Wales Bonner

MILAN — The upcoming edition of Pitti Uomo indicates the menswear industry is moving to embrace the opportunities offered by the sector’s strong rebound, especially in key regions such as the U.S. and Europe.The showcase, which will run from June 14 to 17, is expected to attract around 640 exhibitors, 38 percent of which hail from abroad, offering a good mix of established names and up-and-coming talent. Of the total, 100 brands are joining the men’s fair for the first time.
“We’re not entirely back at it, but the number of exhibitors is already up 50 percent compared to the same edition last year. They are very active…and there’s a lot of enthusiasm to restart,” said Claudio Marenzi, president of organizing body Pitti Immagine, during a press conference here Thursday to unveil the schedule of events.

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Wales Bonner’s fashion show and the much-anticipated exhibition of Ann Demeulemeester, initially supposed to take place last January, are just a few of the events that will take place during the week.
Copenhagen-based street-inflected brand Soulland will present its spring 2023 collection with a fashion show-slash-event at a still undisclosed location as one of the event’s special projects, the other being up-and-coming brand Sapio, helmed by Rick Owens alum Giulio Sapio, who will install a presentation in a box format. This was already tested at Milan Fashion Week last January, as reported, and in Florence, it will be staged at the Galleria Discovery space inside the Fortezza da Basso.
Raffaello Napoleone, chief executive officer of Pitti Immagine, noted the fair expects a fairly strong attendance of about 15,000. This compares with 10,000 last January and 20,000 in 2019. “Big buyers are back; real players in the economy, all the merchants know and feel they need to be in Florence,” he said.
Although there will be no initiatives to attract Russian buyers in light of ongoing sanctions against the country because of the invasion of Ukraine, Napoleone said Pitti Immagine will welcome every attendee and noted how the domestic market in Russia is not flat.
Addressing the havoc wrought by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Marenzi said the area represents around 2.2 percent of total exports of men’s fashion. “We still don’t have exact figures but given its numbers, Russia is still a relevant market but not so crucial,” he said.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and the war, exports of men’s fashion are back on track. According to figures provided by Confindustria Moda, they amounted to 7.2 billion euros in 2021, up 13.4 percent versus the year prior. That is still 5.3 percent below 2019 levels.
China represented the fourth most important destination for Italian men’s fashion in 2021, with exports jumping 58.8 percent compared to 2020, but it saw a slowdown in the first quarter of 2022 in light of continued lockdowns that are denting consumer confidence, Marenzi said. This has been compensated by the U.S., where he observed an “exceptionally brisk activity.” Exports to the country increased 12.5 percent in 2021 and while this is roughly 20 percent below 2019, Pitti Immagine’s president forecast the U.S. will represent the main growth driver, alongside Europe.

Offsite events will also animate the city of Florence during the four-day Pitti Uomo, with Gucci officially unveiling its Giardino 25 café and cocktail bar, the latest addition to the Gucci Garden experiential destination, with an event on June 16.
As reported, newly rebooted menswear brand Bagutta is making its debut under the partnership with Castor Fashion and creative direction of Albino D’Amato with a breakfast presentation on the terrace of Pitti Immagine’s headquarters in town, while Superga will throw a bash on June 14 hosted by model Emily Ratajkowski.
In keeping with the previous edition, the Fortezza da Basso fairgrounds will be organized across four main areas called Fantastic Classic; Futuro Maschile; Superstyling, and Dynamic Attitude, the latter dedicated to sportswear brands. The category represents a strong sector within menswear and it will be under the spotlight at the trade show, with sailing lifestyle brand North Sails unveiling its collection with Maserati, BasicNet-owned Robe di Kappa and Fila both returning to the fair and sustainable-minded Ecoalf marking its second attendance.
There will be room for anniversaries, too, as denim company Roy Rogers will fete its 70th anniversary with an event unveiling a short movie directed by Bruce Weber and WP Lavori in Corso, which has been driving the European agenda of sportswear distribution in Europe since 1982, will mark its 40th milestone.
The Superstyling section will feature a selection of green labels called Sustainable Style, first introduced at the onset of the pandemic, with 10 brands hailing from all continents.
Showing its support of Ukrainian designers whose work has been impacted by the ongoing conflict, Pitti Uomo has invited a range of brands from that country to showcase their collections at the fair. The young names include talents outside the fashion realm who are known for their work in pottery and textiles.
As reported, Pitti Uomo will take place as a stand-alone event, discontinuing the recent tradition of combining it with the Pitti Bimbo and Pitti FIlati fairs dedicated to childrenswear and yarn-makers, respectively. The IRL trade show will be flanked by the Pitti Connect digital platform.

Buzzy Berlin-based design duo Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby of the GmbH label — who were just named creative directors of Trussardi in Italy — are among seven finalists for the grand prize of the 2021 ANDAM Fashion Award.
Other contenders for the 300,000-euro award include London-based Grace Wales Bonner, winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2016, and New York’s Area label, whose designers Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk employed almost half a million Swarovski crystals for their debut couture collection last January.
Rounding out the list are London-based women’s wear designer Rok Hwang, who established his Rokh label in 2016; London-based men’s wear maven Bianca Saunders, also a finalist for this year’s LVMH Prize; Paris-based Ludovic de Saint-Sernin, who brought sexy back to the fashion arena; and French label Casablanca, whose founder Charaf Tajer has stated ambitions to develop a full lifestyle offering and become an Hermès for Gen Z.

The four nominees for the Pierre Bergé Prize, which focuses on young French companies and is worth 100,000 euros, are EgonLab, Ester Manas, Uniforme Paris and Charles de Vilmorin, a wunderkind who was named creative director of Rochas less than a year out of fashion’s starting blocks.
Meanwhile, the three contenders for the Accessories Prize, valued at 50,000 euros, are leather goods specialist Aswad, jeweler Samuel François and Austrian studio Published By, which makes chrome bags and silver jewelry.

The 14 finalists were chosen from more than 300 designers who applied for the awards.
Six of them are duos, reflecting a broader industry trend that suggests the demands in fashion are perhaps better shouldered by two people.
Nathalie Dufour, ANDAM’s managing director, noted that applicants came from almost every continent, mentioning Africa, Asia, Western and Eastern Europe. She credited the “allure of Paris” as a preeminent fashion capital — and a prize edition dynamized by this year’s president, Cédric Charbit, chief executive officer of Balenciaga.
The 2021 edition of the fashion prize features a star-studded list of guest jurors that include Lalisa Manobal, known simply as Lisa to Blackpink’s legion of fans, Chinese singer Chris Lee and fashion designers Kerby Jean-Raymond and Phoebe Philo, the latter making her first appearance on the fashion scene since exiting Celine at the end of 2017.
Charbit decided to fling the door open wide and make the jury more varied, “progressive,” and international to further fan interest in the 32nd edition of the annual design competition. Charbit will serve as a mentor for one year to the 2021 winner, to be declared on July 1.
Dufour noted that she expects all of the finalists to find their way to Paris to present their collections to the jury that day, with an open-air awards ceremony in the Palais Royal planned for the evening — one of the first big industry gatherings in the French capital since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview, Charbit lauded this year’s bumper crop of strong and diverse applicants, which prompted the jury to increase the number of Grand Prize finalists to seven from five, and to add a fourth contender for the Pierre Bergé Prize.

“The main criteria remain creativity, but in a context of diversity, and openness,” he said, lauding the enthusiasm and rigor of the jury. “Everyone was so into it, meeting every deadline, responding to every email and participating in every Zoom call.”
Dufour echoed that the slate of finalists represent a snapshot of the industry today, with gender-fluidity, sustainability, inclusivity and political and social engagement woven into their collections and brands.
Contenders for the grand prize can be of any nationality, but must own a French company or set one up during the same year as the receipt of the fellowship.
Other guest jury members include French singer and actress Lou Doillon; photographer Juergen Teller and his creative partner Dovile Drizyte; researcher and educator Linda Loppa; investor and entrepreneur Natalie Massenet; Amazon’s head of fashion direction Sally Singer; stylist Marie Chaix; stylist and fashion editor Suzanne Koller of M Le Monde magazine; editors Chioma Nnadi of Vogue.com and Pierre M’Pelé of The Perfect Magazine, and the Instagram account Pam Boy.
Created in 1989 by Dufour with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and the DEFI and with the late Pierre Bergé as president, ANDAM — the French acronym for National Association of the Development of the Fashion Arts — has been a springboard for designers who would go on to achieve international recognition.
Past winners include Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, Christophe Lemaire and Jeremy Scott.
ANDAM is also supported by large corporate sponsors, which now include Balenciaga, Chanel, Chloé, Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Galeries Lafayette, Google, Hermès, Kering, Lacoste, Longchamp, LVMH, L’Oréal Paris, OTB, Premiere Classe, Saint Laurent, Swarovski and Tomorrow. Executives from most of those firms comprise permanent members of the jury.
SEE ALSO:
Blackpink’s Lisa Is on the Jury for ANDAM Fashion Prize: Exclusive
LVMH Prize Final Short List Includes Three U.S. Designers
Coed Design Duos Are Proliferating in Fashion

Needless to say, the fall 2021 runway season has been a weird one.
Not only because the shows have been digital and we’ve sat in our homes watching them online, but also because designers presented a comprehensive juxtaposition of wearable clothes and high concept ideas. The biggest trends sprung from the idea of creating the perfect suit for right now. The results were baggie and comfortable designs reminiscent of the nineties slouchy style.
The idea of making outerwear a fall trend sounds ridiculously obvious, but this season’s statement-making coats were at the forefront more than ever.
The same applies to the array of knits shown this season, from turtlenecks and large textured cardigans to extra, extra long crewnecks. The long johns at Prada signaled that the concept of underwear as something intimate-only is out the window.

Dior brought back pomp and circumstance with his the military uniform universe, while Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton played with all American references, resulting in some great varsity jackets.
All that said, an underlying sense of optimism was the key message, and the use of bright colors was a clear signal that fashion is feeling hopeful — and so are we. Here are the top trends of the fall season.
COMFORT SUITS
After nearly a year of turning the living room into a boardroom, designers are channeling the work from home routine into the perfect blend of coziness and function. The result is a suit that works as well in a Zoom world as it does in real life.

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Ermenegildo Zegna Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Ermenegildo Zegna

Kolor Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Kolor

Y/Project Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Y/Project

COLOSSAL COATS
This season’s stars range from textured graphic numbers and dressing gown styles to inside out designs and over the top, evening-inspired, unisex top coats, all of which guarantee to grab attention.
Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Casablanca Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Casablanca

GmbH Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of GmbH

KNIT HITS
Jonathan Anderson’s conceptual “knit over knit” design at Loewe is a clear example of the cozy to the max mood that’s injecting new life into this men’s wear staple.
Loewe Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Loewe

Etudes Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Etudes

Dries Van Noten Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Dries Van Noten

NO LONGER UNDERWEAR
A clear result of the times we are living in is the idea of wearing underwear as a statement fashion piece, like the long johns at Prada or the classic tighty whities on the opening look at Rick Owens. The trend speaks to the intimate-at-home vibe that permeated the season.
Prada Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Prada

ERL Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of ERL

Rick Owens Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Rick Owens

COLOR CODE
The use of bright blues and greens — as well as a good amount of red — packed a punch of positive vibes, telegraphing an optimistic message for the future.
JW Anderson Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of JW Anderson

Phipps Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Phipps

Casablanca Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Casablanca

AMERICAN IDOLS
Whether it’s a classic collegiate varsity jacket at Louis Vuitton or the preppy-inspired reworkings of a knit vest at Y/Project, these heritage pieces redefined the All-American classics trend.
Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall 2021  Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

Y/Project Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Y/Project

Reese Cooper Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Reese Cooper

UNIFORM APPROACH
At Dior, the pillar of men’s wear — suits — received the royal treatment by using the dress code from the inductees into the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Meanwhile, a traditional admiral’s naval coat at Wales Bonner exuded a retro vintage vibe ideal for Gen Z and beyond.
Dior Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Dior

Wales Bonner Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of Wales Bonner

JW Anderson Men’s Fall 2021  Courtesy of JW Anderson