Meeting Soshi Otsuki in Tokyo, stepping into his world and feeling such a natural sense of affinity left us with no hesitation: we immediately offered him a premiere at the January edition of Pitti Uomo. In Soshi’s work, one perceives an ideal of ambitious clarity, rooted in an ongoing dialogue with a millennia-old tradition yet imbued with a modern sartorial awareness. These are worlds that coexist and intertwine. It’s a concept of Made in Japan filtered through the lens of Made in Italy: a reference to the years of the ‘baburu keiki’ [Japan’s economic bubble, mid-1980s], when men in Tokyo dressed in Armani, dressed Italian. Yet the language is contemporary and decidedly anti-nostalgic, recoded according to the desires of the present, with an understated but effective commercial sensibility. We can’t wait to discover Soshiotsuki’s new collection in Florence, with its refined and tangible clarity of message.

— Francesca Tacconi, Special Events Coordinator at Pitti Immagine

It has been fifteen years since I spent four years competing in an Italian competition that I ultimately did not win. At the time, I felt that Japan’s somber atmosphere did not quite belong under the bright Italian sky, and perhaps I gave up on the idea. Now, more than a decade later, I am deeply honored to be able to present a show here in Florence. I am curious and excited to see how SOSHIOTSUKI’s clothing will resonate under the Italian sky today.

— Soshi Otsuki