At the Fortezza da Basso, in Florence,  the avanguard of international.

THE NAMES AND NUMBERS AT THIS EDITION: 

EXHIBITORS
A total of 103 brands (23 in the Fashion at Work section) 24 of which are from abroad.  

AREA
23,000 square meters

BUYERS                 
5.253 buyers came to the last winter edition, of these 2,163 (41% of the total) were from abroadThe main foreign markets: Germany, Great Britain, Japan, United States, France, Spain, Hong Kong, Turkey, Holland and Switzerland                           
The main growth markets: Germany, Russia, China, Korea and Taiwan.

NEW NAMES AND RETURNS
The new names and returns include: Ima Filati (Italy), Somelos Fios (Portugal), Linificio e Canapificio Italiano (Italy) and, in the FASHION AT WORK at work area, M-Lab (England) is participating in Pitti Immagine Filati for the first time.

And more over: Ecoluxe, an informative and entertaining project that puts the focus on the quality and value of natural, ecological and organic yarns;  ”A filo d’acqua“, the Pitti Filati Spazio Ricerca is the observatory and experimental laboratory where the esthetic trends in international fashion are analyzed and launched; Vintage Selection the fair featuring vintage clothing, accessories and design objects with Chinese memorabilia inspired by the figure of leader Mao Zedong, is the protagonist of the MAO FOR SALE fair-event curated by Gherardo Frassa. 

Have a look in our website at http://www.pittimmagine.com/en/fiere/filati/

THE FASHION WEEK IN MINIATURE with:

NEW VIEW: COLLECTIONS FOR SOPHISTICATED CONSUMERS
This Pitti Bimbo section dedicated to independent firms – most from abroad and specifically France, Belgium and the United States – specializing in sophisticated collections for an unconventional, audience that selects niche brands distinguished by research. New View will feature 15 new brands and a new setting created by Ilaria Marelli, architect and designer and one of the leading names in Italian design.

THE SECOND EDITION OF ECOETHIC
EcoEthic is the exclusive innovation at Pitti Bimbo: this section features the firms that have opted for an ethnical and environmentally sustainable approach to fashion. This market is expanding rapidly and is attracting the attention of more and more buyers and consumers who are sensitive to the issues of supporting small local communities and firms that are respectful of nature and the environment. This second edition of EcoEthic will have twice the number of exhibitors, yet another proof of the show’s awareness of current consumer trends and its flair for talent scouting.

PITTI BIMBO: WHAT’S NEW IN THE SECTIONS
SuperStreet, the section devoted to denim- and streetwear, is a consolidated success that featured over 60 brands at the 7th edition. Reflecting a real lifestyle, SuperStreet presents the young sounds, signs and attitudes through striking settings created by emerging talents in the fields of design, animation and graphics. The Pitti Bimbo and Sport Generation sections are continuing to grow and feature the best names in children’s wear and kids’ collection from international fashion names distinguished by the high quality of their presentations, settings and the events they stage.

THE FASHION SHOWS AND THE PITTI BIMBO EVENTS
The Pitti Bimbo fashion show calendar has new protagonists and new locations on the grounds of the Fortezza da Basso. The shows have become an absolute must for leading buyers and the international press – and this time they will be presented in the Sala delle Nazioni – a new space for Pitti Bimbo - and in the Rondino. The names on the runways include: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Alberta Ferretti Girls, Brooksfield, Lilica Ripilica, Miss Blumarine, Miss Grant and the collections of Altana and Dimensione Danza.
The calendar of events inside and outside the Fortezza da Basso is chock full of events, just one more proof of Pitti Bimbo’s leading role.  The events on the Pitti Bimbo calendar at the FORTEZZA DA BASSO include:

_ Laura Biagiotti Dolls: Friday 18 January, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna will present the new Biagiotti Dolls collection, at the stand; the English Roses by Madonna event at the exhibition stand, presenting the new children’s wear collection designed by the American popstar; _the Regina meeting-event to present the new collection to press and buyers, at the stand.The events on the Pitti Bimbo calendar around the CITY:

_ FASHION SHOW-EVENT BY MONNALISA
The firm from Arezzo selected the Stazione Leopolda as the ideal venue for presenting the new 2008/2009 autumn-winter collection – on the evening of Friday 18.

_ The “Barbie a Corte (Barbie at Court)” Project . On the evening of 18 January, the Commission for Fashion of the Province of Florence and Mattel will host a special gala: a collector Barbie dressed like Caterina de’ Medici will be the start of a dream ball in Palazzo Medici Riccardi.  Her gown will be made entirely by hand by Florentine artisans who will put all the fashion skills and excellence of Florentine traditions into clothing and accessories for the world’s most famous doll.

PITTI BIMBO AND VOGUE BAMBINI CELEBRATE SPORTS
At Pitti Bimbo, on the evening of Friday 18 January, a big event will preview the Vogue Bambini book dedicated to sports.  The spotlights will be shining on the most famous sports, each interpreted by major children’s fashion brands exhibiting at Pitti Bimbo that participated in the production of this photographic project.  The event will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the strong bond between sport and children, as well as fashions for the tiniest set that are also inspired by the world of sports. 

THE FIRST EDITION OF PITTI W _ WOMAN PRECOLLECTION IS ALSO A GREAT SUCCESS
Almost 900 collections exhibited, 1,700 journalists from all over the world, a calendar of around one hundred fashion events encompassing the whole city of Florence and more than 34,000 visitors – an incredible number which, on the morning of the second day of the event, made it necessary to allow unrestricted access to the entrances for more than one hour: these are the figures for Pitti Uomo 73 (9-12 January 2008).  Pitti W _ Woman Precollection, the new event dedicated to women’s pre-collections, was also a great success: the first edition, which received a very positive reaction from buyers and journalists, welcomed over 6,000 visitors thus laying solid foundations for achieving even higher numbers and greater international significance in the future. All the numbers here

Enjoy our pictures on flickr.com/pitti-immagine.

Gang Gang Dance live act, climax moment of the Adam Kimmel event, organized by the Pitti Discovery Foundation

After a day full of events dedicated to the NY artist, including a photo shooting and a dinner-installation-event, of which photos are available on flickr.com/pitti-immagine, the NY-based Gang Gang Band fired up the night with an experimental indie rock live act.

We created a collection of photo albums named Pitti Uomo 2008 that includes several photo albums (sets), including those from the Adam Kimmel photo shooting and dining event  and a live concert from the NY-based experimental indie rock band Gang Gang Band. If You want to hear their sound, we also have a video of Gang Gang Band live on our space on YouTube (youtube.com/pittimmagine).

More photo sets on Flickr, as the one dedicated to the 6267 precollection presentation, an overlook to the exhibitors’ stands an the installations that interacted with the indoor and outdoor spaces at Fortezza da Basso, a photo album of the Donna Simonetta exhibition, and more pictures that we keep uploading and adding to the Pitti 2008/73 Photo collection.

You can download images from Flickr.com in several available sizes - see next image for hints on where to click. If you intend republish one or some of the images, just remind to attribute copyright info to Pitti Immagine and to the individual photographer quoted in each photo set.

If you need extra or special formats for publishing needs, get in touch with Francesca Di Stefano at the Pitti Immagine Press office, sending an email to distefano@pittimmagine.com.

We started the upload of pictures from the 73rd edition of Pitti Uomo at our new Account on Flickr.com - we invite you to come have a look, download and leave comments at flickr.com/pitti-immagine.

We already posted a number of photo albums, including pictures of the exhibitors’ stands at both Pitti Uomo and Pitti W, plus some pictures from Pitti Immagine’s collateral events. We’ll post some more as soon as we get hold of more pictures.

Among the most important events today at Pitti Uomo 2008, certainly is the opening of the Palazzo Pitti exhibition organized by the Pitti Discovery Foundation at Palazzo Pitti, and dedicated to Donna Simonetta Colonna di Cesarò, charismatic designer of the Italian fashion of the 40’s-50’s, Italian international icon of fashion and style. Curated by Vittoria C. Caratozzolo, Judith Clark and Maria Luisa Frisa, the exhibition shows an exclusive collection of 60 models from the Italian designer, selected from several Internation museums, and from Donna Simonetta’s personal wardrobe.

The always modern, original and actual sartoriality, is source of inspiration to new fashion designers, as highlighted by the stylist, and remarked by exhibition curator Maria Luisa Frisa. Pictures of the exhibition are available at flickr.com/pitti-immagine.

6267, alias Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, “The great hope for Italian fashion future” as written by Sarah Mower of Style.com.

Aquilano and Rimondi, creative mind of the fashion brand Malo, say they aim to “interpretate people’s desires”, with an eye for inspiration to Walter Albini, the first Italian fashion designer who envisioned the Italian prèt-à-porter as the expression of design applied to fashion in an innovative way, and to go beyond the concepts of “Made-in-Italy” and “Moda Italiana“, towards a concept of “Modo Italiano” (Italian Way of Being). with a glamorous show, 6267 presented today at Palazzo Pitti their Fall/winter 2008-2009 Woman Precollection. See the pictures at flickr.com/pitti-immagine.

Pitti Uomo 2008, very hectic for all day at both the expo and collateral shows, with a strong presence of buyers and public, who heat up the scene at the several locations dedicated to this 73rd edition of the Pitti Immagine fashion show.