PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO NO. 85, the largest men's fashion festival, kicked off in Florence on January 7th. This year's 85th edition saw 1,047 men's brands participating, along with 73 women's brands participating in the co-located PITTI W. Approximately 40% of exhibitors at the Fortezza da Basso were from over 30 countries outside of Italy, bringing together press and buyers from around the world. While attendance was a concern due to London Men's being held from the 6th to the 8th, good weather and relatively warm conditions helped boost attendance, and attendance is expected to exceed last winter's 30,000. The theme of this year's PITTI was "ROCK ME PITTI." Rock-themed objects, designs, and performances were displayed throughout the pavilions, overturning Florence's typically classical image with its deep bass sounds reverberating throughout the venue. However, the venue was also attracting attention with booths that more strongly highlighted handcrafted items, such as traditional Italian classico, and booths that offered new interpretations of those items, such as Bonastre, D by D, Syoukey, Galet, Ghurka, Jean Rousseau Paris, Mark/Giusti, Noah Waxman "handmade in USA", Simpson London, Tibi Tie, and Title of Work.

Ukraine was also selected as this year's guest country, and with participation from Anna October, Omelya Atelier, Sasha Kanevski, Paskal, Yasya Minochikina, and Tigran Avetysian, who also took part in the Mercedes-Benz Kyiv Fashion Days and is garnering attention, the event is also stepping up its efforts to provide topics of conversation as a venue for discovering new talent. At a press conference held on the first day, it was announced that the next Pitti Immagine Uomo '86, to be held from June 17th to 20th, will collaborate with the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana/CFMI, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and that support will be provided by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, the Italian Trade Council, and UniCredit.

The event will also strengthen the appeal of Italy's high-level fashion creations by hosting shows by five brands based in Florence: Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Ermanno Scervino. The press conference was also attended by Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi, a young Democratic Party member who is expected to become the next Italian Prime Minister, Carlo Calenda, Undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, Gaetano Marzotto, President of Pitti Immagine, and Enrico Rossi, Governor of Tuscany, and the support of the government was also a major topic of discussion. Stefano Ricci, President of CFMI, said, "As the oldest association of Italy's fabric and clothing industries, celebrating its 60th anniversary, co-hosting the event with Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence is the perfect opportunity to showcase Italy's finest clothing techniques. We are grateful for the government and financial cooperation in this event, which will also help us strengthen Made in Italy products."