Pitti Uomo, the world’s foremost menswear trade show, concluded this weekend in Italy. This year’s event featured a record number of brands – 1,219 displayed their wares in 59,000 square metres of floor space. The show was attended by 36,000 people – almost a quarter of whom travelled from outside of Italy.
First staged in the early 1950s, Pitti Uomo is where obscure brands grow into household names and the forthcoming season’s trends are set. Here is our pick of the highlights.
Most promising
The menswear final of the International Woolmark Prize took place as part of this year’s Pitti Uomo. India’s Suket Dhir scooped the prestigious crown, which was first won by Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent in 1954.
From 70 international nominees, a shortlist of six competed in Florence for the US$70,000 (Dh256,900) cash prize as well as retail space in international luxury department stores.
Dhir, based in Delhi, won judges over with a collection that featured hand-dyed yarn and woven wool from southern India. The stars of the show were the loose trousers, which Dhir says were “a homage to my grandfather and a rebellion against all the skinnies”.
Best collection
Breakout star Vittorio Branchizio delivered the week’s highlight collection, presenting unconventional yet wearable garments that were tailored to perfection.
Favourites included the wool hats, abstract textiles and geometric print outerwear that looked like armour. The colour palette of blues, pinks and greys was charming, too.
Most inspired
Juun.J’s debut in Florence was memorable for its voluminous clothing, which the Korean designer says was inspired by a fusion of Parisian cosmopolitanism, his Asian roots and the military aesthetic. We adored the oversized coats and the oh-so-Tron footwear.
Best presentation
Ever-reliable sportswear label Adidas Originals was reinterpreted by Yosuke Aizawa, the esteemed designer behind the Japanese brand White Mountaineering.
Imaginatively staged in an empty warehouse, where models stood still amid wan installation of triangular lighting fixtures, the collection featured athletic garments that combined traditional tailoring with technical materials, design and functionality.
Best trend
Shorts for playing hoops these definitely are not. Tailored pairs with a fixed waist and billowing legs were all over the catwalks, notably in Agi & Sam, Munsoo Kwon and Adidas Originals by White Mountaineering. They were all worn over tight trousers.
Best accessory
At the runways of designers Siki Im and Ikiré Jones, we loved the jumbo silk scarves that casually hung on the right shoulders of the models. Honourable mention goes to Jonathan Christopher, who cleverly covered a model’s head with a royal blue knit scarf.
Most conscious
Design school the European Institute of Design (IED) in Florence collaborated with Save the Duck – a label that produces ultralight and dapper down jackets without using goose down – to produce 10 artworks created by its students.
They reinterpreted the Italian brand’s wares by enhancing them with innovative products, drawing inspiration from ecology and recycling.
Now seven years old, the IED plans to launch its own fashion label in the next 12 months, possibly becoming the first school in the world to do so. For more, visit www.ied.edu.
Best combination
Federico Curradi demonstrated how seemingly clashing textiles and colours could complement each other. The key lies in the interplay between tight and loose-fitting pieces.
Best look
South African designers Lukhanyo Mdingi and Nicholas Coutts collaborated for a collection that combined Mdingi’s minimalism with Coutts’s signature weaving.
The standout was a slightly zany all-green knit ensemble that managed to exude high style and high comfort.
artslife@thenational.ae
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The five pillars of Islam
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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