the production of a series of works of art developed around the concept of speed as an element common to each of the sports in which the company has played a starring role over the last seventy years thanks to its forward-looking stylistic and technological approach, the ‘made in Italy’ manufacture and product care. The exhibition involves a series of artists who are capable of interpreting various expressive languages such as design, photography, moving images and sculpture. The names involved are: Ducati Monroe (Diego Perrone and Andrea Sala), Maisie Cousins, Gabber Eleganza, Invernomuto and Patrick Tuttofuoco. The exhibition was inaugurated on Tuesday, 8 January and on the following two days it stayed open to the public as a tribute to the city of Florence.

 

SLAM JAM – #urbanculture

The multi-faceted Italian urban culture company, Slam Jam, celebrates its thirty years of using clothing, art and music as a tool to connect like-minded tribes of people across the globe. To celebrate this event it collaborated with three of its longest standing partners, Carhartt WIP, Nike and Stussy, to create a series of multi-disciplinary exhibitions within the evocative context of Museo Marino Marini.

The collaboration with Carhartt WIP paid homage to the intersecting energies of contemporary art and streetwear to take over the ground floor of the museum. The space featured a monumental performative installation by the Paris-Danish duo OrtaMiklos. Amidst these monumental abstract forms made of their signature raw materials— painted and epoxy-treated polystyrene and weaved electric cables—the duo also activated the space with a performance which explored the concept of labor, a concept inherent to the Carhartt WIP brand DNA.

On the top floor of the museum, together with Nike, Slam Jam presented an upcoming yet undisclosed project, a celebration of the subcultures which have used a specific style for a tool for self-definition over the years. The project was presented in a tailor-made installation by Berlin based studio Gonzalez Haase AAS and Munich based creative Bureau Borsche, which also served as a stage for the main act of the opening night event, by New York ONYX Collective. Alongside the performance, the collection presented a short film about the project, and its original soundtrack, tailor-made for the occasion.

Stussy showcased a short film created exclusively for Slam Jam and this event. The film also translated into a limited edition range of products to be sold at the museum store. The experience was based on an Edward Quarmby directed short film, referring to Stussy’s 8 Ball iconography, and a related pool salon inspired setup.

 

GUCCI GARDEN – #periodroom

The Gucci Garden, the place dedicated to the heritage of the Florentine brand, a constantly evolving laboratory devised by the Maison’s Creative Director Alessandro Michele, chose a new layout for its Period Room and Pitti Uomo to reveal its new guise as every season. Jayde Fish’s story of the creation and the imaginative phrases of Coco Capitán gave way to a series of original walls realized by two artists who are able to draw the visitor in and converse with the windows that open on to Piazza della Signoria, establishing a point of contact between the areas of transit of the Gucci Garden and the hubbub of the Piazza.

 

EVENTS

MOON BOOT / (R)EVOLUTIONARY JOURNEY OF AN ICON #happy50thanniversary

Moon Boot turned 50 years old, celebrating an extraordinary journey through fashion, design and living that began with the creative intuition of the brand’s founder Giancarlo Zanatta, who drew inspiration from the fascinating Moon landing. With (R)evolutionary Journey of an Icon, the brand chose to celebrate this important anniversary with a one-of-a-kind experience. With noses pointed upwards and eyes wide open towards the sky, a bona fide space launch took us to the Moon, a low gravity place where everything is lighter. At the Fortezza, meanwhile, it was possible to discover the exclusive capsule collection created using innovative materials specifically chosen for this anniversary. This lunar invasion led to the discovery of the most iconic features of the famous Moon Boot with its over-the-top shape. An exhibition of 50 pieces presented a timeline spanning the brand history all the way up to the present, while pointing visitors to the future and the brand’s next 50 years.

 

ROLF EKROTH LAUNCH & TERINIT RE-LAUNCH #retrofuture

Rolf Ekroth is one of the most promising young Finnish designers. The Aalto University graduate was a finalist in Hyères Fashion Festival in 2016. Following his success at the celebrated French festival Ekroth, he designed a capsule collection for Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette.  The capsule was launched in the spring of 2017 and the collection is true to Ekroth’s trademark of futuristic sportswear influences and includes unisex rainwear and trainers. At 2018 Ekroth was one of Finnish designers at Guest Nation Finland in Pitti Uomo. His collections are inspired by his teenage years: 90’s hiphop, sailing and anime series.

Instead, Terinit is an old Finnish sporting heritage brand established in 1949. The brand was mostly known for their skiing and ski jumping outfits in the 1980s. Terinit´s outfits were an important part of building the brand of Finnish winter sports and national identity. The first collection is designed by Rolf Ekroth and draws inspiration from the two biggest winter sports in Finland in the 80’s: ice hockey and ski jumping.

They joined for one (funny) night and presented their FW19-20 collections at Palazzo Pucci.

 

FILA FJORD DEBUT – #consciousfashion

FILA Fjord debuted for Autumn/Winter 2019 with a presentation at Palazzo Borghese. FILA Fjord is a new premium line from FILA, elevating the brand heritage and DNA as an expression of the iconic slogan – The Measure of Perfection. Created for the contemporary designer market, it gives a nod to FILA’s Italian sportwear heritage whilst taking the brand in a new direction under the creative vision of Astrid Andersen and Elgar Johnson. The FILA Fjord Autumn/Winter collection was created with a natural, sustainable and streamlined  lifestyle for a new FILA customer. It was developed with a focus on quality textiles and fabrication as a sophisticated collection for the modern wardrobe. Highly developed knitwear centred on the quality of all natural cashmere fibres, tailored woollen coats sat alongside technical outerwear, and eco-sourced jersey give a new dimension to FILA.

 

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