This week is men’s fashion week in Florence for the 2012 Fall/ Winter season. PITTI is a big part of fashion week, because it is a trade show that buyers from all over the world attend to prepare for the season ahead.
Some of the companies that were there included:
It was a great privilege to be a student and be able to attend such a well-known and elite event. This was my first trade show I have attended, and like our previous appointments and trips, I am beginning to adapt to the pace and lifestyle of this industry.
There is about ten different buildings that reps and buyers occupy, viewing the collection, discussing the purchase order, and negotiating their buys. I felt a little more in place that I had an idea of the questions the buyers were asking the vendors and what they wrote down on the purchase orders, from what I have learned in school. My expectation of the atmosphere was a little different than how this event actually was. I pictured it to be very aggressive and strictly business. I was surprised to see how upbeat and friendly everyone was. Almost every vendor we passed handed us a magazine, or bag with their company logo. The displays were set up like store displays with lighting and everything precise. The majority of vendor stations had music to coincide with their collection, i.e if it was a contemporary brand there would be upbeat and current music playing. I was impressed by how each vendor was able to perfectly set the mood through lighting music or props. Even the sales reps were dressed in clothes that presented the designers style wheatear it was clean cut, funky, modern, urban or wearing custom fitted suits, they all looked the part of being an image for the company brand. There was a lot of fashion that caught my eye, the most unique and one of a kind to me were, paper sneaker made by a brand called civic, which I think would be a great sell in contemporary stores such as American Apparel for the U.S. Sunglasses with fur on them by Alexander Wang on them was another thing I saw that were a little unpractical but very unique.
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| CIVIC Paper Shoes |
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| Alexander Wan |
Although we were not allowed to step into the vendors display since we are not buyers, it was very easy to observe and try and see what they were doing. There were swatches of the color palettes used for their collection
Considering this was a men’s trade show the majority of people there were men. It was evident in their dress that they were all European. I saw a lot of navy suits, mixed and matched suits such as a pale blue pant with a sear sucker blazer, and all of the ties I saw were thin and sleek. The James bond look was popular at this event.
It seemed to me that each building was organized in style, and category. The last building we went into was all of the forecasted trends for Fall/ Winter 2012-2013, for both men and women. These books were very detailed. They had graphic designed images of outfits and fabrics as well as detailing such as grommets. I though that having texture as opposed to a flat surface of just a picture and a description, was the best way to explain the trends. Looking at the actual fashion as a whole and people watching, seeing what kind innovative outfit I would see next, or who I would see such as the Ralph Lauren Polo Models, definitely made it real that I was actual a part of fashion week in Milan! I never imagined I would ever be surrounded by so much creativity, and energy in my life. I had a great time at PITTI
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