Style Notes

For those who aspire to a form of elegance that is beyond the rules of serial production, for those who seek more substantial meanings for exclusivity, the answer is “savoir faire”.  Absolute craftsmanship, handmade, attention to detail: these are the watchwords, but now they have a new meaning.  Jackets that preserve an elite made-to-measure allure, hand-painted footwear, bags that display unique workmanship on fine leathers, intangible scarves hand-woven on antique looms.  And everything presented, for the first time, in a modern key that updates the techniques of the past with an injection of new colors and fresh ideas to create beautiful and unique items to be worn today.
So, for his wardrobe, today’s dandy looks to capsules by Andrea Incontri in cooperation with Habsburg, the “noble” brand from the Schneiders group, where the talented designer reinterprets an old classic like the  loden, changing the contexts in which it is used.  Or he wears one of the six sports jackets proposed by W-D Man, a mini collection of men’s jackets inspired by the stories of Ernest Hemingway: the styles and fabrics look to English sartorial tradition and the wearability is reworked according to the rules of Made in Italy today.  Continuing on this theme, Cherchbi rediscovers an historic fabric – tweed – the protagonist of a modern line of hand-printed bags and rucksacks with soft leather trim.  Those who prefer a trendier look will go for the compact, three dimensional-shaped jackets by Takizawa Shigeru Ondata: pure tailoring with a new lightweight feel.

Those who prefer a trendier look will go for the compact, three dimensional-shaped jackets by Takizawa Shigeru Ondata: pure tailoring with a new lightweight feel.
On his feet, he wears the elegant, elongated Zonkey Boots’ with their carefully studied two-tone, aged or matte-glossy effects and Goodyear soles. They are designed in Vienna but handmade by Italian craftsmen. This is also the reason why designer Yucca Murase moved to Italy, to produce Le Yucca’s, the line he has been designing for over 12 years: footwear hand-crafted by Tuscan artisans, the perfect combination of traditional leather production and Japanese creativity. Famous for the small workshop he has opened in the heart of old Florence, Hidetaka Fukaya’s brand H’Katsukawa From Tokyo presents a collection of avant-garde rounded shoes that lend a modern touch to the classic English brown city shoe. Men who want custom clothing will find it hard to resist Riccardo Freccia Bestetti’s “totally hand made-to-measure” pieces that have reached the height of elegance in menswear and have now been joined by a new prêt-à-porter line.
The elegance of the new gentleman also lies in the details and hyper-sophisticated accessories. Hats made from very soft materials - 100% cashmere, cashmere/merino, cashmere/silk and pure merino – like the beanies from Warm-Me, handmade by Nepalese and Tyrolean knitters. Or the interwoven leather, metal and precious stones used to create Marc Bernstein New York’s bracelets for the new Urban Pirate collection. And in his hand, our man carries those faithful traveling companions – even that great vacation is still a dream - canvas and leather bags by Chez Dédé dedicated to the top beaches in the world, from Watamu Beach (Kenya) to the Plage du Gouverneur (St. Barth) to the Lido di Paraggi (Portofino): always accompanied by the motto “Luxe, Calme, Volupté”.
 

Next winter’s man will be impeccable even when it’s below freezing. Sensitive to the embrace of fine yarns, with a penchant for prints and different textures he will discover a wardrobe characterized by heritage influences and exquisitely crafted detailing.
Lighter than ever, but warm, more deconstructing than ever, yet formal, the jacket will be the key item for the 2012-13 fall/winter season. The Lardini jacket, in contemporary interpretations of early patterns taken from the archives of English woolen mills presented in traditional knitwear colors, has tailored lines and yet is as easy to wear as a sweater. The must-have by Tonello is the three-button jacket, checked jacket that owes its light feel to anthropometric studies. And there are the lightweight, noble fiber cardigan jackets that take over the body without hiding it. Brando, a Lubiam group brand, presents the world of wool in myriad colors on jackets that explore bold tones and micro-patterns: herringbone, houndstooth and knitted effects.

The accents in the collection designed by Koji Norihide are nostalgically British with an eccentric touch: the traditional Anglo coats and jackets by Haver Sack, are a fantastic mix of notes from the seafaring world, the military, workwear and bespoke tailoring. And there are collections with a new twist for the cultured man with eclectic tastes, such as the offerings from Camoshita United Arrows one of the Japanese brands that is always one step ahead when it comes to anticipating fashion developments for a classic-contemporary man. The hand made jersey knit jacket is one of the highlights of the style of Se’ By Icho Nobutsugu: another Japanese designer, with headquarters in Milan, where the silhouette was created by a very accurate study tailoring
Harris Wharf London pays very close attention to the lessons of British style in the knitted jacket – Prince of Wales checks, tweeds and houndstooth – and then adds a contemporary twist to its classic allure.
“Classic but far from the ordinary” is the catchphrase for Smith-Wykes the total look London-and-Paris based brand created by Rory Wykes and Michaell Smith. The collection here, at its first international launch, is a sophisticated tribute to the sartorial elegance of the 1970s that we remember from Woody Allen’s Manhattan.
The jacket, a key part of the Cruciani DNA begins with the materials and goes on to invent new textures such as houndstooth and felted cashmere: the result is a new, luxurious and exclusive two-color cloth. ALL41 also puts the emphasis on new consistencies using fluffy, unworsted wools for soft, unlined slim-fit jackets (70 cm long) with notched lapels and patch pockets.
And then, Claire Malcolm, creative director at Hardy Amies, has succeeded in shifting the crafted tailoring of the Savile Row brand over to collections that reflect the speed of the present. She plays with dress codes and just about breaks the rules to achieve surprisingly contemporary tailoring.

The big chill; endless, ice-covered expanses. Sportswear styles look to technical mountain wear and combine the features of the fabrics with functional items for city use. Frost-proof clothing designed to tackle the worst that nature can dish out, in places where the thermometer mercilessly plunges below freezing. Signpost colors, tapered shapes – perfect for the city too – cutting edge fabrics like ripstop and cotton/nylon blend with heat-welded seams and super-warm, super-light padding.
This is what we see in Herno Laminar, the sartorial engineering project by Errolson Hugh in cooperation with Gore, makers of GORE-TEX®: it is a capsule collection of 8 items for men and 8 for women that offers high-altitude performance with a decidedly urban look. The collection by Victorinox is equally versatile, made as it is for the man who goes from London to Antwerp and then flies over to famous ski resorts like Aspen. The cult items are named the Wool Explorer Jacket, Stuven Insulated Jacket, and the Down Snorkel Parka. 

Henri Lloyd Italy offers a historic jacket, designed in 1965 and worn by Sir Francis Chichester on his solo around-the-world sail; the new interpretation of the Consort Original was created together with Olmes Carretti. More vintage nuances from Jack Flynn, the Amsterdam-based brand takes its inspiration for jackets that combine semi-sartorial construction and a sporty look from the 1960s-1970s uniforms worn by Royal Canadian Air Force and Hudson’s Bay Company pilots. The same thing applies to the “Retro” jackets by Blauer inspired by U.S. police uniforms; while the “Pirofite” group of jackets are informed by what American firefighters wore in the 1950s.
Nigel Cabourn’s accomplishments belong on the more avant-garde side: the inspiration starts from his own collection of nearly 4,000 vintage items that include English military uniforms and work-clothes. Arc’teryx Veilance incarnates the Canadian sport jacket designed for extreme weather conditions with high-tech fabrics, sartorial fits and total freedom to move. 

Snoot, the Stockholm brand that is just now making itself known on the international scene presents a capsule collection of a limited and numbered edition of high-performance tech jackets.
And we see crossover styles in some of the offerings by Japanese labels such as Nanamica that brings together distant cultures and worlds in a collection where tailoring meets sports, and “fashion and utility” are the key words. And in Rocky Mountain Featherbed, the brand with the American mood that is sporty and cowboy at the same time: it was created in Wyoming in 1960 and was relaunched by Kinji Teramoto of Japan and now features the quality of typically Japanese luxury detailing and design quality in a very American looking collection of long, short and down jackets.

This time round, Pitti Uomo left me anything but indifferent: I will remember this one, we will remember it.
Every season you leave Florence, something different remains: nuances, details that together hint at the early trends. And the direction that the market will take next season. This time I felt Matter, Security, Impetus. Concreteness.
Solid, rich and full of matter, these are fabrics made to last. Accessories are interesting and new. A mark left by my tour around the Fortezza, strong and well-defined. In a word: motivating.

A DI ALCANTARA
The accessories of the future created by 4 new-gen designers: I was struck above all by those designed by Caterina Gatta, who borrowed paisley fabrics from the archives of the big textile houses (I still have a Christian Dior purse in an identical cloth, from 1986) and those by Leitmotiv. The latter are particularly fascinating and make you think of electric circuits, belts and maps of the underground. Fabulous display, fabulous stand.

AI_ANDREA INCONTRI
A modern makeover for the Loden coat. Lovely. Fabulous leather accessories too: colourful, matching the shades of most of the garments seen at the show.

CP COMPANY
I found these 4 mannequins striking. Bright colours for a kind of coat that had already been launched when CP debuted. At the time usually produced in shades of rope. An excellent performance, respecting the important inheritance of Massimo Osti.

HERNO LAMINAR
Claudio Marenzi, aka Herno and Gore-tex. A super coherent line that is revolutionary to say the least: aesthetically chic in total navy and super functional.

MP DI MASSIMO PIOMBO
I’ll let the images speak for themselves: sophisticated opulence and understatement directed by Massimo - a real bad boy genius.

MARINA YACTHING
Beautiful, full of energy, warm and cosy. This is the most interesting part of the collection, taken from the historical archives and reworked from scratch.

SANTONI
Giuseppe Santoni was one of the first to make past and present interact in his collections. It takes a very laidback attitude to carry off this kind of shoe, otherwise better to look at his more traditional products. It is an important piece of footwear for an outfit that is neither too refined nor affected, otherwise you run the risk of appearing “dressed to kill”. The stand is fabulous.

UP TO BE
This is a new entry. Very interesting because it is functional and practical, while containing some very strong fashion content; not so strong that it scares off the end user though. The colour palette is fashion, reminiscent of Stone Island and the huge number of far from useless details are fashion, as are the symmetries of some features that hark back to Japs in the eighties, such as Yamamoto. The young designer of the men’s line, Nicola Genovese, seems to have very clear ideas: in his explanation he often uses the much-abused word “tailoring”. But perhaps just this once it is not out of order.

Hackett
Jeremy Hackett non si smentisce: la ricchezza dei tessuti, il mix di fantasie classiche rimescolate tra loro e accostate con eleganza, con l'aggiunta di tinte calde ma innovative, fanno di questa collezione una delle più belle - nel suo genere - tra quelle viste a Pitti.

Zanone
"Per non essere sempre identificati come azienda di pantaloni" dice l'ad del gruppo Mario Griarotto, riferendosi a Incotex (il marchio più noto dell azienda veneta), Officine Slowear punta su Zanone.
Con un'aggiunta di novità nel colore e soprattutto nella rivisitazione "argyle" in chiave moderna.