Image via Complex Original
Wednesday at Pitti Uomo, the trade fair held in Florence, Italy, Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy unveiled his latest collection. The Gosha show was already one of the most highly-anticipated events of the season, but when he revealed collaborations with five classic Italian brands (plus legendary American company Levi's), the excitement around the show went from high to extreme. Gosha is no stranger to throwback co-branded pieces—see also his sneakers with Reebok—but this was almost an embarrassment of riches.
We'll have more information about when and where to buy these collabs when we have it. But for now, take a walk down memory lane with everything you need to know about the Italian brands blessed by Gosha's hand.
Superga (Not Featured in Show)
Superga’s classic white kicks are as Italian as riding a Vespa while eating gelato, and the brand has been making its home country proud since it was founded in 1911. The clean white shoes are so iconic, and the company and its small red tab have been around for so long, it would be fair to think of them as the Italian Converse. Superga has served as a blank slate for collaborators like Sandro, Versus Versace, and Rodarte, and even landed Rita Ora as the face of its spring/summer 2013 collection.
Fila
Fila was founded over 100 years ago, in 1911, by the Fila brothers in Italy. The siblings initially set out to create textiles for their fellow townspeople in the Alps; they didn’t fully commit to creating clothing until the 1970s, though, and broke into the mainstream by sponsoring tennis legend Björn Borg. Fila has been worn by everyone from '90s-era Q-Tip and Tupac, to present-day Rihanna and Diddy, and were even name-checked during Left Eye's rap in TLC's "No Scrubs." And we like to think that one of the most important moments in the brand's history were the frequent co-signs it got from The Sopranos characters, especially The King of Cozy, Tony Soprano.
Sergio Tacchini
The story of Sergio Tacchini, the brand and the designer, is a love affair between man and tennis. The Italian-born Tacchini was first a professional tennis player who enjoyed relative success in his home country—he was the Italian champion in 1960. Tacchini took his passion for the sport and decided to make sportswear in order to outfit athletes who carried on his tennis legacy.
Over the years, the Sergio Tacchini brand has sponsored legendary tennis players like Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras, and helped turn tracksuits into fashionable items. Tacchini most recently sponsored Novak Djokovic, but the Serbian eventually outgrew the brand as he climbed to the world’s rankings to #1. Tacchini fell behind on payments, and the two parted ways in 2012.
Kappa
The Juventus kit may be the trendy item du jour for people like Drake and KITH’s Ronnie Fieg, but once upon a time, the jersey was making waves while bearing the logo of Italian sportswear company Kappa. The company’s history is intertwined with the history of Italian soccer. Juventus jerseys bore the Kappa logo while capturing major tournament trophies in the ‘90s, and the brand sponsored the Italian national team during the 2000 Euros.
The brand caught on with UK soccer fans in the ‘90s, who noticed it while attending international tournament matches. The company was originally founded in in 1967, and in 1969, the Omini logo was born during a bathing suit photoshoot, featuring the silhouette of a naked man and women sitting back-to-back. It’s meant to symbolize equality between men and women in sports.
Retrosuperfuture
Retrosuperfuture is the youngest brand on this list—it was founded in Italy in 2007. However, the company's classic shades belie its youth. Retrosuperfuture has built its brand making high-quality sunglasses in timeless silhouettes and Gosha could not have picked a better sunglass company to round out his collection of collaborations with Italian brands.
Retrosuperfuture has been seen on a whole assortment of celebrities, including Kanye West, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Lil' Wayne, Ciara, and a whole bunch more. Now, they're coming for your summer rotation in the form of a Gosha collaboration.