A Short Novel on Men’s Fashion

On the occasion of Pitti Uomo, the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery presents “A short novel on men’s fashion”, an exhibit showcasing thirty years of menswear from 1989 to the present as seen through the eyes of Pitti Uomo. Passing through the halls of the Palazzo Pitti Museo della Moda e del Costume one by one, Olivier Saillard will recount the history and evolution of menswear, the intersection of Made in Italy with guest designers, and the fashion talents from the international contemporary scene together with the experiences of leading menswear entrepreneurs. The project is dedicated to the memory of Marco Rivetti, President of Pitti Immagine from 1987 to 1995. 

 “A short novel on men’s fashion” will be an exhibition, a permanent collection, a book/catalogue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pitti Immagine. 

“Many of the men, but also the women, who transformed men’s clothing into creative works have passed through Florence,” says curator Olivier Saillard. “In constantly changing settings, classic or bold, and hand-in-hand with the city of Florence and its prestigious locations, these creators of fashion were able to conceive the most over-the-top fashion shows to best serve their collections.” 

The exhibition will display the clothes of the designers who breathed life into special events at Pitti Uomo between 1989 and 2019 – when possible, with a look taken from the collections presented in Florence – along with a selection of garments coming from companies exhibiting at the show that, with their special presentations, they have also characterized this period of time, for a total of about 110 brands. 

The most important chapter of the exhibit will lead to the creation of a permanent menswear collection: the Men’s Fashion Collection of the Fondazione Discovery, which will be donated to the Museum of Costume and Fashion of Pitti Palace. 

Each room in the museum exhibit features pages of an oversized book that presents poetically its contents. Page after page, the exhibition traces unpretentiously in a pop-up format the different currents present in men’s fashion thanks to the presentations of numerous Pitti Uomo special guests. In a whimsical and fictional style, the book examines men’s fashion and its protagonists, sometimes in relation to the historical collections of the Museum of Costume and Fashion and the men’s portraits present at the Gallery of Modern Art at Pitti Palace.

Image courtesy of Pitti Palace