While all the photographers are outside looking to see who they can see, merchants are urgently taking phonecalls, and influencers are milling about to be seen, brands have booths inside showing off their collections for the coming season. I like to walk around the floor, see what brands are showing, and get a feel for things, then stop in at a few select booths and say hello. Sometimes I’ll record them talking about their coming collection. Occasionally they’ll request I don’t take photos for the Zara’s of the world to rip off, but that didn’t happen to me this year for the most part.
Besides the fair itself, many brands come into town and host visitors at private apartments or with small events. In the past I’ve visited 100 Hands, and this time I attended an event co-hosted by Blamo! and Nashville-native leather company Savas (more on that below).
I stopped by more booths than are covered in this post, but these are the ones where I felt compelled to take a photo, or record a brief video talking to the brand’s representatives, and so I present them here. By no means is this a “best of Pitti 103” post; more of a “I was impressed by the people and products this company had at Pitti 103” post.
An article I want to write in the near future is about how critical really sweet textiles are to good clothing. Showing pictures of clothes, or even videos, can never convey how something feels in-hand. No Man Walks Alone does the best job of anybody out there by showing fabric close up (for instance this image of an Inis Meain sweater), twisted to show its structure and heft. It can’t convey hand-feel, but at least it showcases how sturdy or light something is. But something I want to convey for every single one of these brands here is how they feel in-hand—they’re phenomenal. People think they can get designer clothing for cheap at fast-fashion places or at Target, and while they can copy a pattern, really good, really special textiles just cannot be faked.
I did most of my coverage of brands on Instagram, where I can quickly and easily record and post videos, which I’ll embed here. For a few, I only took photos. So without further ado, here are 7 makers I visited during Pitti Uomo 103.
De Bonne Facture
I was first introduced to De Bonne Facture through No Man Walks Alone, who started carrying them a few years ago, and later saw their collection at my first Pitti in 2020. The way Greg & Co. describe their collections is, I think, accurate: “It’s hard not to notice a De Bonne Facture piece when you see one. It doesn’t stand out because of outlandish design or embellishments, but rather because it seems familiar but better.” I haven’t bought anything of theirs yet, in part because I feel like I’m still figuring out how to dress casually in a cool way. Many of the things that stood out to me were outerwear, and in particular their Grandad coat has been the piece I’ve found myself drawn to (here’s one on sale at No Man Walks Alone in fact).
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Stile Latino
Both in June last year and in January this year I stopped by Stile Latino’s booth and was impressed by their clothing. The family connection between Vincenzo Attolini and the father-of-Neapolitan-tailoring-house Cesare Attolini is of course impossible to ignore, yet what Vincenzo has done with his own brand is take what everybody loves about Neapolitan tailoring—the softness and its attendant comfort, the playful details (such as the barchetta shaped pocket)—and refined it down further to be even more at home in the world we live in. In a similar way to how De Bonne Facture makes clothes with a connection to the elegance of the past but in a comfortable silhouette that’s at home today, Stile Latino does the same with the Neapolitan tradition. Their calling card, I was told, is attention to textiles, and it shines through in the sumptuous hand of everything you touch. I wanted to envelope myself in a pile of their sweaters and scarves and fall asleep. The fabrics for their tailoring are likewise sumptuous in hand. Unfortunately I got no photos while at the booth (facepalm), so below are a couple shots from their press kit for their F/W 23-24 collection.
Astorflex
The Italian shoe manufacturer Astorflex makes iconic styles like you might find at your local Clarks outlet store, but at a far better quality level, and without the gimmicks of bizarro color combinations and weird pop culture collaboration vibes. You want a desert boot in a nice tan suede? Done. You want a moccasin-style chukka with a gum sole in a nice tan suede? No problem. Frank, whose handshake was strong and steady, told me their top 4 sellers are always the same, but they swap places in order over time—the Greenflex, Bitflex, Beenflex and Dukeflex. They’re all great, and after having seen James Bond wear their moccasin-chukka in No Time to Die’s Italy scenes (for yes, dear reader, Astorflex is the white label manufacturer for Drake’s triple-the-price boots), I think that’ll be my next pair of casual boots. One thing I love about Astorflex, by the way, is that the memory foam insole is easily removable—so if you find the heel fits a bit wide (like in my case), you can swap out the insole for a more supportive one without ruining the fit otherwise.
My suggestions for Astorflex—if you want a desert boot like the iconic one, get the Driftflex in whiskey suede, as it’s unlined and is the most summer-appropriate shoe. If you want a year-round chukka, their Greenflex is good, but I’d say be adventurous and try the Dukeflex like James Bond instead. (Todd Snyder’s Nomad boot is also made by Astorflex, by the way, and looks just like their Greenflex).
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Jamiesons
Scottish knitwear cannot and should not be underestimated. While everybody gets excited about Italian cashmere and silk, the Scots (and Irish—see Inis Meain below) are producing functional, warm, iconic sweaters decade in, decade out, without much of a fuss. Jamiesons is the go-to brand to try if you want to try out a Shetland sweater for yourself. Shetlands have a major connection to the Ivy League tradition, so I’ve avoided them in part because Ivy to me has felt a bit frumpy—boxy fit, scratchy fabrics, just overall kind of a droopy vibe. However, it is not fair in the least to lump Shetlands in with all the rest of that, and handling Jamiesons’ knits for myself proved it.
Savas
Considering it’s a Nashville company (with an L.A. store now and with presence at The Armoury Tribeca in NYC), I felt dumb that I hadn’t been introduced to the company before then. This year at Pitti, Blamo! and Savas co-hosted a party at Hotel Calimali in Florence to showcase the brand, and I got to meet Savannah Yarborough herself. I plan to make it to her Nashville studio soon, but of course what’s great about the brand is 1- Leather jackets are always really cool, and 2- Custom-made ones that fit you perfectly are as good as it gets. Based on the people I saw at her event, and the buzz I felt surrounding the brand, I’m thinking Savas will only be climbing in popularity (and for good reason).
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Cohérence
Coherence was put on my radar by The Armoury, and I stopped by the booth to see what was up. I knew they made interesting outerwear, but what I didn’t realize was their identity revolves around creating pieces inspired directly by specific pieces of clothing worn by famous artists as seen in famous portraits from the past. Two things caught my eye from their upcoming collection: A pair of sturdy white painter-style jeans called “Paul” and a chore-type jacket called “Jackson.” The jeans fit super wide, so that’s a whole aesthetic in itself, but the chore jacket was a bit less giant, though it fit large enough that their sample fit me (usually samples are around size US38 or 40). As with most great clothes, attention to great textiles is where it transforms from something cool into something outstanding.
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Inis Meáin
Irish knitwear has its own iconic history with the Aran knitting tradition, with its characteristic weaving style recognizable anywhere. Inis Meain has emerged in recent years as a global force for making these traditional knits available to buyers hungry for authentic yet still contemporary knits all over the world. Besides heavy duty wool knits suitable for fishing off the coast of Ireland like their gutsy Boatbuilder, they excel with eminently layerable lightweight pieces made from linen and silk-linen blends. Their tunic style in particular is a no-brainer lightweight warm-weather layer. No Man Walks Alone usually carries pieces from Inis Meain, though they can now be found at Mr Porter and Todd Snyder.
My impromptu interview with the company’s founder was a delight—watch him light up as he describes the lesser-known origin story of Ireland’s iconic knitting tradition.
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Featured image is of the booth for Cavaliere, a Swedish company who has no presence outside Sweden but I really liked their overall booth aesthetic. There were a few makers’ booths I visited, where I liked what they showed, but it’s not available in the US, and they don’t do ecommerce, really.
(Help support this site! If you buy stuff through my links, your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit ;-) Thanks!)
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