PITTI UOMO TO HOLD IN-PERSON SHOW IN JANUARY

The next edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo will be held in-person at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence for three days from January 12-14, 2021.  The Pitti Immagine international fairs – Bimbo and Filati, in addition to Uomo – are returning to the physical format, while keeping its enhanced digital components that launched earlier this year.

Agostino Poletto, general manager of Pitti Immagine, said the decision to hold the winter edition of Pitti Uomo over three days instead of the typical four “resulted from an awareness of the delicate transition phase we are going through and that is being experienced by industrial and commercial companies all over the world, not just in Italy. He also said that the decision is a “result of a careful analysis of all the factors that characterize the participation of exhibitors and buyers at the fair.”

“With regard to the first point, we are realists and, therefore, we expect different numbers from those that we normally record,” said Poletto. “With regard to the second point, we have studied the buyer flows for the last editions and have chosen to combine the elimination of the Friday with an extension of the hours from Tuesday to Thursday: the final result is that the fair is actually open for only three hours less and the work will be more efficiently concentrated for everybody.”

“We are looking forward in order to write the future of our exhibition activities while keeping the creative motivation and planning spirit intact ensuring the continuity of our style and working method, coherently with the position of international leadership we have earned for ourselves,” underlined Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine. “In January, Pitti Uomo intends to be a lively, dynamic, and proactive place: with the services dedicated to exhibitors and buyers, the trends, the front row of men’s fashion and the research, the special projects, the events inside the Fortezza and around the city, the launch of new ideas and young talents, the actions involving incoming delegations, the opportunities for communication and public relations. But also with a deep sense of responsibility towards those who work with us, investing their energy and resources. Holding a physical fair that complies with the new rules and protects everybody’s health is our main objective, as well as an essential premise for returning to normality.”

In order to make the physical show happen, Pitti has launched #SaferWithPitti, a new program of safety measures and services that Pitti Immagine is preparing for January which will join the government regulations designed to facilitate the movements of operators from foreign countries. Under these safety measures, all pavilions and communal areas will be sanitized several times a day in accordance with the rules established by the health authorities. There will be temperature scanner controls at the entrances, admissions will be regulated and programmed according to attendance flows. The communal areas – corridors, lounge areas, and bathroom facilities – will be designed in such a way as to guarantee compliance with social distancing rules. 

“We know very well that sensitivity to the elements of cost in relation to the expected results is high and necessary and I can strongly state that we are fully aware of this,” added Poletto. “For this reason, despite starting from one of the lowest price levels on the global panorama, especially in relation to the importance of the fair, we have incorporated in our rates the significant investment in safety and the layouts as well as the development of the digital dimension, so that participation in the Pitti Connect commercial platform – further qualified in terms of technology, functionality, and content – will be included in the participation fee.”

“And that’s not all,” Poletto continued. “We have reviewed the payment terms in order to reduce the financial commitment as much as possible. In this regard, we have also set up a task force made up of internal Pitti personnel and external professionals, to concretely and rapidly assist our exhibitors in the procedures envisaged for requesting and obtaining the Sace-Simest facilitated financing aimed at Italian companies taking part in international fair events held in Italy.”