The beginning of a New Year is always exciting as it begins with the biannual menswear trade-show Pitti Uomo, which took place last week within the walls of the fourteenth century Fortezza da Basso, in Florence.
For some, it’s as much of a run-way show as it is a trade-show, as attendees turn up in their latest wares eager to impress and hoping to catch the eye of lurking street style photographers. It has, though, consistently been marred by the ‘Pitti peacock’, a special kind of breed of cretin that gets in the way and raises your blood temperature. Thankfully, extinction is looming due to the organisers getting rid of ‘the wall’. As a result, menswear enthusiasts with an actual purpose could freely go about their business, and genuine street style was the main focus once again.
As ever, The Rake had two of the sharpest shooters, Milad Abedi and Jamie Ferguson (who features in our Rakes of the Year issue), on the ground to capture the scene. There are many themes that we will in due course discuss, such as; the growing presence of women; how old age manifests sartorial perfection; and how the grassroots of classical menswear are looking positive. But, for now, here are six things we learned, in addition to the season's must-have accessory: man's best friend...
Shearling
While foul weather thankfully held out last week, it was darn cold in Florence and Pitti-goers packed sensibly. Sporting shearling jackets to combat the chill, we saw a variety of styles worn in a number of ways, it was clear that a shearling jacket should be considered your new best friend - you just perhaps don’t know it yet. Reliable, durable and investment-worthy, wear it with a roll-neck, raw denim jeans and chunky soled boots and you'll be good to go. Check out Schott, Cromford Leather and the Neapolitan outfit Rifugio.
