Uomo Pitti fashion fair leads menswear trend from Florence

J.W. Anderson's absurdist skirts and frilly shorts for men at London Collections: Men might have had mouths gaping, but in Florence, at the Pitti Uomo trade fair, from January 8-11, menswear was more refined and traditional.

"Our company launched modern Italian fashion from Florence in 1951. The first show of Italian fashion was organised with six or seven Italian tailors and couturiers in the private house of an Italian marquese," says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, the fair's organiser.

"He [the marquese] invited six American buyers … They were astonished by what they saw, reopened their buying budgets and the next time - that September - 300 buyers showed up."

Held in Florence every January and June, Pitti Uomo has become an important precursor to weeks of men's fashion - and a hunting ground for trend forecasters. Renaissance fort Fortezza da Basso is home to this gathering of some of the most stylish men in the industry.

This year, more than 20,000 fashion buyers come to see some 1,000-plus labels. There are street style gurus in trendy caps, high top trainers and well-cut coats, and hordes of men in eclectic suiting (forget pinstripe or black, it's all about tweed or muted checks) worn with bright pocket squares. And there are beards; lots of trendy beards.

Far from the media circus that surrounds women's fashion weeks, Pitti Uomo is where many brands debut their collections and special projects to press and buyers.

Contemporary fashion, sports fashion and denim now dominate the fair. Since the late 1980s, Pitti has chosen not just to push formal wear (which the Italians are famous for), but also research, new projects, contemporary and sportswear.

This season, the international headliner is Kenzo, now helmed by Asian Americans Humberto Leon and Carol Lim.

Kenzo's autumn-winter 2013-14 menswear debut reflects how men's apparel has diversified over the years. A clean, crisp palette, highlighted by a lovely shade of icy blue defines this collection named "The Jungle of the Sky". Elegant and edgy, with cloud prints and a sporty silhouette (a la Prada) - masculine pilot coats cut to severe and precise effect were paired with skinny lightweight pants.

Mountaineering boots, big backpacks and masculine details explore a climbing theme - a major trend. It is a fun, fashion forward and commercial collection, showing off what young hip customers want.

Singer Florence Welch sits front row at this Pitti Uomo headliner. Just the day before, Italian celebrities attended the show of another special guest, noted Italian designer and "king of sports fashion" Ermanno Scervino. Scervino debuts both his autumn-winter 2013-14 men's collection and his pre-autumn women's collection in the Romanesque Palazzo Vecchio on the river Arno.

"For menswear, Florence and Pitti Uomo is still the most important event around the world, Scervino says. "It's still the headquarters of men's fashion."

Scervino's show is a display of conservative, elegant Italian chic with great fabrics - a subtle rhythm plays off between the sensuality of the women's collection and the masculinity of the men's.

Although traditionally a trade show rather than a fashion week, Pitti Uomo has raised its profile and appeal among mainstream media. New media is helping the event to become much more visible. Pitti Uomo is now covered by mainstream fashion titles (print and online), as well as by street style bloggers like Tommy Ton and Scott Schuman (the Sartorialist).

Here, industry insiders and store buyers can discover smaller brands. Much of the actual business is done in Paris or Milan, but new men's trends are often seeded in Florence.

New to Pitti are labels like Spanish shoe brand Camper, which partners with local retailer I.T and enjoys a coveted position among Hong Kong hipsters. A Camper representative says it joined Pitti this season because it's important to be there for men's fashion.

This is exactly what Napoleone likes to hear. Internationalisation is one of Pitti Uomo's main aims, he says, especially as the industry becomes more globalised.

There are other exhibitors from Asia; indeed, several of the special projects and cultural collaborations this season are from Japan, such as White Mountaineering and Kenzo fashion shows, and the collaboration launched between Japanese sports shoe label Onitsuka Tiger and hip Italian fashion designer Andrea Pompilio.

"The development has been extraordinary," Napoleone says. "When I started at Pitti 23 years ago, the world was very different, the Berlin Wall was close to falling and Pope Jean Paul was in the Vatican.

"The world is much more global now, and fashion especially. You have new markets. For sure, the rules in fashion are completely different from a distribution point of view and from a taste point of view."

The technical committee chooses who shows at Pitti, so the increase in Asian labels, distributors and buyers is a conscious choice made by the company.

"Men's fashion has completely changed," Napoleone adds. "A few years ago it was so much stiffer. When I think of the Far East, China, Japan and Korea, men only wore blue or black with black shoes and white shirt. It was like a uniform. Today it's much more open."

There have been more buyers from Asian stores in recent years, and Pitti plays a role what is trending here. Apart from the big retailers such as I.T and Lane Crawford, local independents like Alan See of The Armoury (in the Landmark) - a bastion of classic suiting and tailoring in Hong Kong - are drawn to the fair.

"We have been going every season for three years now - it was extremely important when we started out to see what was out there and to meet possible new suppliers to kick off our store. Now it is more about meeting existing partners," says See. "The Chinese, Korean, and Japanese markets have been part of the mainstay of Pitti in the last few years. But it's always interesting to see new buyers from places like Thailand, India and other Asian countries coming over and bringing their own sense of style."

"Buyers and exhibitors talk to one another to understand consumer changes so they know what people want in Europe, in America and in Asia," says chairman of Pitti Uomo, Gaetano Marzotto, who is also a partner in Hugo Boss. All the big players in menswear are here because they need to smell what is new."

"We think that if someone is coming all the way from Hong Kong we want them to go back richer - richer in ideas, inspiration and business," says Napoleone.

Pitti Uomo has worked with some of the top designers in the world: Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, Gianfranco Ferré, Romeo Gigli and Dolce & Gabbana, who launched diffusion line D&G in Florence. This season's launches included the debut of American Joseph Abboud's Red Label collection of sportswear, tailored clothing and accessories.

The idea of affordable elegance is a big attraction in men's fashion, and within the more than 1,000 brands, the selection committee identified 50 to 80 that are especially innovative. "We have done some special sections and events for them," says Marzotto.

G-Star Raw's rather special exhibition for example, focuses largely on its ongoing capsule collaboration with noted industrial designer Marc Newson.

Sections like Touch and My Factory reflect cutting-edge fashions for a young, experimental demographic. There are dip-dyed fabrics, distressed leather bags and punky studs adorning items. The Made section focuses on traditional Italian menswear crafts like suiting, tailoring and fine fabrics. "The [Ermenegildo] Zegnas, the Canalis, all started very small here," says Napoleone.

jing.zhang@scmp.com