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Italian trade show Pitti Uomo often sets the tone for the rest of the menswear season — and the 106th edition, which ran on 11 to 14 June, did not disappoint. There were some strong showings from established guest designers, exciting young talents, a focus on versatile men’s wardrobes, more relaxed silhouettes and accessories, and of course, sport.
This edition featured 790 brands, of which 352 (44 per cent) are international, including guest designers Paul Smith and Marine Serre.
Many brands took the opportunity to make an appearance in Florence during Pitti, even if they weren’t part of the fair. Jimmy Choo and Gucci hosted cocktails during the week, ahead of their respective presentation and show in Milan over the weekend. Margaret Howell held cocktails to celebrate 10 years since she opened her Florence boutique. And Guess Jeans, hot off its major Coachella activation in April, put on a rooftop party in the centre of the city, complete with spritzes, pizza chefs and a pasta stand, alongside its exhibition in the main piazza of the fair.
Smith — who was Pitti’s guest designer in 1993 — eschewed his usual Paris show format to speak with small groups of journalists and buyers in turn. “Thank you for joining me for this intimate presentation. This felt more appropriate, as the world has gone a bit mad,” Smith said. “I’ve got my notes here, this is live, and I’m going to show you some outfits,” he added, before presenting 16 looks, including light linen and cotton tailoring, paint-splattered trousers and a printed-denim collaboration with Lee Jeans.
While the presentation itself was intimate, the Paul Smith experience was large in scale. The venue was set up as Bar Paul for the evening, and while waiting to hear from the man himself, visitors could enjoy an aperitivo in the garden, sip coffee from a Bar Paul cup or have their caricature done. The invite was a ‘Bar Paul receipt’, with “total due 00.00”.
“To me, Pitti has always been a platform and the occasion for product-specific people and activations, less about the glamour of a typical fashion week,” says Nicolai Marciano, the Guess scion who was appointed the clothing brand’s chief new business development officer in 2023. “Pitti has a very different and fresh energy in recent years, it has had a very positive evolution.”
Here are the key moments and trends to note from Pitti Uomo 106.
Classic tailoring seeks versatility
As we’ve seen in previous seasons, Pitti’s handful of shows and presentations can be a good signal for the seasonal trends ahead. And while there will always be the classic Pitti tailoring brands, they are taking note of some shifts in the mood for Spring/Summer 2025.
Smith showed a few double-breasted jackets for the season, noting that they’ve become more popular once again among his consumers. But during his presentation, he frequently swapped more formal jackets for a harrington or slouchy, overshirt style with softer shoulders, to show the versatility of the looks, in response to how men want to dress today, the designer said. Throughout the fair, brands from New York label Rag & Bone to heritage cashmere brand Johnstons of Elgin presented a range of styles and textures, to allow men to piece together looks for multiple occasions.
The Paul Smith presentation was held in an ornate room full of easels and paints, as a nod to the collection, which was based on the antics of artists Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon and their contemporaries in London’s Colony Club, opened in 1948. “This was supersonically Lucien,” he said in reference to a tailored green jacket paired with paint-splattered jeans, in the image of Freud, who would throw on jackets stolen from his father.
Responsible luxury meets Italian glamour
On Wednesday night, press and buyers headed to palatial 15th-century estate Villa di Maiano, slightly out of town, for Paris designer Serre’s guest show. Guests were greeted by the sound of a string quartet, and the show took place in the garden, across two levels, lined with gigantic bouquets of flowers, filling the stone vases that lined the plots. The collection was entitled ‘Sempre Legati’ (‘always bonded’), and the invite was a Marine Serre-printed passport cover, to “mask the nationalities of the guests… embracing the idea that we are all citizens of the world”, the designer said in a statement.
Following a collection loaded with the crescent moon logo last season at her ‘Cafe de Serre’ show, Serre’s AW25 co-ed collection featured much more eveningwear and tailoring this season, with high-volume crinoline, sheer fabrics for women and sharp tailoring for men.
While Serre’s menswear was focused on tailoring, suits and coats featured floral embellishments and embroideries, leaning into the artisanal trend we predicted for SS25. In line with the oversized accessory trend sweeping menswear, the designer has also supersized her leather crescent moon-printed Strike bag, into a travel bag size, which men paired with sharp tailoring, or full vegan-leather co-ords.
Serre is a rare success story: a luxury label that’s hit scale while remaining true to its roots and continuing to use responsible materials and deadstock (revenues were more than €15 million when she last shared figures with Vogue Business in 2022). This guest slot at Pitti allows her the space to underline her vision for both mens and womenswear (she launched menswear in 2021) away from the crowded Paris Fashion Week schedule. It was well received. Shortly after the show, fashion critic Suzy Menkes pondered on Instagram whether Serre would succeed Virginie Viard at Chanel.
The tennis takeover
Like many luxury labels, Pitti mainstay tailoring brand Kiton has leaned into sports for this season, via its diffusion line KNT. The brand took over its usual large-scale stand in Pitti’s main piazza, this time, with a full KNT tennis capsule — from knitted polo shirts, to leather racquet bags — which will be revealed to the public during the Italian Open this week. It’s almost redundant at this point to ask brands, “Why tennis?”, following the Challengers phenomenon, Zendaya’s subsequent partnership with On, Gucci’s Jannik Sinner sponsorship and duffel bag reveals, and Louis Vuitton’s tie-in with Carlos Alcaraz.
“Especially now that the number one in the world, Sinner, is Italian, why not?” says Kiton CEO and president of Pitti Antonio De Matteis. “The players have a fantastic attitude today, the new generation. Now, when Kiton clients go to watch tennis, they can be very well dressed in a very elegant way, with elegant high-quality tennis-inspired pieces.” Buyer feedback has already been strong, and if the capsule succeeds, De Matteis plans to invest in a full tennis collection.
Elsewhere at Pitti, Italian sportswear player Macron staged a big tennis-inspired activation, to celebrate its new line Macron Clubhouse, a fashion-led sportswear line inspired by the culture of the racket sport. The space was complete with tennis ball arches, a cocktail bar and tennis-green signage — and was packed all weekend. Macron already outfits 90 professional clubs, national teams and federations across different sports in Italy, with a turnover of €200 million in 2023, of which 80 per cent is abroad, according to Pitti.
A platform for emerging talent
Pitti has managed to stay relevant in recent years as many other European fashion trade fairs have struggled and consolidated amid post-pandemic challenges. (Copenhagen trade shows Ciff and Revolver have merged, while Premium in Berlin cancelled its January 2024 edition.) It has done this partly by refocusing on young talent.
Last season’s Pitti Uomo featured emerging labels like SS Daley and Magliano, and the season before saw buzzy American brand ERL take the guest designer slot. “The younger generation is creating new momentum in Florence,” says Guess’s Marciano.
Pitti is also turning the spotlight onto the next generation. This season, press and buyers alike noted the Kering-backed S/Style showroom as a highlight. The showroom, in Pitti’s Salla del Nazione, was supported by Kering’s Material Innovation Lab (MIL), featuring 10 emerging designers from around the world, each focused on upcycling, recycling materials or social impact. Each designer made a look using the group’s material innovations, but their own collections were also on display, allowing them to showcase their brands to buyers and press. “It’s great to be able to talk to people here and explain what we do, as well as doing a show in London, where you just rely on visuals,” said Daniel Gayle, co-founder of S/Style brand Denzilpatrick.
On Wednesday, fashion school Polimoda held a polished, elevated show in Florence’s Villa Palmieri, showcasing its “most-promising” students. The school flew international press out for the occasion, and show attendees sipped champagne before taking their seats. One journalist joked, while sipping champagne overlooking the gardens, that it was a far cry from graduate shows she’d seen in London.
For Polimoda president Massimiliano Giornetti, it was important to invest in flying out press and putting on a high-budget show this season. “Fashion is currently facing a moment of difficulty and stagnation. There are too many collections, too much product and very few independent voices,” he says. “This means an investment in new talents is necessary… As one of the best fashion schools in the world, our role is to magnify and show to the world the talent and uniqueness of our designers.”
Together, with the more established guest designers this season, it gave Pitti a welcome breadth. “Pitti offers brands international visibility and an ideal, ever-evolving context to engage with the right stakeholders,” says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti organiser Pitti Immagine. “We are facing, edition after edition, an increase in projects debuting at Pitti, important returns, anniversaries celebrated in Florence, and special collaborations launched from Florence and from Pitti Uomo.”
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