An upbeat mood spread through the trio of Pitti Immagine fairs — Touch, Neozone and Cloudnine — that ended their three-day run on Feb. 27 in Milan’s NHOW Hotel in the design-rich Tortona neighborhood.
Showcasing 176 women’s fall-winter 2011-12 collections, the fair accentuated the importance of investments in social media and an emphasis on young designers. The exhibition was attended by 8,000 visitors, of which 7,000 were buyers from 50 countries, with an overall increase of 14 percent from the March 2010 edition. Although the presence of international buyers remained stable at around 900, the number of Italian buyers rose to 6,100. Italian brands have expanded in northern European markets Germany, Spain, Austria and France, while the U.S., Japan, Russia, Brazil and China were also seen as growth opportunities.
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Pitti Immagine’s vice-director general Agostino Poletto said favorable signs of industry vitality and a recuperated market, with retailers coming armed with bigger budgets than in recent years.
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“The Green Closet” featured eight up-and-coming designers that adhered to environmentally friendly, eco-ethics endorsed by the British Consulate-General Milan and supported by the U.K. Trade & Investment agency. The young, British-based designers used renewable resources and recycling to reduce waste pollution of their Made in the U.K. clothing and accessories.
British brand From Somewhere’s Reclaimed-To-Wear process featured a low environmental impact by “up-cycling” materials. Head designer Orsola de Castro uses pre-consumer, left-over fabrics donated by luxury labels and turns them into patchwork pieces, like the Fluffy Jacket, which sells for 450 pounds, or $733 at current exchange.
Neozone’s sophisticated women’s wear showed strong trends in new colors, designs and materials. Years of minimal black and gray have been replaced by warm, soothing neutrals in tones evocative of ice cream flavors chocolate, almond, coffee and caramel.
Following the new color palette, neutrals called for elemental, back-to-basics fabrics. Knitwear brand Brebis Noir embraced the trend using high-quality Zegna Baruffa wool. A best-selling item was a boiled wool jacket in camouflage knit. Another was a trompe l’oeil down jacket that looks like fine wool but is actually made of lightweight ecological leather called eco pelle. Brand merchandiser Francesca Decotto said of color trends, “We’re returning to beige and camel. There’s a tiny bit of black, but there’s also a return to dark blues, which we hadn’t seen in ages.”
Another trend was to shed architectural, tailored constructions for soft, plushy, slouchy organic forms. Italian brand Herno was at the forefront of the trend with its trademark ultralight down jackets in various designs and materials, mixing supple cashmeres and waffled wools in natural colors. The brand’s sell-out item was a reversible down and cashmere jacket.
Across the street in the historic Padiglione Visconti venue, Cloudnine was packed with experimental and creative accessories. Rapidly expanding Los Angeles-based shoe designer Jeffrey Campbell showed a collection full of mustard, burnt orange and taupe hues, and a return to the pointy toe.