The highlights from Pitti Uomo 94 in Florence

Birkenstock: For its second fully fledged catwalk show, the German footwear brand pitched up at the Giardini Torrigiani, taking over the 16th century garden with a collection chock-a-block with updated classics: the cross or double strap Siena and Malmedy reimagined in khaki and with gold closures, the introduced of leather soles into the women’s ranges, the thick upper Zurich upgraded in green and brown camouflage. The label has been going from strength to strength, and bolstered its fashion credentials earlier this year with its launch of a Rick Owens collaboration. For spring, it also showcased the ‘Summmer Stride’ collection, a series of closed-shoes in unlined leather and with a cork sole.

Moncler: In February, the prominent outerwear and lifestyle brand announced a brave new communication and business model: the Moncler Genius project. Periodic collaboration with designers and artists across disciplines is now creating a laboratory of innovation and technological research. ‘We have overhauled everything, by overcoming the very concept of seasons. Our approach is monthly, weekly, daily. An approach which considerably reduces the time that elapses between the collection presentations and when they actually arrive in the stores,’ Remo Ruffini, Chairman and CEO of Moncler said at the time. At Pitti, the label unveiled a two-part project with Japanese polymath Hiroshi Fujiwara, whose fashion work is always centred on streetwear and music. His 7 MONCLER FRAGMENT HIROSHI FUJIWARA collection fuses the weatherproof DNA of Moncler with a hip-hop, urban sensibility. Jean jackets are in the iconic padded fabric in a military palette of white, fatigue green and black.
 

Brunello Cucinelli: there is a reboot of Riviera chic happening at Cucinelli – the customary pastel pinks and blues have been replaced with earthier deeper colours such as caramel, off white, brown and radish. The collection takes inspiration from the Roaring Twenties – a time when formal elegance collided with the sporting world. (The golf and tennis motifs writ large across so many of the collections at Pitti each summer owe much to this phase of the American Dream). The mood here is prim. Linen is key. A white one and a half breasted suit in dry cotton and linen mix is worn over a denim shirt with pearl buttons, exemplifying the coming season and a fittingly summery mood.

Band of Outsiders: the fourth collection by design director Angelo van Mol and brand director Daniel Hettmann was shown on a post-rain patch of grass inside the grounds at Palazzo Forteza, scattered with broken columns and statues. Models arrived in a giant golden yellow school bus and sauntered across the square one by one in easy separates inspired by varsity vacation to Italy. Cue wide-leg Bermuda shorts worn with windcheaters in sugary pastels and boxfresh trainers in collaboration with Sergio Tacchini, lightweight tensile shirting and unstructured tailoring in plaid (worn with matching bucket hats). The mood was summery and fresh despite the added quirk of the rain-drenched setting. Whimsical cartoonish prints are by Brooklyn based artist Amit Greenberg. Inspired by childhood excursions to Roman ruins, his drawings are repeated over boxy, boyish shirts and shorts.

Corneliani: ‘silk is the cashmere of summer,’ creative director Stefano Gaudioso said when introducing his latest collection. The focus for the coming season is on silk and streetwear; a trio of raincoats, from a 1950s classic egg-shaped belted mac, to a sharp, laser-cut nylon style exemplify the tension at the heart of so many classic tailoring brands. How to do modern without abandoning heritage? In a time where Off-White styling and Supreme sweatshirts rule, Gaudioso is busy giving the classic sprezzatura of a fifty-year-old company subtle upgrades. S/S 2019 brings with it a more extensive range of athleisure in the finest fabrics – zip up jackets in stretch suede, lined in jersey with an elasticated membrane give luxury a new mood. ‘I am already working on a concept of street tailoring for next winter,’ Gaudioso says. ‘I want the suits to become less stiff, I want to work with different materials, maybe inserts, to do things that are a little more edgy. The suit is our heritage, sure, but in order to keep up with how the world is changing, you need to move with the times.’

Parajumpers: the label, which derives its name from the vigorous pursuit of parachuting is all about functionality before form. Inspired by a chance meeting between founder Massimo Rossetti and a serving member of the 210th Rescue Squadron in a bar in Alaska, Parajumpers has become known for its rugged, technical styles. The latest collection features high performance outerwear in vibrant, crinkle-effect washed nylon; generous cargo pockets at the chest are shaped for iPads and maps. Packable jackets come with taped seams and zippers. But it isn’t all about the rugged outdoors: the Limited Edition by Yono line (made in collaboration with Japanese designer Yoshinori Yono) introduces leisurewear made from three layer laminated fabric both stretchy and waterproof. It works just as well at home or at sea.

Woolrich: In October 2017, the heritage American company Woolrich International announced an alliance with Goldwin Inc, the Japanese experts in technology for the outdoors. Their debut collection Woolrich Outdoor, unveiled at Pitti is said to explore the balance between humanity and the natural world, which translates as super desirable, lightweight, functional, youthful clothes designed to adapt to the demands of active pursuits. The collection features a new curvier logo for Woolrich, which acts as a preview of the brand direction to be rolled out in A/W 2019. Stand out are a series of lightweight seersucker outdoor pyjamas, cut wide they come folded up in their own little cross body bag. The mood is lively and light. Let’s go outside!

MCM: for the last few years, the MCM logo backpacks have become omnipresent on city sidewalks around the world. Founded in 1976 in Munich, the brand was acquired by the Seoul based Sungjoo Group in 2005 who had worked with the brand as a distributor and licensee from the early 1990s. The label chose to debut its first full ready-to-wear and accessories collection at Pitti Uomo. Under the direction of Mrs Kim, founder and chief visionary officer of Sungjoo Group and owner of the MCM brand, the proposed ready-to-wear was aimed at the ‘21st-century Global Nomad’, striding alongside the signature backpacks, leather goods, eyewear and footwear. ‘Millennials have less need of leather goods than previous generations, because they can basically do everything with just a mobile phone. So the need for multiple bags and large bags is becoming less important’, Mrs Kim said. The performative, immersive show opened with a tropical storm and was punctuated by the landing of a skydiver down the catwalk. Metallic and holographic textiles reflected the light. Outerwear was functional and free.

Pringle of Scotland: the collection for S/S 2019 takes its influence from photographs in the Pringle archives from the 1980s. The label’s iconic argyle sweaters were worn in and out of sporting circles for much of the decade. The look for the coming season is relaxed and playful as knitted pyjama shirts have matching wide cuff joggers. In the archives too are the many logos and iterations of the lion motif, which the designers have hand-embroidered onto the front of a classic golf jumper. The distinctive diamond argyle graphic appears on slim-fit jumpers and as texture on a sleeveless style made from recycled yarn.

Doucal’s: there is a discreet elegance and confidence about Doucal’s – the anglophile shoe label established in 1973. Avoiding fashion’s roundtable of trends and seasonal collections, the core styles are modestly updated with new details and colours each season; this is where Italian classics and sustainable sprezzatura come together. The signature flexible shoe comes this season with a double buckle; a tassel moccasin in red suede has a soft insole, giving the shoe a unique flexibility. Elsewhere at Pitti there’s has been a proclivity for terry towelling; at Doucal’s, pastel suede high-top sneakers come with natural sponge laces mimicking the feel of a foamy seashore.

Fanatic Feelings: when Nigeria’s World Cup 2018 Kit went on sale at Nike Town in Oxford Circus last month, queues formed around the block. It had received more than three million pre-orders after it was first seen online in February. Football is big business and fashion’s relationship to the sport can be seen in the hip clothes of Gosha Rubchinskiy and Martine Rose. This week, Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery presented a pop-up entitled Fanatic Feelings – Fashion Plays Football. Curated by Markus Ebner – founder of German fashion magazines Achtung Mode and Sepp Football Fashion – and art critic Francesco Bonami, the project threw a spotlight on the impact of football on the world of men’s fashion. This is most notable in the pervasive fusion of tailoring and sportswear. The duo handpicked a team of designers to make one-of-a kind football fashion pieces, which will be on sale for a limited time only. Christelle Kocher of Koché Paris designed a special World Cup limited edition capsule using vintage national football jerseys; Alessandro Sartori, who continues to champion active wear at Z Zegna, has designed a striped polo with football crests in superb, user-friendly TECHMERINO. Part of the proceeds from the sales will help to support the activities of Centro Storico Lebowski, a Florentine amateur sport’s association.

Bally: the value of designers’ archives is well known today as young designers seem self-consciously wedded to the idea of permanence in a digital age. Yet, the real value is in archival clothes that have a bigger story to tell. The Bally company has a vast archive of around 35,000 pairs of shoes in Schönenwerd, Switzerland – it is a constant source of inspiration. There, the design team unearthed the battered white sneaker with pink and blue rubber sole worn by the Swiss tennis stars Marc Rosset and Jakob Hlasek throughout the 90s. For S/S 2019 the designers looked to Bally’s sporting heritage, reintroducing the Champion style in soft calf-skin, fixed to a multi-component rubber outsole with herringbone mould for all-surface endurance. It has been reissued in the original colour way endorsed by Jakob Hlasek during the ATP World Tour in 1991. The nineties are still in.

Fumito Ganryu: Ganryu has been a pioneer of the hybridised approach to menswear since launching his eponymous cult line within the Comme des Garçons stable in 2007. A graduate of Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, he started as a women’s pattern maker for Junya Watanabe in 2004 and so naturally his work fuses innovative pattern making with archetypal casual wear: ‘I do not consider my work as streetwear’ he says. ‘If people see the element of "street style" in my design, I assume it has come from what I have taken from skateboard culture. I focus on making garments that I think are necessary for the 21st century.’ In 2017 Ganryu separated from Comme des Garçons and Pitti marks his return to the spotlight. His S/S 2019 debut was futuristic and functional. Clothes were to be carried or worn as accessories, used when the need arises; shorts double as swimsuits. ‘What I would like to do is to create ‘non-sex’ clothes – garments without gender,’ he says. For summer this translated into garments attached to the body on silicon belts. ‘Transported rather than being worn, this would give the garments the sense of object, without being about sex.’ This is what Ganryu coins ‘conceptual casualwear.’

Margaret Howell: there’s a breezy nonchalance to the latest collection from MHL. Wool suiting is featherweight – cut in light Fox Brothers & Co cloth – relaxed shirting has big wide collars and long short sleeves, based on classic formal pyjama styles. Jogger trousers are hacked into shorts in lightweight cotton. New desert shoes are in suede with seamless backs and can bend in half for ease when packing. Blazers take inspiration from a woman’s style and are oversized and exaggerated in their slouch. A pioneer of anti-glitz, Howell’s suiting for spring is merrily sombre. Unlined and unstructured, it’s easy, sexy, cool.

Fratelli Rossetti: in 1968, as the world was ablaze with the vivacity of student protests, Renzo Rossetti developed the smart Brera tasselled loafer, inspired by the kids hanging around the historical artist district in Milan. On its 50th birthday, the brand is celebrating with a collection that has the same nonchalant poetry of youth in revolt; calf-skin loafers have soft suede backs so they can be folded down and worn as slippers. Classic woven styles have a bold graffiti snakeskin patina. A small showcase of work created by BA Students from the NABA Nuova Accademia delle Belle Arti in Milan was on show too. Invited to reinterpret the loafer, Arianna Monticelli proposes an idiosyncratic take on the tassel, mixing woven leather, suede and rope.

Tiger of Sweden: Pitti Uomo 94 marked Christoffer Lundman’s second collection for the classic menswear label. The head of creative and design, who cut his teeth at Burberry, Tom Ford and Acne, was fascinated by the spirit of adventure for spring, presenting versatile crease-resistant travel suits, short suits and tactile woven tote bags. Details that reflect a lifetime of travel populated the collection, like Asian prints, shirts with Cheongsam fastenings and stripes neckties, inspired by Sweden in the Seventies, naturally.

Colmar: Outdoor exploits are essential to the renowned Italian outerwear label, which pushes its own sense of adventure each season with the development of fabrications and finishes. For S/S 2019, Colmar looked to the endless promise of America, from the East to the West Coast, incorporating Pop Art-centric prints, madras fabric and colour blocking into its silhouettes. A women’s highlight was encompassed in a water-repellent jacket with a semi-shiny yarn belt bag attached at the waist, and a men’s was an ultra light version of the brand’s down jacket, imagined in super shiny ripstop fabric.