Pitti Uomo 89 - After thoughts

[EFV]

The week after Pitti feels a bit like a long hangover to me, like the Monday that follows a real bender. I'm actually sort of an introvert, so being social to this extreme really takes its toll. It's a good sort of hangover though. Like when you've had such a great night that the memories will be with you for a long long time.

As per usual, we've met a great deal of interesting and inspiring people. A lot of people who never visited the fair, think that it's just a trade show for buyers and sellers, and a place where peacocks come to show off. It is a great deal more than that though. This is also a place where new trends are spotted and created. Like it or not, even though classic menswear is a slow moving fashion, it's still fashion. Don't believe me? Look at pictures of your grandparents and look at the "What are you wearing" thread here on Styleforum. Some people would probably like to change these trends in a more rapid pace, those are the people who, rightly or wrongly, come off as pretty silly to a lot of us. Then of course there are those who like the tides to change in more moderate pace. No one can deny the increased love higher trouser waists, wider lapels and longer jackets have garnered here these last few years.

If there was one thing I could spot this year, it was the return to more basic colour settings, both among the more (IMHO) well dressed visitors, and among exhibitors. I've heard a lot of talk about Pitti "maturing" this year.

The trend of distinguishing via fabric quality, textures etc seems to be ongoing. As far as cuts go, the trend is still towards wider lapels (which some people admittedly have taken to the extreme), higher waists and more classic length of jacket. I think that, according to a lot of looks I took notice of, we might be in that sweet spot between two style paradigms. Where nothing is too wide or too tight, where colours/textures are neither too crazy nor too plain (I know, a lot of people around here don't believe things can be too sophomoric). Personally though, I really liked a lot of what I saw this year, or what do you guys think of this?

Pitti is also a place to meet friends. I mean, where else can you find such a high concentration of menswear nerds IRL? We've had some great moments with friends from all over the world this last week. When you're in one of the best food and wine regions of the world, you can have the luxury of combining small talk about the future of fabric manufacturing, with eating a delicious dinner. We where very happy to meet a nice mix of SF members and other interesting people from the industry at a nice restaurant of @Braddock's choice:

The many evening events, arranged by different magazines, bloggers and companies serve several functions simultaneously. Of course they're great opportunities for the organizers to market themselves, but for us the visitors they're also great opportunities to meet new business contacts, and of course for free booze and hand sized food.

Pictures from Plaza Uomo x Stenströms' event the first night (the last one was taken by their event photographers)

I went to Pitti, not only as Styleforum's representative, but also to promote my own brand. Getting the right people to see the products I'm promoting is also a part of going. I don't chase photographers, or sit on the Pitti wall all day hoping to have my picture taken, but I never turn down anyone wanting to take my picture. I have also met fashion writers wanting to do interviews for various publications. Frankly, that's the kind of promotion you can't buy. When approaching stores, being able to show them where your products have been featured is a big part of the selling argument.

Picture from Vogue France

So, being completely bereft of sleep for a week, getting so many visual impressions your eyes start to dry up, socializing until the point you feel like hiding in a cave for a year. Is it worth it?

I guess this picture answers that question:

With our dear friend @Mr. Claymore on top of the Westin Excelsior.

We would also like to say hi to @Butler,@gdl203, @Sander, @ammanati (you should check out his great coverage of Pitti on his blog blueloafers.com btw), @Leaves, @Dannefalk, @Mr. Tweed, @Braddock, @RobinPettersson, @Jussi Hakkinen & every other Styleforum and non-Styleforum member that made this week great.

Edit. Bonus pic:

 

[gdl203]

Thanks @EFV - next time, we'll try to do a better job at coordinating some sort of dinners for the SF heads there...

I would agree with your thoughts and I do think that we have a strange combination/conflict of general desire to exhibit better and more mature taste, and for a lot of people, the need to bait camera lenses because it is important for their job/success. Unless they're style heroes grandfathered from the days when Pitti street photography was focused on good style & taste (Scott Schuman's days), most men with good but sedate taste won't attract any photographer's lens. Yet, those who dress like clowns are mobbed by photo-bloggers. I think it will take a few talented photographers like you, Jamie Ferguson, Neil Watson, and hopefully more... to make the more boring style shine.

 

[EFV]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[vida]

Interesting observations, EVF. The one thing that I haven't seen very much, at least in terms of retail availability, is wider lapels. Perhaps it is working it's way to the US.
I thank you for your photos and comments during Pitti. Great job!

 

[Cleav]

Fabulous Erik, hell of a man doing a hell of a job

 

[Gus]

I enjoyed @EFV photo feed and comments very much, because it did focus on people showing more classic style verses outright peacocks. I follow dozens of excellent Instagramers who were at Pitti and they seemed to have a similar focus. So the comment of "Pitti maturing" at least from social media feeds (since that is all I've experienced) seems to be the case.

Over all I saw far, far fewer pics of Lino with a thumbs up or even Luca Rubinacci. There were certainly more photos of visits to tailors and shoemakers up to, during and following Pitti than I've ever notice before. So, although the cut of jackets or the shape of shoes is continuing to evolve, there does seem to be more of a focus on a more subtle expression of style in tailored menswear. I hope so! That would be a very good trend.

 

[Chulillo]

Great summary of what this week has been (to you) and what we get for ideas or trends... Your photos were great and seems like it was a hell of a time. Hope you got all you expected out of it.

 

[Jussi Hakkinen]

I definitely agree - and, by the way, it was a genuine pleasure to meet & hang out with EFV and his charming fiancée. I think that what was immediately visible was that Pitti had matured. The styles were less extreme (yes, you'll see peacocking pictures, but still), the products available were more classic in style (and we made some nice purchases there) and the people were more relaxed. Although Pitti pretty much always has been a relaxed and good natured affair, now it did feel like it even more. Of course, this has all to do with my jackets and trousers getting looser...

Should there be a Styleforum dinner or any other get-together in summer, I shall definitely be there (I believe I speak in behalf of our shop's crowd in this). I enjoyed all the clothing nerdery and want to have more! I hope EFV has recovered from his liver transplant surgery in time to prepare for an another one.

And all you Styleforum people I met - EFV, Mr. Claymore, Butler and I'm sure there's many more I don't know by their handle here (Shibumi guys come to my mind, at least) - it was an absolute honour to meet you all. See you again in summer.

 

[gnatty8]



I definitely agree - and, by the way, it was a genuine pleasure to meet & hang out with EFV and his charming fiancée. I think that what was immediately visible was that Pitti had matured. The styles were less extreme (yes, you'll see peacocking pictures, but still), the products available were more classic in style (and we made some nice purchases there) and the people were more relaxed. Although Pitti pretty much always has been a relaxed and good natured affair, now it did feel like it even more. Of course, this has all to do with my jackets and trouser getting looser...

Should there be a Styleforum dinner or any other get-together in summer, I shall definitely be there (I believe I speak in behalf of our shop's crowd in this).


And all you Styleforum people I met - EFV, Mr. Claymore, Butler and I'm sure there's many more I don't know by their handle here (Shibumi guys come to my mind, at least) - it was an absolute honour to meet you all. See you again in summer!

We go twice a year, and although I never go the week of Pitti, I would probably do so if there was an SF meet-up planned.. Would be great to meet some of you guys..

 

[Andy57]

This was a good coda to your Pitti coverage, Erik. Thank you for all of it.

 

[thefoxtooth]

Thanks for the coverage @EFV !

I'm interested to see how the higher rises work out industry-wide. I've been screaming for higher rises for a long time before I knew what Pitti was. For most of the history of classic tailoring, rises have been higher than we've been used to seeing for the last fifteen years.

But the marketability of them seems a difficult question. To me it seems undoubtable that if you're in pretty good shape, classic trousers generally look better sitting on or just above your navel. But most customers with a thicker middle tend to prefer hiding it behind a bit of shirt blousing, as opposed to hanging some pants off it. I don't really agree—Ethan Newton, who has a distinctly un-Sanderlike frame, looks dynamite in high rises—but convincing more of the general public of this is another thing. It'll be interesting, and in the meantime, there's always @luxire I guess. Or full bespoke FOR YOU BILLIONAIRES (pouts)

I do see the wider lapels—which I support, up to a point—showing up here and there in mass-market iterations, e.g. the Suitsupply Hudson.

I read the Put This On thing about Pitti, reinforcing a lot of the "Pitti grows up" narrative. Which I think is hilarious because if the current Jesse Thorn were there he would be like the weirdest-looking dude at Pitti.

 

[EFV]

Thank you all! Jussi, it was such a pleasure meeting you and the rest of the crew from Herrainpukimo. We hope to come visit your store sometime this year.

 

[upr_crust]

Again, thank you, Erik, for your extensive photographic coverage of this season's Pitti. One can tell how much fun you all were having from the photos, and the entire experience, visually, looked most enjoyable. The fact that you were able to make social contact with so many of the regular denizens of these fora was great (and your dinner at Il Cinghiale Bianco gave me a bit of nostalgia - I ate there once on my first trip to Firenze in 1990).

I take some small comfort that at least I will get Mr. Claymore's views on all of this in person, when he's in NYC next week.

 

[Dandy Wonka]

Your reports and photos are much appreciated.

And this final one was so much more enjoyable than this dross printed in the Sydney Morning Herald:

http://www.executivestyle.com.au/pitti-uomo-have-we-had-enough-of-peacocking-men-gm8qab

I have a question. How would someone like me and, I assume, 90% of the people in here (with no real contacts - apart from the Double Monk and Harrolds guys down here) be able to turn up and go to things? I wouldn't want to go all the way there just to stay in my room.

 

[TweedyProf]

Thanks Erik, was nice to see the pics on IG.

Erica is killing it (you don't look bad either).