Beyond the diamond-pointed stone facade of Fortezza da Basso in Florence, Italy, leading fashion industry professionals and celebrities arrive in style. It’s a sunny yet windy winter morning. As a result, long coats of wool, leather, and feathered puffers trail behind visitors. Photographers and press stand with their cameras ready. Guests in Manolo Blahnik’s and Gucci leather footwear head toward the entrance. It is the first day of this year’s Pitti Uomo street style phenomenon. Classic Italian suits and custom tailored garments mingle with innovative streetwear, creating a variety of styles that dominate the scale from trendy to traditional.

Florence doesn’t officially have a fashion week. However, twice a year the city welcomes a spectacle of style and taste. At the centre of the high fashion flurry is Pitti Uomo. This trade show has made waves in Florence’s cultural activities, transforming into a social hub and bringing worldwide visitors into town to see the latest menswear trends.

The Pitti Uomo trade show in Fortezza da Basso is reserved for the industry. However a series of social events take place throughout Florence during the week. Each day, models, influencers and notable guests step out of their Renaissance hotels and walk the cobbled medieval streets on their way to events. High end fashion stores throughout town host cocktail hours for buyers and guests. In the evenings, music softly thumps from within historic villas in the hills as fashion brands celebrate their collection launches.

Pitti Uomo’s special projects, runway shows, parties and installations shed a glittering spotlight on Florence for international visitors.  Pitti Uomo is part of Pitti Immagine, a collection of fashion trade events happening throughout the year in Italy. Each February and June, Pitti Immagine hosts a menswear fair and showcases new collections from well established and emerging brands. The event has become unquestionably influential, presenting riveting conceptions and reinventions to menswear in recent years.

Street Style

The trade show fair isn’t the only attraction, however. The street style at Pitti Uomo is a fashion show itself. Visitors and fashion lovers around the Fortezza and Santa Maria Novella area look especially sharp during this week. Cozy outfits are made fashionable despite comfort taking over post-pandemic ready-to-wear fashion. Careful attention to the combination of textures between outerwear and inner layers highlighted classic Italian winter style with contemporary streetwear.

The street style influence of Pitti Uomo has influenced ladies and gentlemen alike. Standing at the counter in Piazza Repubblica’s Paszkowski Cafe, a lady takes off her cashmere-lined leather gloves and Louis Vuitton fabric face mask and reaches for a tiny espresso cup. At the door, a gentleman in a tailored navy coat and matching fedora carries his wife’s Bottega Veneta purse for her as they step into the sunny winter afternoon. Indeed, Pitti Uomo takes over Florence, producing a fascinating scene to visitors in the city.

Runways and Parties

Florence paints a beautiful backdrop to the varied events hosted by Pitti Uomo and other fashion brands. Several micro events hosted by special guests. In addition, curated installations and long awaited runway shows turn up throughout the week. In recent years Off-White, LuisaViaRoma and Salvatore Ferragamo have held shows during Pitti Uomo. They transformed some of the city’s most beautiful locations into runways. The iconic Piazzale Michelangelo made the perfect scenery under the stars for LuisaViaRoma’s runway show in 2019.  Pitti Uomo’s reach has come far, and women’s collections have been displayed as well. This show featured Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, and Alessandra Ambrosio, among other world renowned high fashion models. In addition, there was a special performance by Lenny Kravitz.

Two of Florence’s top fashion schools, Marangoni and Polimoda, have participated by hosting runway shows to display the graduating students’ final collections.

Thousands of high-calibre international guests drawn toward Florence for such events. The evening celebrations must match the tone of the week. In previous years, the historical Palazzo Corsini and Palazzo Pitti, as well as the iconic Manifattura Tabacchi have set the stage for Pitti parties.

This trade show has created a full swing in the city’s social and cultural substance. The outfits seen at Pitti Uomo, both on the runways and in the street, mark the beginning of the new seasons, regularly impacting worldwide trends. The event is known for the remarkable medley between classic menswear and unique street style. Runways showcase the top designers and summer time parties promise to be remembered forever. Pitti Uomo’s 102^nd  edition in June 2022 for S/S 2023 is sure to set expectations high.