PROENZA SCHOULER will be the special guest at the fourth edition of the Pitti W_Woman Precollection event, taking place in Florence on 16-19 June 2009. The event is held concurrently with the Pitti Immagine Uomo 76 fair.

Launched in New York in 2002 by the designer duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Proenza Schouler will take the stage in a special event in Florence, at a unique location, to celebrate the opening of the spring/summer 2010 season. This will also mark the very first time that Proenza Schouler will show their collection in Europe.

The designers are among the biggest names in the international fashion scene, and the Proenza Schouler brand, named after the designers’ mothers’ maiden names, has quickly become a key player in New York Fashion Week. Known for creating a style that explores contrasts in poetry and pragmatism, their collections blend a variety of disparate influences from 1960’s American art to post-minimalism, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn to Dan Flavin and Donald Judd, always reinterpreted in their striking, contemporary vision. 

The performance will exemplify the spirit of creative experimentation and understated luxury that has become the Proenza Schouler signature. An important event for the city of Florence, this also proves once again that the Pitti Immagine trade fairs are the platform of choice for the best fashion brands, with worldwide launches and other events by the biggest names in fashion today.

Quotes for Proenza Schouler:

“Jack and Lazaro have established a signature…they have an incredible talent and a real sense of how their generation wants to dress, they have a great sense of proportion; they’re in tune with what’s happening in fashion globally.” (Sally Singer, Vogue USA, Summer 2008 issue of 10 Magazine)

“Proenza Schouler has, from the start, represented sharp-edged contrasts: an uptown sensibility but with a raw energy and dense decoration contained in a taut silhouette”. (Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune, September 9, 2007)

“Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, of Proenza Schouler, represent the next generation of American talent.” (Cathy Horyn, New York Times, September 9, 2008)

Diane von Furstenberg with a glamour event for the preview of the Cruise/ Pre-Spring Collection 2008-09, Walter Van Beirendonck with a Men’s Fashion Project event for Pitti Uomo, and Cassette Playa with London designer Carri Mundane and her international posse of artists, musicians and performers from London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York.

More action with the Boss Orange Fashion Event, Dirk Bikkembergs at Stazione leopolda, Stefano Ricci with the “Stefano Ricci Heritage Trophy”, the photo installation “Golden Dream”, Sundeck’s 5o Anniversary Party, Mason’s “Backstage performance”, Roy Roger’s “Flower party”, the sport-focused “Superhuman Performance” exhibition at the Museo del Tessuto di Prato, and a calendar full of talk shows, openings, cocktails and parties, including 44° L’Altro Uomo Party, which brings each year in Florence the coolest dj around.

A complete calendar of events is available on the Pitti Immagine site – mark the dates down and try not to miss some among the top cultural and fashion events of this year!

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG WILL BE THE STAR OF THE PITTI W SPECIAL EVENT

Diane von Furstenberg  will be the special guest at the second edition of Pitti W _ Woman Precollection, the Pitti Immagine project dedicated to women’s pre-collections. On the evening of Wednesday, 18 June the extraordinary Giardino Torrigiani in the heart of Florence will be the stunning en plein air backdrop for an elegant, glamour-filled event featuring the world première of Diane von Furstenberg’s Cruise / Pre-Spring Collection 2008 – 2009

Detail

Modaprima n. 64 will be premiering ready-made men’s and women’s fashion and accessory collections created-for-large-scale-distribution for the 2009 spring-summer season and sneak-peeks of the 2008-2009 fall-winter collections from 24-26 May at the MIC_Milano Convention Center, fieramilanocity (Via Gattamelata 5).
Over 150 collections will be presented at the next edition by around 70 companies specialized in private label and ready-made products for medium and large scale distribution.
Alongside the already well-known names such as Ann Max, Banana Moon, Bernardini, Creazioni Rosanna, Maglificio Venezia, Nuovi Sarti, Plissé, V.T., Zanetti Moda; there will be newcomers to the event, along with some comebacks: Calzificio Franzoni, GI.P.T., Guerzon, Hazard Couture, Kinky Star, Magnum, Manifattura Nocese, Noblesse Oblige, Paco e Ruan, Veronica Effe.

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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.