Men's fashion shows kick off in Italy on Tuesday with Pitti Uomo and Milan Fashion Week

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Cassidy STEPHENS

Published
Jun 12, 2023

After this weekend's London event, Italy is stealing the spotlight to host the men's shows from Tuesday, June 13. The shows dedicated to the spring-summer 2024 collections are kicking off in Florence with Pitti Uomo until June 16, followed by Milan Fashion Week until June 20, before moving on to Paris. Once again this season, the catwalk calendar will have to do without some of the big names, such as Versace, Gucci, Moschino and Missoni. Nonetheless, this week devoted to made-in-Italy promises to be full of highlights and new discoveries, with major comebacks, new names and labels.

One of the headliners is undoubtedly Fendi, which will be leaving Milan behind for a special show in Tuscany on June 15. A special guest at Pitti Uomo, the Italian label owned by LVMH has chosen to unveil the new collection designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi at its recently inaugurated leather goods factory, Fendi Factory, in Capannuccia, a suburb of Bagno a Ripoli, south of Florence. Eli Russell Linnetz, the guest designer for the ERL label will also be showing on the same evening. Lastly, Chu Suwannapha, a Thai designer who graduated from the Parisian Esmod school and who now lives in South Africa, where he founded the Chulaap label in 2015, is expected to present a special installation on June 14.

The 104th edition of the Florentine show will also feature a series of new projects and special events, with 825 exhibitors, 43% of them from abroad, compared with 682 in June 2022 and 790 last January. The programme includes the 50th anniversaries of Arena, Doucal's shoes and Fila's F Box logo, the 15th anniversary of Giuseppe Zanotti's men's collection, the return of German brand Drykorn and the first-ever participation of Florentine tailor Liverano & Liverano.

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Not forgetting the parallel events, such as the eagerly awaited "Runways Icons" group show, organised on June 14 by Florentine fashion chain LuisaViaRoma and British Vogue with Edward Enninful, which will showcase the looks of some fifty luxury labels. Around 2,000 guests, including George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio, are expected to attend.

In Milan, four days later, Valentino will play the starring role at the opening of Milan Fashion Week on Friday June 16, marking its return to the capital of Lombardy. Apart from the two shows organised exceptionally in Milan in September 2020 and February 2021 due to the pandemic, the Italian luxury fashion house has not shown its men's collections in the Lombard capital since 2012.

Milan Fashion Week has a reduced format this season, with 22 shows (including a double show by Giorgio Armani), spread over two full days and two half-days, plus five shows in digital format broadcast on the closing morning, Tuesday, June 20. A total of 72 events are scheduled, including shows, presentations and special events, compared to 79 in January.

Of particular note is the return of British/Milanese designer Neil Barrett, who had deserted the catwalks since the Covid-19 crisis in January 2020, opting instead for video presentations. This season he is return to the catwalk on Saturday, June 17. Elsewhere, 44 Label Group, the brand launched by Berlin techno DJ Max Kobosil under the aegis of entrepreneur Claudio Antonioli, who pulled out all the stops last winter, is also making a comeback on Sunday, June 18. And the Ralph Lauren Purple Label line is returning to the presentation calendar on Friday, June 16.

Among the new arrivals, Andersson Bell, a brand founded in 2014 in Seoul and designed by DoHun Kim, which fuses Korean street style with Scandinavian minimalism, should not be missed. It will make its debut on the Milan catwalks on Sunday June 18.