ANDREA INCONTRI
Andrea Incontri is making a comeback at Pitti Uomo this season. The designer, who launched his career at the Florentine trade show, winning the men’s edition of the “Who Is On Next?” talent competition in 2010, will unveil his new fall-winter men’s collection with a show on Wednesday at Palazzo Corsini.
“There will be a big focus on shoes and bags,” said Incontri, whose leather goods are produced under license by Italian manufacturer Peron. The accessories range includes lightweight buffalo-leather bags as well as hand-stitched shoes with calf leather soles.
“The ready-to-wear range is based on the contrast between innovation and tradition,” said Incontri, who reworked high-tech and classic materials, such as transparent nylon, loden and soft leather for outerwear staples, including parkas, field jackets, peacoats and bombers with a sporty allure. The apparel collection, which retails from $330 for pants to $1,414 for the most elaborate outerwear pieces, also features high-end knitwear, including furry, supersoft wool sweaters, as well as lightweight silk and wool polo shirts and turtlenecks. Everything is worked in a color palette of classic masculine tones, such as military green, black, sand, navy blue, deep purple and teal.
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Incontri sells his collections in 55 stores around the world. Japan is one the brand’s most important markets.
— A.T
PEUTEREY
Peuterey has selected Florence as the location for its first official men’s presentation. On Wednesday, the Italian outerwear label will host an event at the Dogana venue, which will be transformed to re-create a suggestive set with minerals as protagonists. Sixteen models will walk on a treadmill-like runway surrounding an architectural installation, inspired by fractals, placed at the center of the space.
For the fall season, Peuterey blended tailoring and sportswear into chic yet functional pieces, including field jackets in traditional men’s fabrics, as well as a parka lined with eco fur, worked in a lightweight striped-wool cloth treated to be breathable and water-resistant.
In addition, the outerwear offering will feature the Arctic range, including warm, filled nylon parkas in bright tones, such as orange, turquoise and light blue, as well as reversible styles, with one face in a blend of nylon and cotton and the other in colored ripstop fabrics.
Starting with this season, Peuterey also enlarged its offering with a wider number of ready-to-wear options, including sporty cotton trousers and more formal pin-striped pants, as well as knit blazers with an eco fur lining.
Pants will retail for between $153 and $200, while knitwear will sell for between $177 and $354. Prices for outerwear will run from $472 to $1,062.
— A.T.
ARRIVO
Stefano Ughetti, creative director of men’s apparel label Camo, and Matteo Gioli, member of the trio behind accessories label SuperDuper Hats, have teamed up to launch a new men’s wear project to be unveiled today with a runway show at Florence’s Dogana venue.
Named Arrivo, which means “finish line” in English, the lineup is a capsule of 27 outfits inspired by vintage cycling.
“The inspiration is not so much linked with the sport itself but with the idea of strain and effort, which are essentially part of cycling,” said Gioli, adding that his grandfather and Ughetti’s were cyclists.
Showing small details inspired by vintage wool cycling uniforms, the collection, entirely worked in a black-and-white color palette — “since we learned about vintage cycling from black-and-white images,” Gioli explained — is focused on three pieces offered in different materials and patterns, such as classic Prince of Wales and houndstooth. These include a pair of cropped pants, a relaxed blazer with a unique button stitching detail and a knit polo shirt.
Ughetti and Gioli also worked with footwear label Casbia on a pair of intrecciato sneakers where elastic bands are woven with leather. “We decorated them with orange soles, recalling the color of vintage bicycle tires,” Ughetti said.
The collection will be available for purchase on Camo’s e-store and in a range of selected multibrand stores. “We have many appointments scheduled, especially with Asian and North American buyers,” Gioli said.
Retail prices range from a polo shirt for $295 and pants for $236 to a blazer for $556.
— A.T.
WOOLMARK PRESENTS THE WHITE BRIEFS NICK WOOSTER
Nick Wooster never sits still. The former men’s fashion director for Neiman Marcus and social media maven has teamed up with The White Briefs for a capsule collection of underwear and loungewear that will be introduced at Pitti Uomo.
The line was created in collaboration with the Woolmark Co., so every piece in the collection is made from merino wool.
Wooster said he worked closely with The White Briefs’ founder and creative director Peter Simmonson on the collection, which grew in size as the men started to work together. He said he had collaborated with Simmonson previously when the Swedish designer created a special package for Project Wooster of his signature pieces in a camo print. “So we picked this back up through Woolmark,” Wooster said.
The original plan was to create a 10-piece collection, “but I have 30 hangers now,” Simmonson said with a laugh, noting that many of the 15 pieces were made in different variations of the wool.
There are regular briefs, midbriefs, knee-length shorts, singlets, baggy pants, a long cardigan, sweats and even a loose, boxy robe. In addition to underwear, the brand’s hallmark, he said, “We are also exploring everyday garments in wool.” He noted that The White Briefs had worked in wool in the past, “but not in this way. This is so extensive. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with these fabrics.”
Wooster said the capsule is targeted at a man on the go. “I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on airplanes in the last year. And with these products, you can wear them for eight, 12, 14 hours and still look good and be comfortable.”
Wooster added that working with Simmonson allowed the two men to “push each other in directions we weren’t necessarily comfortable with.” As a result, the line has a blend of “classic components and fashion components. That’s why the marriage works.”
The collection will be targeted to retailers around the world. “We have a global plan,” Simmonson said. “We’re looking for conscious, quality-minded retailers worldwide. We’re targeting 50 key customers.” Prices range from $55 for briefs and $95 for boxers to $240 for leggings and $260 for long-sleeve shirts. Tanks are $105, gym shorts are $145 and the robe is $415.
Simmonson said he hopes the collection will be successful enough that it will be offered for additional seasons.
“I hope it’s not a one-off,” he said. “We’ll see what the reaction is. We hope it will continue, and we’ll be able to work with wool in another way.”
JEAN E. PALMIERI