No brand is an island:At Pitti Immagine Uomo we also talk about sustainability

Sustainability:the most pronounced word during this edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo.The road is long, but brand awareness has grown.

• The 102nd edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo, entitled Pitti Island, was held from 14 to 17 June at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence.
• The fair is the most important internationally dedicated to men's fashion:here brands, buyers and journalists from all over the world meet.
• Over the years, attention to sustainability has grown more and more, earning an ad hoc space within the event with the S|style Sustainable style project, but also through the selection of the brands protagonists of special initiatives.

Pitti image man is the most important fair dedicated to men's fashion:she arrived at hers 102nd edition and today it is much more than a place where buyers, brands and journalists can meet.Over the years, in fact, it has gone from being a container to incubator:of trends, but also of good practices.For five years now, for example, the Pitti discovery foundation has supported the project S|style Sustainable style:curated by the journalist and stylist Giorgia Cantarini, every year it offers ten emerging brands which, in their design and production logic, have sustainability as their cornerstone.And if five years ago the attention of the fashion system towards these issues was not so strong, during this edition the term “sustainable fashion” was among the most pronounced at the fair, even well beyond the selection of these fantastic ten.

Pitti Immagine Uomo is increasingly attentive to the environment

Pitti Island:this is the title of the 2022 edition, number 102.In the collective imagination, islands are territories of discovery, exploration, but also places of contemplation of nature and of comparison:a sea port is by its nature a place where you grow thanks to the experiences of others, example and collaboration.The reference to a natural environment then it is not causal:Attention to the environment is now something central for many of the exhibiting brands.What if we can't always talk about concrete results, compared to previous editions, stands out as the awareness is now rooted in the sector.Clearly it takes time to update your production processes: you don't become eco-friendly overnight and in some cases it is clear that it is more marketing that guides the choice than a real commitment to the cause, but overall one perceives that a change of direction is underway.

The S|style Sustainable style selection

The factors that affect the acceptability or otherwise of a brand such as seriously sustainable there are many and they affect different fronts.“I prefer to use the word responsibility,” he explains Giorgia Cantarini, the fashion editor who has been curating the selection for five years now S|style Sustainable style.“We know well how being 100 percent sustainable is a utopia in textiles:therefore, what I focused on is the responsibility demonstrated by brands.This year, in particular, I focused on the concept of slow fashion, or the valorization of artisanal work.Finding lost techniques, discarded yarns, unused stock:the designers of the future use what already exists, making it circularity a means of creative expression.The research work lasted about six months:these kids come from all over the world and don't just put the concepts of upcycling or to use certified materials, but they keep traditions alive and want to send very specific messages through their creations."

This is the case of Philip Huang, which preserves the Thai traditions of Sakon Nakhon of Tye and dye artisanal dyeing his garments by hand with natural and non-chemical dyes, or from the Indian brand Margn, for which being sustainable means profess the culture of humanism through symbolic compositions:the recycled water pipes used in some garments represent the interconnection between us all.The collection is then handcrafted in one all-female communities in the northern Himalayas.

“The cultural aspect is crucial in this year's selection because responsibility towards the environment cannot be looked at as something disconnected from social dynamics:How can we take care of the Planet if we don't take care of each other first?”.The Indian Dhruv Kapoor, for example, collaborates with the Hothur foundation In the give jobs to acid attack survivors – a serious problem in India – and carries out collaborative projects in villages across India to preserve the activity of skilled artisans.

Mworks is inspired by architecture for its collections, in particular by how modern ways of living have evolved and by the mix of cultures that make up today's society.His is a wardrobe entirely genderless and aware in the workmanship:the clothes come made by hand in France, Belgium and Poland by ateliers and independent producers with certified materials or recycled.What many consider waste, for some is an excellent production material:is the philosophy of Junk, which it produces glasses from plastic waste recovered at sea.Classic workwear instead arrives in the wardrobe of Gen Z – those born between the mid-nineties and 2010 – thanks to traditional weaving techniques by Sheetal Shah, the founding designer of Curious Grid.

Pure upcycling for Siri Johansen, the founder of Waste yarn project That optimizes leftovers from wool processing creating unique garments:each piece is in fact composed of purely random warp and weft, because they depend on the availability of the recovered yarns. Maxime Instead applies jersey and knitwear to certified fabrics to recreate the effect tapestries or the blankets often found in old country houses.

Soulland and Wales Boner

Pitti Immagine Uomo is a fair, it's true, but there are not only stands as far as the eye can see divided into several pavilions:the event also includes a whole corollary of events held outside Fortezza da Basso:among the special events of this edition are the fashion shows Soulland, a strong Danish brand ecological footprint;And Wales Boner, London stylist who focused his show on theme of inclusion.As for Soulland, i key points around which the brand's policy is structured are mainly linked to materials, but there is also one in the brand's DNA strong component of activism.

66 percent of the brand's entire production is employed organic cotton and recycled polyester:this is clearly a first step, but the brand - which published its first annual report on responsible and sustainable initiatives in November 2020 and will do so annually - is keen to be as transparent as possible about the processes and on ongoing initiatives, such as the commitment to support minorities.

In fact, since 2020 Soulland has been collaborating with associations LGBTQ+ and supports initiatives against all forms of racism.As for the special guest Grace Wales Bonner, with its brand Wales Bonner brought to the catwalk not only the glorification of craftsmanship and manual production, but also a tribute to black culture.Under the Medici, Florence represented an important crossroads of cultures and the same Alessandro De' Medici, known as the Moro, was the first Western regent with North African origins.