At Pitti 100 hybrid stands show that the market wants ageless fashion
In the past, the ‘mini-me’ was all the rage: now this trend is going through a physiological evolution that did not go unnoticed at Pitti 100, aided by the fact that, for the first time in 50 years, the shows dedicated to men and kids were staged concomitantly in Florence.
Dolce&Gabbana (in the photo) was a trailblazer, presenting itself in the Fortezza da Basso with a special installation inside the Piazzale delle Ghiaia where, for the first time, the garments from the boys’, girls’, men’s and women’s collections cohabited.
Brands no longer restrict themselves to creating matching looks for the young and old, but play with the family theme in order to portray themselves even better to their audience, from the boys up and from the men down.
Whether due to natural evolution as a result of social change, or the need to listen to market demands, the clear border between adults and under 14s has become increasingly ephemeral. For this we owe a lot to the new generations that have laid down the law with regard to style, influencing the proposals.
In this way, collections made up of garments worn by both age groups are becoming increasingly numerous: trousers, as well as jackets and coats, sweatshirts and swimming costumes.
“If replicating the father’s wardrobe was a prerogative for childrenswear, today the exchange is mutual” confirms Max Ferrari, co-founder and style director of MC2 Saint Barth, the Italian holiday wear brand. “For example, our Snoopy line started with kids and is now also a success with adults”.
“We are a family company” continues the entrepreneur “and as such we like dressing families. Therefore, it felt absolutely natural for us to present our whole universe in a single stand. The clients liked this cohabitation, but we were certain about it right from the start: this is a formula that we have successfully adopted over a long period of time in the windows of our mono and multi-brand stores”.
In many other stands it emerged that age definitions (as had already occurred with gender) are no longer adequate: as a result, fashion has to think about dressing human beings rather than fathers and sons.
“Our collections” comments Giovanni Areniello, head of the Baronio trouser brand “use a mixture of colors and patterns, so we immediately felt that the men’s line could be developed in parallel with the kids’ one. Baronio trousers portray the personality of the person wearing them, independent of their age. And the mixed stand reinforces our message”.
“Commercially” continues Areniello “we prefer to keep the two rendezvous separate in order to give the right level of importance to both projects. However, this was an exceptional edition of Pitti, where the priority was to excite: to propose both collections together was a way of uniting everyone in a climate of great positivity”.
The doors were open to kids, again in this case for the first time, in the Roy Rogers stand as well which is generally recognized as an adult fashion brand but which has also been developing a collection for the littlest set for a long time.
For this denim brand, which is preparing to celebrate 70 years in the business, the “co-ed” edition of Pitti also represented an opportunity to test the commercial potential of childrenswear. “It was a surprise”, the company tells us, “to register a lot of interest in the collection”.
Dolce&Gabbana (in the photo) was a trailblazer, presenting itself in the Fortezza da Basso with a special installation inside the Piazzale delle Ghiaia where, for the first time, the garments from the boys’, girls’, men’s and women’s collections cohabited.
Brands no longer restrict themselves to creating matching looks for the young and old, but play with the family theme in order to portray themselves even better to their audience, from the boys up and from the men down.
Whether due to natural evolution as a result of social change, or the need to listen to market demands, the clear border between adults and under 14s has become increasingly ephemeral. For this we owe a lot to the new generations that have laid down the law with regard to style, influencing the proposals.
In this way, collections made up of garments worn by both age groups are becoming increasingly numerous: trousers, as well as jackets and coats, sweatshirts and swimming costumes.
“If replicating the father’s wardrobe was a prerogative for childrenswear, today the exchange is mutual” confirms Max Ferrari, co-founder and style director of MC2 Saint Barth, the Italian holiday wear brand. “For example, our Snoopy line started with kids and is now also a success with adults”.
“We are a family company” continues the entrepreneur “and as such we like dressing families. Therefore, it felt absolutely natural for us to present our whole universe in a single stand. The clients liked this cohabitation, but we were certain about it right from the start: this is a formula that we have successfully adopted over a long period of time in the windows of our mono and multi-brand stores”.
In many other stands it emerged that age definitions (as had already occurred with gender) are no longer adequate: as a result, fashion has to think about dressing human beings rather than fathers and sons.
“Our collections” comments Giovanni Areniello, head of the Baronio trouser brand “use a mixture of colors and patterns, so we immediately felt that the men’s line could be developed in parallel with the kids’ one. Baronio trousers portray the personality of the person wearing them, independent of their age. And the mixed stand reinforces our message”.
“Commercially” continues Areniello “we prefer to keep the two rendezvous separate in order to give the right level of importance to both projects. However, this was an exceptional edition of Pitti, where the priority was to excite: to propose both collections together was a way of uniting everyone in a climate of great positivity”.
The doors were open to kids, again in this case for the first time, in the Roy Rogers stand as well which is generally recognized as an adult fashion brand but which has also been developing a collection for the littlest set for a long time.
For this denim brand, which is preparing to celebrate 70 years in the business, the “co-ed” edition of Pitti also represented an opportunity to test the commercial potential of childrenswear. “It was a surprise”, the company tells us, “to register a lot of interest in the collection”.
