Today is going to be the final day of Pitti Uomo exhibition, in Florence. Attendance of visitors is estimated to line up with the previous edition, held one year ago: around 30,000 visitors, of whom 19,400 buyers. Such forecast hangs on figures downloaded in the middle of the event, according to which most buyers are from Germany, then the UK (+8%), The Netherlands (+14%), France (+6%), the USA (+23%) and Canada (+10%). Buyers coming from new markets, such as Hong Kong and India, also increased considerably. Conversely, visitors coming from Japan, Spain, China and Switzerland slightly declined in number. Both Islamic visitors, because of Ramadan, and Russians, little interested in summer collections, scarcely turned up at the exhibition. On the other hand, online retailers increased. The spotlight was on Roberto Cavalli brand, who presented, at the fashion show, their new sneakers first designed by Paul Surridge, creative director of the house: he showed aerodynamic lines and “sport ankle boots”, made in python leather, with high-tech soles recalling the python pattern. One more attraction was Kevin Willis, former Atlanta Hawks basket player, in the NBA, in the ‘80s, who showed up at Gianni Gallucci’s stand. Willis, and his apparel line, together with Gallucci, and his footwear manufacturing, joined a co-branding project for the NBA All Star Game: they made “Big and Tall” products, based on tailor-made shoes and accessories. Andrea Granatelli, from Green George footwear brand, said: “We are happy about this Pitti edition, which is, once more, very important to us to show and present our shoes to new partners. In addition to that, the exhibition also gives us a valuable opportunity to reinforce our relationship with buyers and professionals, with whom we have been in touch for a while, coming from various parts of Italy and also from abroad, Europe and The USA in particular”.
Pitti Uomo, final day: attendance of visitors lines up, while e-commerce buyers increase and Russians drop
