Fashion Week, Winter 2017

Twice per year in Florence there is a fashion trade show that’s received international recognition and generally considered to be one of the world’s most important platforms for men’s clothing and accessory collections.  The name of the show is called, “Pitti Immagine Uomo”, and it is held in the Fortezza da Basso section of Florence (close to the train station).

The show is not open to the public, but instead open to fashion industry professionals, such as clothing companies, buyers, and suppliers, as well as the press, advertising and PR agencies.  I qualified to gain access as a blogger.

While the actual event is a trade show where about 1000 brands display their new collections, over the course of the 4-day show there are a number of related events throughout the city of Florence, including fashion shows, private parties, book signings, music performances, etc.  Celebrities are known to attend the event, and this month I had the opportunity to see fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger at his private party held at Palazzo Corsini, a 17th century palace.

At the actual trade show event, however, designers featured predominantly men’s collections of all kinds, including formal wear and casual wear of a plethora of different styles.  Being that my personal style is classic formal wear, I was drawn more to these types of designers, some of which I will feature in separate posts.  A highlight of the show, among many, was to see well-dressed Italian gentlemen displaying the latest fashion trends.

From observation, there were a number of things that stood out as a recurring trends at the show that allowed me to draw the following conclusions about what is IN in the winter of 2017:

Beards are IN;

Hats are IN;

Accessories are IN;

Scarves are IN;

Skinny pants are IN;

Trousers with shorter lengths are IN (high-waters); and

Colorful long socks are IN.

Fortunately for me, all of the above are a part of my daily routine, except for the beard…  But since my last name means “bearded man” in Italian, I get a pass on this one!

For more information about the show, visit their website at www.pittimmagine.com.