Image Courtesy of Pitti Uomo, SCARICA.
Pitti Uomo in Florence marks the start of one of the most important platforms for men’s fashion every year. Unlike the subsequent men’s fashion weeks in Milan and Paris, Pitti Uomo focuses on interdisciplinary concepts: The four-day-event born in the 1970s combines classic trade fair business with interactive design talks, multidimensional exhibitions and fashion shows in some of Florence’s most unusual locations. SLEEK took a closer look at four of this season’s highlights.
Image Courtesy of Pitti Uomo, SCARICA.
Magliano
After having had his first brand appearance in Florence five years ago, the return of the Italian designer Luca Magliano to the Tuscan city felt particularly special. Hosted at the Nelson Mandela Forum, the long staircase of the sports arena functioned as a reference to the big Italian designers that have showcased their collections on the Spanish Steps in Rome such as Valentino. His collection was dominated by great examples of sculpturally twisted tailoring with external silk pockets; Feminist Patrizia Cavalli inspired the oversized sweaters and heavy knits were cinched with tight leather belts. Suits and hats were made in collaboration with fellow Italian brands Kiton and Borsalino. Safety footwear was engineered with third time collaborator U-Power and comfy slippers by collaborator UGG received a wicked twist.
For FW24, two of his most prevalent themes were inherently present: the investigation of body and gender, as well as societal dynamics. In a press preview the designer explained that “beauty is an anti-facist term. We refer to an accessible elegance, an elegance of those who are left out”. For his collection, Magliano relied on female fashion references. He further explained “For me, classic fashion is an extension of femininity, which is also reversible. In my collection the woman wears the suit with a flat chest. The contemporary body cannot be binary. Gender is a landscape, a path that requires different identities that find expression in fashion”. Magliano’s design approach is therefore inevitably political and anthropological at the same time.
Image Courtesy of F|DREI.
Neudeutsch
“In my work, I always rather go for the ´underdogs`”, explains Julian Daynov – a certified trend scout with a solid background in retail buying, fashion direction and brand management. “There is so much more substance and drive to make everyone re-think the dogmatic and outdated opinions. I somehow felt the same way for German design – trapped in boxes of stereotypical thinking, it rarely got a proper chance to be showcased on an international stage.” Passionate about pushing a different and revised narrative, the Berliner curated NEUDEUTSCH – a mix of established and emerging creatives breaking with the cliché of German design of being one-dimensional and purely functional.
As a word, Neudeutsch refers to the constant transformation and enrichment of the German language through diverse foreign expressions and present-day slang. The showcase, hosted within the fair’s Sala delle Nazioni at the Fortezza da Basso, takes the idea of NEUDEUTSCH as symbolic narrative of the constantly evolving German design aesthetics, influenced by multiple cultural origins and shaping what new-wave German creativity nowadays stands for when it comes to fashion, accessories, interior and object design. Apart from promising ready-to-wear brands with a gender neutral stance such as MARKE, Oftt, FRNKOW, Hernán and Haderlump, Daynovs´s curation also covered beauty with brands such as MUTI and Equality Fragrances and even interior design through New Tendencyand BUDDE. “This new wave of German based creatives is absolutely worth being discovered as their designs disband the old stigma of `boring`”, he further explains. It seems like German design has found a new global PR representative with Daynov that could actually shift its perception through his deliberate efforts.
Image Courtesy of Pitti Uomo, SCARICA.
Achilles Ion Gabriel
One show that many fashion insiders were eagerly awaiting was the one of Finnish Achilles Ion Gabriel. Last Thursday, the 36-year-old showed his very first collection of his eponymous brand in Florence’s Stazione Leopolda. The designer, who had already helped Camper and Camper Lab to great acclaim as creative director, immersed the historic train station from the early 19th in an inimitable blue. For his first collection, the experienced shoe designer not only ventured into footwear, but also made an impressive start with gender-neutral ready-to-wear, handbags and belts.
The aesthetics in his collections clash through the use of a wide range of different materials. While the generous use of leather with coats, biker jackets and flared trousers evoked an erotic feel (not to mention the gloves clearly referencing the BDSM influence), the designer did not hesitate to use emblems of women’s wardrobe to blur the boundaries of gender and soften the initial toughness of his creations. Flowing dresses with extreme slits and tank top with straps and the “AIG” print gave the fabric lace a prominent moment – sexy cowboy meets gloomy grunge. It is not only the excellent craftsmanship of the materials that make Achilles Ion Gabriel a promising candidate in the field of young contemporary designers, but also his wit and spirit, which remain in the memory and make us want more. His tongue and cheek were visibly noticeable within attentive details like the engraving on the boots stating “Move bitch” or a tank top with a car saying “Beep Beep you sad fuck”.
Image Courtesy of A.I. PR.
S.S. Daley
British designer Steven Stokey-Daley closed the four-day-event of Pitti Uomo with his FW24 show staged under the colourful ceiling paintings at Palazzo Vecchio. The collections of the LVMH Prize winner of 2022 are known to challenge the dusty and antiquated look of the British aristocracy; Daley explores themes of queerness and homosociality. His collections raise questions about British heritage and its class system caracterised by elitism.
For this season, his designs were inspired by British boarding schools, more precisely by their dormitories: A nightshirt is decorated with a painted fish, oversized jackets and padded coats are reminiscent of duvets and even the handbags could pass as comfy pillows – Stokey-Daley took his audience to bed, but not at all in a soporific way. In fact, the reading enthusiast put on a theatrical and intimate show in which he convinced buyers and press with his storytelling abilities and incredible sense for textures. Although the show was staged in Italy and the majority of the collection is made in Italy including his shoes, there is no hiding of its British origins. Knits with rural motifs, a yellow fishing coat and rain hats clearly revealed the roots of the designer’s home. What makes the S.S Daley brand so appealing and inherently contemporary is the fusion of masculine and feminine norms – no wonder singer Harry Styles has recently become an investor.