Written by Manuele Menconi in Events on the 25th January 2016

Uniqueness, knitwear, retro-style. According to Pitti Uomo 89, those are the three keywords that a man can’t ignore for the next fall/winter season. While the audience at Fortezza da Basso in Florence registered a plus sign and the international markets gave a positive answer to the fair, the future of menswear is pushing forward its boundaries by redesigning timeless classics.

One of the biggest trends is the personalisation: from young designers to established houses, everyone wants to give to its customers the opportunity to possess something unique. While the apparel brands are rediscovering made-to-measure, the accessories labels are including a lot customisation options in their production. 

For headwear, the historic Cappellificio Barbisio includes two interchangeable stripes that can be chosen from a variety of colours and, with the line Cervo by Barbisio, it proposes six different models treated with unique finishing. Watches are often transformable - from timepieces to unexpected jewellery as seen in Fob Paris' proposal, or from daytime objects to evening ones – the young brand Barbosa proposes a new line of changeable straps in canvas and another one in sharp-cut leather - a simple idea supported by the high quality of materials. Not forgetting the entire grooming field, where a lot of new labels from all over the world are emerging as actors of a new market.

The next cold season will also be reminisced for the great comeback of men’s knitwear. While the International Woolmark Prize chose Pitti Uomo as a window for its designers, the talented Vittorio Branchizio from the last edition of WHO IS ON NEXT? UOMO staged a show at the Ex Dogana to introduce his new collection. Inspired by the cut sections of Arno stones, the work of Branchizio brings together the sartorial touch of the Italian tradition to the finest knitwear designs for men.

Balanced between the regular and the asymmetric cut, each piece is a declaration of a strong personal style. Where the jackets are all perfectly fitted on the body, the sweaters redefine the figure in oversized shapes, while the pliers on the trousers are designed to give them fluidity and softness. The chromatic palette is a celebration of blue, black and grey (in different shades), where earthly colours come out in accents and soft total looks. Prints resembled shadows under the water and crystal shapes are the hallmarks of the collection and, broadly, the trademark of Branchizio.

Another way to live our time is to remix classic elements from the past with the modern technologies. An extraordinary example of this trend has being given by Lardini + Wooster: inspired by the Oriental culture, Nick Wooster designed a harmonious look teeming with graphic and geometric design elements and evoking an urban, fashion-forward mood which never strays far from the constraints of traditional male tailoring.

In an accentuation of opposites, styling switches from heavy-duty to subtle, heavy to light, winter to summer - thus creating an uncommon collection with a twist of today which never loses its modern, masculine core. Established in 2013 by Luca Paganelli, Paltò translates the retro-style in contemporary language. Working and studying the heritage of one of the Italian sartorial must-haves, it combines tradition and innovation in its outerwear by shaping them with cuts taken from sportswear. The brand, together with some of the top spinning mills from all over the world, developed a premium collection titled Archivio, inspired by iconic movies.

We head to Pitti Uomo 89 in Florence and bring you this 2016 Round-Up of trends and brands seen at Fortezza da Basso.