This past January, after Pitti, I went to see the equivalent shows in Paris for the first time. I’d never been before and was interested to see how it compared to Pitti in terms of style, atmosphere and the brands.
The style, to be honest, was a disappointment. I had high hopes because – as far as I understood – this was a real trade show with buyers meeting brands and writing orders, as opposed to the circus Pitti had become.
But the other thing about Paris is that the brands are much more casual – more workwear, more fashion – and there is essentially no tailoring. I’m told Milan is better, and Unica (the cloth trade show) is certainly good. But I have to say it made me appreciate Pitti. There may be some silly peacocks around, but it really is the last place you see that much good tailoring.
The brands, however, were really interesting. A lot of the casual makers we cover on PS don’t show at Pitti, but they do here – at the biggest show Man/Woman, the newer Welcome Edition, or in their own studios.
And even brands that are at Pitti often have bigger set-ups in Paris. Coherence may be at Pitti, for example, but in Paris they have an entire apartment. Some brands are also moving – Drake’s now shows in Paris and not Pitti.
But let’s back up a second, for readers that are unfamiliar with all this industry stuff.
Pitti Uomo is a trade show, where brands and manufacturers show off their products so shops (eg department stores) can see them and decide whether to place orders.
These orders are delivered several months later, so brands at Pitti in January were showing designs for Autumn/Winter 2024. These might be delivered in July, in order to go on sale in September.
There are lots of these trade shows, though less than there used to be, and some are more public than others.
The most important ones in Europe in terms of business take place in Paris and Milan, after the fashion shows. The designer brands that have shown on the runways have showrooms afterwards where buyers come to place orders. At the same time, other non-fashion brands take part in their own trade shows – such as Man/Woman – or have showrooms.
This isn’t the kind of thing where influencers can just rock up and take pictures of themselves. There is no big public arena; the showrooms are appointment-only. But, if you’re a journalist it is a great way to get to know brands.
For example, Meg Company – which runs Yuketen, Chamula, Monitaly and Epperson Mountaineering – has a showroom where you can get time with the founder Yuki (below), talking to him about his crafted menswear in the same way I’ve always done with brands on the stands at Pitti.
Good Art, the Californian jewellery brand with its own forge in LA, is here and nowhere else. So are lots of other workwear brands such as Stevenson Overall, The Flat Head and Viberg.
It’s not all workwear though – there are also brands like 11.11, who I knew through their work with Stoffa, or fellow Indian brand Kardo. There are outdoor brands like Crescent Down Works and Wythe, and more familiar ones like Lavenham and Le Mont St Michel.
With these kinds of heritage brands, you quickly get a sense of which direction they’re going. For example, Lavenham was interesting for the archive-inspired pieces they’re bringing out, in heavier weights (below). Whereas Mont St Michel had little of their characteristic cotton chores, and quite a lot of more fashion stuff that falls into the category of ‘brand extension’.
Pendleton were in their own showroom, sharing with a few brands including the Korean outdoors brand FrizmWorks.
The latter are impressive for their value for money (though it is all made in China) but Pendleton were a little disappointing. The distinctive blankets were hanging on the back of the room, but they use much softer, lighter fabrics now.
I’ll do a separate post next week talking about four of our favourite brands we saw. That was the point of the visit, and being able to speak to all the founders in person does make a big difference to understanding the product.
I will go to Paris again, as it was fun and useful, but perhaps when I have another excuse to be there. Next time we might try Milan, and see what that’s like.
As ever, if anyone has any questions about these brands or the ones we’ll feature next week, do let us know. In the past readers have asked questions about many of them, but we haven’t been able to give any detailed answers.
