Men’s fashion and lifestyle collections for Spring/Summer 2019 spread at Pitti Immagine Uomo, the premier international trade fair dedicated to menswear and contemporary lifestyles, in Florence from 12 to 15 June 2018.The theme is “P.O.P Pitti Optical Power” a visual and virtual celebration that will offer new perceptions and perspectives, as one has come to expect from Pitti Immagine trade fairs season after season. Sets conceived and designed by lifestyler Sergio Colantuoni are a kaleidoscope of full-colour patterns that will make the structures for living and savoir vivre at the Fortezza playful and hypnotic. The new bar/lounge area P.O.P. Arena decorated in optical technicolor will make the Pitti experience even more enjoyable for exhibitors and visitors alike. And a special edition of e-bike by SPINE-The evolution of riding bike bearing the P.O.P. PITTI OPTICAL POWER graphics. Also, the new digital art project signed by Lateral Creative Hub directed by Diego Diaz – with Ditroit for motion graphics and Alessandro Branca for Human Touch Music – for the fair’s promotional campaign is a combination of brilliant directing and graphics moving to an electro-pop beat.This edition boasts 1,240 brands, 561 of which hail from abroad (45%), and is a curated geography of spaces focusing on venues that emphasize research in today’s menswear and that are heavily geared towards the future of fashion. There are projects that interpret the outdoor universe in an original way, redefining lifestyle concepts linked to athleisure and giving space to Makers from all over the world. There is the new wave of talent from Northern Europe and the creative scene from Eastern Europe, forward-looking styles marked by cutting-edge design. And one must not overlook the excellence of the new classic labels and brands relaunching modern sportswear. Via a broad multimedia project, the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery presents the exhibition FANATIC FEELINGS – Fashion Plays Football. Curated by Markus Ebner, founder of fashion magazines Achtung Mode and Sepp Football Fashion, and contemporary art critic Francesco Bonami it will highlight the influence football exerts on fashion and the construction of the masculine image. The exhibition (12 June – 22 July 2018) will be held in the Complesso di Santa Maria Novella and is sponsored by the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana and Pitti Immagine and produced thanks to an extraordinary grant from the MiSE and Agenzia ICE under the patronage of the City of Florence and the Gallerie degli Uffizi.Craig Green, the London-born fashion designer, will present as the guest his S/S 2019 collection in Florence with an exclusive runway show. His collections reveal many of the critical success factors for those who make fashion today, specifically his ability to innovate menswear “codes” – even radically – without ever losing track of market dynamics. His style mixes together workwear influences, futuristic shapes, sculptural silhouettes and functional aspects. After his experience with the Comme des Garçons group, the Japanese fashion designer Fumito Ganryu will be presenting his independent label at Pitti Uomo revealing the pure essence of his style: a new philosophy of modern & conceptual casualwear. The up-and-coming names on the Georgian creative scene – Aznauri, Anuka Keburia, Gola Damian, Situationist, Tatuna Nikolaishvili and Vaska – will be showcased thanks to the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery’s collaboration with MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK TBILISI, a dynamic platform that turns the spotlight on collections from top fashion designers in the country and neighboring area. The project has received support from LEPL Enterprise Georgia, the agency operated by Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development that promotes entrepreneurship and trade in the country.Among the other special events in the Pitti Uomo calendar to watch for: 7 Moncler Fragment Hiroshi Fujiwara; MCM showcase; BIRKENSTOCK special project with a soundscape by Michel Gaubert; the BED j.w. FORD runway show; the special launch of the COS menswear capsule collection involving the participation of the famous British choreographer Wayne McGregor; Federico Curradi with an installation-event in the heart of his Florence. The creative partnership between Pitti Immagine and MINI started in 2015 makes its mark at this edition with the Mini Fashion Field Notes Capsule Collection, special collaboration between MINI and The Woolmark Company, features four emerging international designers, Liam Hodges (United Kingdom), STAFFONLY (China), PH5 (United States), and Rike Feurstein (Germany).Pitti Immagine, in cooperation with Revolver Copenhagen, presents Scandinavian Manifesto, a unique selection of 17 collections by emerging fashion designers and established names from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The focus is on menswear talents from Northern Europe set in a specially designed venue in the Arena Strozzi that blends fashion, art and design together with Nordic taste and atmosphere. Brands include: Blanche, Filippa K, Forét, Hope, Johannes Adele, mfpen, Mucker, Newline Halo, Norse Projects, Organic Basics, Packmack, Rue De Tokyo, Schnayderman’s, Tonsure, Uniforms For The Dedicated, Velour, Whyred. On June 12 at 10pm at the Manifattura Tabacchi – future Polimoda’s headquarter, rendezvous with the up-and-coming talents of fashion at the Polimoda Fashion Show 2018: Separate Collection, the 20 best graduate collections realized by Fashion Design students of the respected institute will be presented in front of an audience of fashion insiders and an international jury. The Istituto Marangoni will play a starring role in Florence with two rendezvous dedicated to men’s fashion: on Monday 11 June the best students from the schools in Milan, London and Paris as well as Armando Costa, the winner of the first edition of I’M Alumni Collections (R)evolution, will present their menswear collections on the catwalk; on Thursday 14 June, the school will host a talk on the most topical themes linked to the world of fashion with Sara Sozzani Maino and Ermanno Scervino.I GO OUT, the new project on outdoor styles with And Wander, Arc’teryx Veilance, Barena + La Sportiva, Christopher Ræburn, Danner, Diemme, Fase Factory, Filson, Goldwin Inc., Griffin, Hoka, Maranè, Mountain Research, Roa, Sease, South2 West8, Teva, Topo Design, Woolrich Outdoor.
