Image via Complex Original
Pitti Uomo, a biannual men’s trade show and fashion event, took place this week. The show is known for its focus on refined menswear and über dapper street style, but the organizers integrated various elements to round out the offering. This year, Wales Bonner was the guest designer, a slot that’s been previously filled by designers including Telfar, Virgil Abloh, and Y/PROJECT’s Glenn Martens. Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester, one of the “Antwerp Six” who retired from her line in 2013, was a guest of honor and Pitti exhibited looks from her archive along with new designs from the current team.
Over at the show, which had a Pitti Island theme, organizers curated special sections dedicated to sustainability, Ukrainian fashion designers, and an unexpected activation from Juicy Couture. Traditional streetwear didn’t have a huge presence at the show, but many of the collections are infused with the sporty appeal of the category, including Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning’s collaboration with Soulland, a Scandinavian brand.
While the division of men’s and women’s guides retail buying teams and is still present at most stores, brands at Pitti presented men’s and women’s looks that felt easily interchangeable without labeling the line as unisex. And as the pandemic and at home dressing starts to become less of a concern, brands are helping consumers ease into real clothes with soft tailoring that is refined yet comfortable and well made. Here are some highlights from Pitti Uomo 102.
Wales Bonner
After a two-year hiatus, Grace Wales Bonner returned with her Wales Bonner Spring 2023 collection as a guest designer at Pitti. Bonner’s process is rooted in excavating what she calls “Afro-Atlantic” history and integrating those elements into her collections. She took that same approach for Pitti, showing her line at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, a storied palace built by the Medici family that welcomed makers from Armenia, Ethiopia, Ukraine, and Russia, along with Moors and Berbers. Adding to that, the last heir to the palace, Alessandro de’ Medici, the Duke of Florence in the 1500s, was the child of an African servant who worked in the Medici household. Therefore he’s regarded as the first Black head of state in Western Europe.
“It was about looking into this Black presence in Florence,” Bonner said backstage.
Bonner said she’s been spending a lot of time in Ghana and she tapped Ghanian artist Ibrahim Mahama to install his signature jute cloth sacks throughout the space. She also brought New York-based producer and composer James William Blades and Pa Salieu, a UK-based rapper whose family is from Gambia, to create the soundtrack for the show, which was a tableau of global artistry and craft.
“It’s a conversation about how making and craft across places is quite important and how we can celebrate that,” said Bonner.
Craftsmanship is always key to her work, but she amped it up for this collection, which featured silk jacquard parkas made by the House of Charvet in Paris, hand-dyed jerseys and woven cottons constructed in Burkina Faso, and pearl, crystal and recycled glass beads made in Ghana. The line had a Western influence with items like a blue suede studded jacket and tailored pieces with rounded lapels. She also brought in a sporty element with her Adidas Originals collab—a pair of patent leather and shiny silver football shoes that she said were hand stitched at Adidas’ atelier in Germany—along with varsity jackets covered in “Ascend” messaging. Bonner has done well because she’s developed a distinct point of view, and with this collection she built on that but also ventured into new directions. Usually when designers show at Pitti, it shows their more commercial ambitions, which Bonner clearly has. The breadth of the line will satisfy all types of consumers—it also included animal print slip ons from her new footwear collection, signaling her desire to grow.
It’s rumored that Bonner is one of the designers being considered to replace Virgil Abloh as artistic director of Louis Vuitton Men’s, but when asked about her desire to work at a larger luxury house, she said her main focus right now is growing her own brand to be considered luxury. “My focus at the moment is elevating Wales Bonner to be a luxury brand. The ambition of Wales Bonner is to have a luxury brand that represents an Afro-Atlantic cultural perspective. I feel like there isn’t a house with that heritage and that’s what I’m trying to build for myself with Wales Bonner.”
Margn
Margn, an Indian-based brand founded by creative director Saurabah Maurya and Ranjit Yadav, was part of Pitti Uomo’s Sustainable Style section curated by Giorgia Cantarini. Maurya says the line is based on human-focused designs—an oval-shaped human symbol pops up on its garments—and the work with an all women’s community in India to make the garments. Their most recent collection aimed to tell the story of refugees from all over the world and how interconnected we all are. Maurya made pieces like a jacket that was quilted on the loom itself, decreasing carbon footprint, that represented protection. Tops are made with handwoven mushroom silk, and knits are constructed with deadstock yarn. It’s a modern take on traditional Indian techniques that also forefronts sustainability.
Li-Ning x Soulland
Li-Ning, a Chinese sportswear and sports equipment company founded by Olympic gymnast Li Ning, has tried to increase its global brand awareness over the last few years with partnerships. In 2018 they signed a lifetime deal with Dwyane Wade (he left the Jordan brand) and more recently they’ve worked with Scandinavian men’s brand Soulland on footwear. They debuted their latest collab at Pitti via a runway show that took place in the Teatro Del Maggio. The clothes ranged from lace shirt and pant sets, pink suits, and knit dresses. But a standout was the footwear they designed with Li-Ning that looked like a variation of a Croc and Yeezy Foam Runner, but coming in a new, slip-on shape.
Connor McKnight
Connor McKnight, the New York-based designer who worked at Kith and Bode before introducing his own line in 2020, was also part of Pitti Uomo’s Sustainable Style section. McKnight makes cool, modern pieces that hint at his background in subtle ways. For instance, a cropped leather jacket he showed was inspired by a couch that was in his family house, and a woven shirt and short set was influenced by a beach chair. McKnight is also focused on textiles that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are technically functional. He presented a reversible puffer jacket with a net lining and a long puffer coat that took on the shape of a classic wool overcoat but can actually keep the wearer warm. McKnight, who graduated from Parsons after getting a business degree from Fordham, says he considered working for larger houses but felt like it made more sense to invest in the growth and launch of his own line. “I feel like in fashion I didn’t see myself,” said McKnight. “Coming from D.C., I felt like we weren’t fully represented and each season I try to touch on parts of the Black experience that resonate with me.”
ADNYM
Stefan Söderberg, Frippe Persson, and Johni Tadi introduced Adnym in 2016. They saw a gap in the market for genderelss garments and wanted to fill it, so they launched Adnym, which is named after a plot of green, lush land that emerged in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War that divided the mostly Christian East Beirut and the mostly Muslim West Beirut. Tadi, who is Lebanese and no longer with the brand, inspired its origins. Adnym, which stands for Anonymous Dystopia, guides Söderberg, who founded Hope Stockholm and helped develop Acne’s denim line before starting this line. The collection features pieces that are comfortable enough to wear at home, but also suitable for going to events and running around. Pieces included a floral-printed shirt and pant set, a camouflage set made from a sporty, technical fabric, a baby blue suit with drop shoulders, and T-shirts with subtle branding.
Bengt Paris
Bengt Jimi Roos started a brand, sold it, and then decided to work on commission-only pieces that integrated the embroidery techniques he learned in Italy. But once the pandemic hit, business dried up and he partnered with a Japanese brand to launch Bengt, a T-shirt and hoodie line that integrates his stitching skills. Roos says he was influenced by U.S. mascots and college logos and created his own that are embroidered on hoodies and T-shirts that are produced in Italy. Characters include Casual Cats, the Walrus Wackos, and a Bengt Paris boxing duck that have a collegiate but refined feel. Roos says he utilizes a type of stitch that’s usually considered a flaw or mistake, but it’s become his signature, lending basic pieces a special feel.
Ann Demeulemeester Exhibit
Although Ann Demeulemeester retired from her line in 2013, the Belgian designer who was one of the “Antwerp Six”—the famed group of designers who graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980 and 1981—her influence on the industry is still felt. That was very apparent during her 24-hour exhibition, which took place at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence. Demeulemeester fans wearing pieces from her previous collections convened upon the space, which was filled with 40 different looks (one for each year) chosen by Demeulemeester herself and six designed by the brand’s new team. The looks lined up inside the cavernous space with dim lighting and ambient music. It all made a pronounced impact, showcasing Demeulemeester’s skill and unconventional take on constructing garments.
There was a mix of men’s and women’s looks ranging from a drapey, eyelet button up shirt held together by a tie paired with combat boots and cropped pants with eyelet fabric sewn at the hem, a long sweater dress that skimmed the floor styled over a button-up shirt, and a cropped tuxedo jacket worn over a hoodie and T-shirt. These combinations feel commonplace today, but Demeulemeester helped push the merging of masculine and feminine details along with structured and soft silhouettes.
The line continued after Demeulemeester left under the ownership of Anne Chapelle, who also operated and owned Haider Ackerman. But in 2020 Chapelle sold it to New Guards Group, the holding company that also operated Off-White. Demeulemeester, who has moved on to designing tableware with her line Sezan, will be loosely involved with her eponymous label under the NGG.