When President De Matteis opened the fair speaking about our exhibitors’ courage and sense of responsibility, he was addressing the entire fashion world — and men’s fashion in particular: businesses, organizers like us, and the media. This is our way of responding to challenges: Pitti Uomo is both a symbol and a concrete tool for promoting and developing trade — in every economic phase, even in transitional periods like the one we may be going through right now. And the response from buyers, arriving from over a hundred countries across five continents, has been the best we could have hoped for. If we look more closely at the international attendance figures, it’s interesting to note that the overall numbers from Europe offset fluctuations among individual countries, while the most significant growth came from outside Europe: first and foremost the United States and China, followed by Japan and other Southeast Asian economies. We also recorded promising growth from key markets that had previously shown limited participation, such as Australia, Brazil, and India. Countries from Eastern Europe and the Middle East also performed very well, as did new markets in Central Asia. All of this confirms that Pitti Uomo is not only a sensitive barometer of commercial trends but also, very often, the landing place for the new wave of top-tier menswear buyers.

— Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine

It’s not just about the numbers. The atmosphere over these four days has been truly positive, right from the start. The main credit goes to the more than 740 exhibitors who believed in the fair and invested in it with collections that blend heritage craftsmanship with innovative creativity, and that infuse modern relevance and functionality into diverse expressions of men’s style. On our side, I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you and sincere congratulations to the entire Pitti team. We’ve worked hard on international collaborations — from the spotlight on Korean fashion and lifestyle in the new CODE Korea section, to Scandinavian Manifesto, to the excellence of Japan’s J∞QUALITY, the creativity of China Wave, and the presence of French brands supported by Promas and Spanish labels through ICEX, all the way to our support of Ukrainian fashion with Angel for Fashion. We also launched new areas like the promising bicycle-themed Becycle section, and as always curated a packed calendar of special events and presentations both inside and outside the Fortezza da Basso.

— Agostino Poletto , General Director of Pitti Immagine