Pitti Uomo 92 Proves Men’s Fashion Is More Confused Than Ever

You may not know it, but Pitti Uomo, a (mostly) menswear trade show in Florence, is now firmly embedded as a must-stop on the menswear fashion calendar, sandwiched between the London and Milan fashion weeks. It differs in that it is not a proper fashion week, though there are special guests who put on runway shows, but the thousand-plus brands the fair attracts are housed in a historic fortress instead of being spread out in showrooms all over town. But it has all the characteristic features of a fashion week—a busy schedule of runway shows and presentations in the evening, buyers doing business during the day, harried journalists, and a slew of peacock attendees vying for the attention of street style photographers. One of the main draws for the journalists attending Pitti Uomo is that for a season they lure away talent from other cities’ catwalks and have them put on shows that are usually more interesting than your standard model-on-a-catwalk affair. This season the special guests were J.W. Anderson and Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh, with HUGO (by Hugo Boss) and Hunting World bringing up the rear. Pitti Uomo used to be predominantly about classic tailored menswear, and though this still has a strong presence, the fair now puts a stronger impact on streetwear and the avant-garde. There is now an entire pavilion, called “Unconventional,” devoted to the goth ninja schtick. The occupationally well-dressed Pitti attendees are easy to tell apart from the rest, and they form a stark contrasting backdrop to the civilians wearing “normal” clothes. There are the typical American tourists dressed so depressingly dull, they make you feel both suicidal and homicidal. There are the Europeans, in navy polo shirts and blue jeans and other my-wife-buys-my-clothes gear. “Generic” is the operative word. Read more at Highsnobiety.