As consumers focus more on quality, brands are exploring ways to communicate their craftsmanship, heritage, innovation and cultural relevance. This week, the exhibitors at Italian trade show Pitti Uomo rewrote the playbook, as the fair evolves to become more interactive and communicate the stories behind the clothes.
Guess Jeans presented a vast exhibition and showroom space in the fair’s main piazza to demonstrate its AirWash denim treatment, which claims to reduce waste and water consumption. Throughout the space, the walls told the Guess Jeans rebrand story and broke down the composition of garments.
“Europe is by far our biggest market and Pitti is one of the last platforms to exist that’s product orientated,” says Nicolai Marciano, the Guess scion who took the helm as chief new business development officer at the company in 2023 and relaunched the Guess Jeans brand last year. “People come to Pitti to learn, listen, touch and feel products. It’s less transactional or superficial than regular fashion week.”
Elsewhere, responsible Spanish outerwear label Ecoalf broke down the composition of its various outerwear products along the walls of its large showroom in the piazza, also providing an in-depth timeline of the brand since its launch in 2009 to explain its brand story and commitment to responsibility. Outside of the fair, Ferragamo held a presentation to celebrate its Tramezza men’s shoe, with an artisan demonstrating how to produce the style.
While quality and heritage is paramount, Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Uomo organiser Pitti Immagine, notes that brands seemed more conscious about consumer sensitivity when it comes to price this season. “Many price lists reflect a balanced relationship between properly valuing materials and craftsmanship and aligning with the cautious approach currently expressed by consumers.”
The four-day trade show, which started on 14 January, attracted 770 exhibitors, two guest designers and several big parties. By the halfway point, it had seen 12,800 buyers, including 4,700 international buyers — up 6 per cent on last year.
Amid the slowdown, building cultural relevance is crucial to winning market share with discerning Gen Z shoppers. And large-scale parties, while expensive to throw, are a smart way to boost cultural associations, via VIP guests and music performances. Guess Jeans held a 5,000-capacity techno rave on Wednesday night in a vast warehouse space on the fringes of Florence to celebrate its latest campaign starring music artist (and son of Oasis star Liam Gallagher) Gene Gallagher along with model and poet Kai-Isiah Jamal (both of whom were in attendance). Open to the public, with queues snaking round the block, it was one of the largest brand activations Pitti has seen in recent memory. On Tuesday, Brunello Cucinelli held a sophisticated dinner, while across town Milan retailer Slam Jam held a party at the opulent Palazzo Borghese, DJ’ed by its founder Luca Benini.
Pitti’s guest designers took their time
In some ways, Pitti is a unique trade show in the fashion landscape. The guest designer slots — which have previously been occupied by icons like Giorgio Armani (1979), Dries Van Noten (1995) and Raf Simons (2005) — and the event’s proximity to Milan Fashion Week Men’s attracts fashion press and buyers that may not attend other trade shows. “Pitti provides the platform and space to showcase a collection in a standout way,” says Jordan Duddy, fashion editor at menswear magazine AnOther Man. “At Pitti, the press coverage isn’t drowned out like it may be in other fashion cities with 10 shows a day, so brands really elevate themselves when they are selected to showcase here.”
