A notable feature at Pitti Immagine Uomo 88 (hereafter Pitti Uomo) was the use of online and social media marketing to spread information and generate buzz for each brand. With the importance of news merchandise and the emergence of archive references and reproductions as a new strategy for men's fashion, this year's official Pitti Uomo event also featured a prominent event unraveling the history of Italian fashion.

●C.P. Company 40th Anniversary Models

C.P. Company's 40th anniversary event featured an exhibition and commentary of key pieces from the brand's archives, spanning from the early 1980s to the present. This was a wonderful opportunity to see the originals of the "super casual boom" that swept Milan and Paris in the mid-1980s, centered around the brand, including the Urban Down Jacket series, the 120-ply poplin Catalina jacket, the German police blouson, and the leather and nylon hunting jacket.

This event was not just an exhibition of C.P. Company's archives, but also featured three special items, limited to 40 pieces, reproduced based on classic pieces from the past. The exhibits attracted attention: a garment-dyed linen jacket in collaboration with ITS-ALTEA, a waterproof photojacquard jacket in collaboration with Limonta microfiber, and the "Google Jacket," a jacket made of twisted LEDs in collaboration with Dreamlux.

●Nino Cerruti Exhibition

At the Marino Marini Museum, the Pitti Discovery Foundation hosted a retrospective of Nino Cerruti, a designer with over 50 years of history. Angelo Flaccavento curated a wardrobe spanning all eras, tracing the evolution of the great designer affectionately known as "Senor Nino," from his signature pieces of the 1970s and 1980s to his designs in the 2000s. Valuable archives were on display, including Cerruti's 1930s swatch book, suits from the time of the Hittman brand, and suits from the early 1960s.

While designers like Armani, Ferre, and Versace were in the spotlight in the 1980s, Cerruti's collection, which showed an innovative direction in Italian men's fashion, toward a relaxed style inspired by fabric manufacturers, attracted many fashion industry insiders, including Nick Wooster, to take photos, and the 84-year-old himself appeared in good health.


--Tomorrow, as part of the third and fourth installments of Pitti Uomo 2016 Spring/Summer, we'll report on the event featuring the next generation of designers announced at Pitti.
■Text: Fashion Headline Editorial Advisor, Noda Tatsuya
■Pitti Uomo 2016 Spring/Summer Report
--Archives are the trend in men's fashion in the age of invisibility 1/4
--Pitti's hopes for African and next-generation designers 3/4
--Up-and-coming designers Arthur Arbesser and Casamadre 4/4

野田達哉