Biannual sartorial supershow Pitti Immagine returns to Florence for its 82nd edition next week and for those struggling to sort the wheat from the chaff, i-D online is on hand to lend a beginner’s guide.
Click images to enlarge.
A sort of wholesale Westfield Shopping Centre but with a more dominant crowd of moustachioed chaps in brogues, over a thousand menswear brands will take over Firenze’s Fortezza da Basso next week as buyers representing stores from every corner of the globe travel to the city to peruse the wares and stock their shops with SS13 finery. Serving as Manager Director since 1989, under Dr Raffaello Napoleone, Pitti has bravely weathered the stormy financial climate, added a womenswear fair to its offerings and consistently packed out the Fortezza season after season. Speaking with the Master of Ceremonies, Napoleone assured us that Edition 82 would be bigger and better than ever before. Excitement mounting, here i-D online issue our top five reasons to get pumped for Pitti 82 (pictured from left).
1) Stone Island
Tuesday 19th June
Kicking off the festivities, Stone Island will celebrate their 30th birthday in style with an epic retrospective of their trailblazing history (delve through our archive for The Lights, Camera, Action Issue here). Set in the city’s Stazione Leopolda and curated by Stone Island stalwarts Nick Griffith and Simon Foxton, the exhibition promises to be something spectacular.
2) Valentino Menswear
Wednesday 20th June
As Creative Directors, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli returned Valentino menswear to its birthplace for Pitti 81 earlier this year, the stage is set for a repeat performance next week as they present the SS13 collection. Molto bene!
3) Peter Pilotto
Wednesday 20th June
Guest designer for Pitti’s burgeoning women’s arm, the London duo of Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos will inject a hint of elegance and femininity to the fair’s male-dominated proceedings. The juxtaposition of P.P.’s mega-modern-mode and Florence’s anything-but-21st-century aesthetic will make for quite the visual feast.
4) Carven Menswear
Thursday 21st June
Guest designer for Pitti’s well-toned ‘Uomo’ arm, the eyes of the fashion-pack are fixed firmly on France’s historic label ‘Carven’ and in particular head designer Guillaume Henry. Since he took the helm in 2009, the house’s fortunes have been transformed, read i-D online’s report of his accomplished AW12 womenswear collection here and bate your breath to see what he has in store for the boys!
5) Casa del Vino
Open throughout (info here)
A personal favourite of i-D, this little casa is the perfect respite from a day wandering through the canals of clothes at the Fortezza. A bottle of lemon Lurisia and one of their pretty perfect paninis and you’re set for another trip on the merry-go-round… Ciao for now!
Text: Sean Baker
