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Pitti Immagine tries to chase away the clouds that are gathering over the world economy, and therefore also over the fashion sector, by enriching the next winter shows – Pitti Uomo, Pitti Filati and Pitti Bimbo, scheduled for January 2024 at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence – and lending a hand to the German market, which has always been the first outlet for men’s fashion, which is currently slowing down.
Germany weighs heavily on export data
In the first seven months of 2023, exports from the Italian men’s fashion industry recorded +11.4% (to 5.36 billion euros), with Germany stopping at +6.7% (556 million) , overtaken by France (+20.6% to 636 million). Autumn brought a slowdown, so much so that Confindustria Moda now defines 2023 as a year of “consolidation”, marked by obstacles and threats, from the increase in costs linked to inflation to the climate of uncertainty caused by the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle Orient.
The latest emergency is the flood that hit Tuscany in recent days, and in particular the textile district of Prato, which could reduce the production of fabrics and yarns for clothing and knitwear (100 industrial companies invaded by mud with 3,500 employees , certified yesterday by Confindustria Toscana nord). «The flood risks bringing the Prato district to its knees for a few months, we want to understand how we can help companies», said Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, presenting the upcoming fairs at the Feltrinelli Foundation in Milan.
Pitti Uomo 105 kicks off from January 9th with 835 exhibitors
Both Napoleone and the president of Pitti Immagine, Antonio De Matteis, reported “some clouds on the horizon”, but underlined the arrival of 180 new applications to participate in Pitti Uomo, mostly international, confirming an attractive fair and vital. In the 105th edition, scheduled from 9 to 12 January, the brands that will exhibit the collections for autumn-winter 2024-2025 are 835, 43% foreign, divided into five sections and two special areas (Pitti Pets and Vintage Hub, dedicated to second hand and upcycling). Many events and projects will be launched at the Florentine fair, such as that of the Finnish designer Achilles Ion Gabriel, a name linked to the Camper footwear brand, who will present the debut collection made up of ready to wear, footwear and accessories. The guest stylists of the salon will be Luca Magliano, Steven Stokey-Daley and Todd Snyder.
Among the new features is the Neudeutsch project (a term that indicates the transformation and enrichment underway in the German language), which will bring 17 fashion, design and lifestyle brands to the fair, the result of creatives born or landed in Germany, an expression of contemporary German scene.