MAN OF THE WEEK

WEBB TRENDU.S. Open champion Webb Simpson updated classic on-course attire with a modern twist. Page MW2

PLUS:Despite a solid Father’s Day, merchants expressed trepidation about the fall season. Page MW2

MEN’S MIXED MOOD

Color and NoveltyTake the SpotlightAt Pitti UomoIndustry looks to sustain momentum in the face of economic headwinds.

June 21, 2012

by KATYA FOREMAN and GORDON SORLINI

FLORENCE — Faced with a tense economic climate and a foggy outlook entering what is traditionally the men’s market’s weakest season, exhibitors at the Pitti Immagine Uomo men’s trade fair here are hoping color and prints will save the day.

Vendors were mixed in their outlook, with tailoring brands upbeat and contem-porary players exhibiting a more jittery stance. Conservatively eyeing the future, buyers, who braved an unrelenting heat wave that transformed exhibitor tents into ovens, said their budgets were stable.

“Brands are taking more risks to be fun and fashion-led, which is good, as men have become more experimental with color and print,” said Stephen Ayres, head of fashion for men’s, ladies’ and children’s wear at Liberty of London. “It’s a real visual thing that’s happening that will hopefully create instant connections with customers and make them buy now rather than wait. It will encourage people to have more of an emo-tional attachment to the product.”

Signaling paisley as a key trend, espe-cially on wovens and printed garments, Ayres also sensed a West Coast vibe coming through. “That’s really nice for summer — re-laxed and fun,” he said, pointing to Hawaiian shirts, printed Bermuda shorts, slubby jer-seys and loose linen knits as still prevalent.

“The sky’s the limit, with white, tur-quoise, peach, salmon, red.…Color is part of this man’s vocabulary,” said Tom Kalenderian, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of men’s wear at Barneys New York. He found the Pitti offerings “upbeat,” with exciting use of color and “a very good attention to silhou-ettes and fit.” Woven shirts are the strongest category along with soft, deconstructed jack-ets — many half-lined or unlined, close to the body, he said.

For Kalenderian, accessories and fine-gauge knits offer an opportunity, along with “small details,” such as beautiful pockets and fully fashioned collars that recall “shirts men wore on the Riviera in the 1960s — very com-fortable and natural. Sporty elegance.”

Linen is also making a comeback, he added, “not Eighties linen,” but linen blend-ed with cotton and cashmere, or cottons and hemp. “This type of variety in fabrication creates a lightness, looks appropriate for spring and feels modern,” he said.

Toby Bateman, buying director for MrPorter.com, said: “We saw and liked some notable trends at Pitti that we are keen to support and continue to support —

{Continued on page MW6}

Dress CasualDesigners prepping for the upcoming men’s shows in Milan are loosening up with reshaped silhouettes and modern interpretations of men’s wear, as seen in this sketch from Missoni. For more inspirations for spring, see pages MW4 and MW5.

Missoni “The souvenirs of a traveler’s journey influence the transformation of a traditional cardigan into a wrap tunic and the re-creation of safari shorts and trousers into exclusive Missoni loom knits.”

— ANGELA MISSONI, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Men’s Week

A Colorful Dad’s DayMW2 WWD THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

Man of THE WEEK

The wisp of long hair in the back makes him look like he’s wearing a mullet. He should comb it in a fuller style.

The ultrathin polo with a dress-shirt collar elevates the outfit.

The double-ring belt adds a touch of preppie and lifestyle.

The red and blue micro check is sophisticated and the perfect choice of pattern, respecting tradition

without crossing into wild plaid territory.

Although the Titleist logo is really big, it coordinates with the outfit, so it works.

The cotton cardigan is slenderizing and modern but still keeping with the tradition of the game. And the fact that the last button is open shows his sartorial

excellence and knowledge of men’s wear rules.

A little too big but clearly unmistakable.

WEBB SIMPSON: A-The 26-year-old U.S. Open champion has a very elegant style of dressing for a very elegant sport. Where men often dress like clowns, he successfully walks the fine line between heritage and modernity. And this Ralph Lauren outfit has been altered to perfection.

by LUISA ZARGANI

MILAN — A few days ahead of the exhibition of pho-tos taken by Domenico Dolce, WWD caught up with the designer to discuss the genesis of his first book, a 560-page tome titled “Campioni — Fotografie by Domenico Dolce,” which is made up of 67 black-and-white por-traits of young soccer players. Some of the images will be on display June 24 during Milan Men’s Fashion Week — an event marked by a party and a live performance at Dolce & Gabbana’s Metropol theater that night.

WWD: How and when did you begin exploring photog-raphy?Domenico Dolce: To answer this question, I must tell you a story. When I was a child, I spent my time fantasizing, creating images within me. I’ve always done it, ever since I was very young: to imagine places and things that I had never seen. That was my way to think of tomor-row, of things that I already sensed: I wanted a differ-ent life, which Polizzi Generosa, the town where I was born, could not guarantee. So I stayed there, dreaming of my future. I did it with open eyes, because our eyes are the doors to imagination. Now that I think about it, I have always compared the eyes to the mouth: They must be nurtured. And images are their nourishment. That’s where my passion for photography stems from.

WWD: You have obviously worked over the years with many important photographers. What kind of photog-raphy interests you?D.D.: I have been lucky to work with great masters, to know them and see how they work. This is my first ex-perience, I am still a debutante who loves photogra-phy in all its expressions.

WWD: How did the idea of the book come about? I know you enjoy sports, but could you explain why you chose to photograph sports champions? What do they represent? D.D.: I’m not a big sportsman, unfortunately.…far from it, because I never have time. But, on the other hand, I am very passionate about sports.…I chose soccer players because I have always considered them today’s icons. In this instance, I wanted to look to the future. I imagined, for every young athlete that I had in front of me, a story, where each was the protagonist. I had kids in front of me aged 15 to 24 — the future of soccer. Extraordinary young men, who let themselves be searched by my gaze and who accepted to play this game of photos.

WWD: Were the shoots all arranged together in a cer-tain period?D.D.: I worked with a white background. A dry, simple style. The personality of the talent I portrayed needed to emerge. I imagined stories for each one of them, similarly to how Stefano [Gabbana] and I work when we create our collections.

WWD: How did you feel seeing the photos in a book? D.D.: It was a great emotion, the realization of a dream. This book joined my love for photography with my love for sports.

WWD: Do you think you would like to work on another book?D.D.: Who knows? For the moment I am focused on the men’s collection that will be presented on Saturday.

Domenico Dolce’s Photographic Journey

by JEAN E. PALMIERI

COLOR AND NEWNESS drove solid sales results for retailers on Father’s Day, but despite the strong showing, merchants expressed some trepidation about the fall season.

The upcoming presidential election, the ongoing economic crisis in Europe and continued financial sluggishness at home have combined to cast a pall over retailers’ expectations for the future.

Having said that, stores were general-ly pleased with their results for Father’s Day with colorful sportswear, golfwear and updated furnishings leading the way.

According to a survey from the National Retail Federation prior to the holiday, the average consumer was ex-pected to spend $117.14 on Father’s Day this year, up from $106.49 last year for a total of $12.7 billion. Apparel purchases were also expected to rise, to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion in 2011. Department stores were seen drawing over 41 per-cent of shoppers, with discount stores at-tracting 34 percent and specialty apparel stores 10.7 percent. Over 28 percent of consumers, up from 22 percent last year, were expected to shop online.

Brand Keys projected Father’s Day sales to be even higher, with customers seen spending an average of $136, up 10 percent over last year. Apparel was expected to represent 23 percent of pur-chases, the same as last year.

“The business went quite well,” said Tom Ott, senior vice president and gen-eral merchandise manager of men’s wear for Saks Fifth Avenue, pointing to the success of a “series of artisan events” that the store hosted for the holiday both in New York City and its branches. He said customers responded to a wide variety of “classic gifts” such as shirts, ties, accessories, sport shirts and short-sleeve knits. “Those were the drivers,” he said, noting that Saks opted to “go back to basics” this year as a “point of differentiation.”

Even though Father’s Day business was strong, Ott admitted he has some reserva-tions about fall. “We’re excited that we had a good June, but there’s still a lot of un-certainty,” he said, pointing to the Greek elections, the upcoming U.S. election and the fact that the American economy is “not out of the woods yet. The challenges of the recession are not so far behind us,” he said. “We have to be realists. We’re excited about fall, but we still can’t relax.”

Lou Amendola, chief merchandis-ing officer for Brooks Brothers, agreed. “I feel good that we own more novelty and newness for fall from an inventory standpoint,” he said. “But we’re cautious. Consumers are still thinking carefully about what they’re buying. So we have a very conservative plan for fall — the most conservative of the past two years.”

Amendola characterized Father’s Day as “OK compared to last year,” with the chain posting single-digit increases. The hot spots were sportswear includ-ing sweaters, woven shirts and knit-wear. The company ran a promotion of-fering 44 different colors of polo shirts for $2,000, which Amendola said “drove attention to the category and got people motivated to buy a polo. Today, you have to give people a reason to buy.”

Whether in polos or other items, color continues to drive sales, with “high-prep pink and green” along with printed and embroidered shorts attract-ing attention. Basic dress shirts and ties were “soft,” he said.

Color was also a top seller at Macy’s. “We had a solid Father’s Day,” said Durand Guion, vice president and men’s fashion director. “Some key items helped drive business.” Golfwear in particu-lar was a standout thanks to the “buzz” around last week’s U.S. Open tourna-ment. “But it’s not the same old golf,” he said, noting that color and pattern were the “new direction” for the category.

The retailer also sold a lot of color in shorts, particularly red and pale blue. “There are new reasons to buy beyond fit,” he said, adding that fitted, plain-front models outperformed the loose-fit cargos of the past. Like Brooks Bros., Macy’s also had success with polos, particularly those in “bold, bright colors and a trim fit.”

In furnishings, silk bow ties continue to find fans. “They’re really trending across the country,” he said, pointing out that the business is being boosted by many NBA players participating in the Finals wear-ing bow ties in off-the-court interviews. In dress shirts, purple is the prevailing color, and patterns such as gingham are also leading to improved sales. “And we had a nice performance in small leather goods such as belts and wallets,” he said. Tank tops and sleeveless shirts were also selling for younger guys, a trend Guion expected to continue to be strong this summer.

For fall, he said he’s optimistic that by continuing to focus on updated styles, business will be good. “It’s not about re-

plenishment or basics,” he said. “What he want is the next color explosion and more dress-up. So we’ve got some strong ideas to take us through the rest of 2012.”

Kevin Harter, vice president of fashion direction for men’s at Bloomingdale’s, said the store had “a great, solid Father’s Day, well bal-anced across all families of business. We’re pleased with the results.” He said the store found success with sport coats and dress trousers; dress shirts and neckwear from Turnbull & Asser, Duchamp and Ferragamo; sportswear from Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Theory, John Varvatos and Vince, as well as Bloomingdale’s private label.

“We’re selling a lot of color,” he added. “And sport coats have become a great trend. We really got behind that and it worked for us.” He also said the “up-and-coming designer businesses” such as Saturdays Surf, Ovadia & Sons, APC and Shipley & Halmos performed well. The store was pleased with the results of a pop-up shop from Aviator Nation and a trunk show from Will Leather Goods.

Harter said that although Bloomingdale’s is experiencing “good momentum in the men’s business, we’re [hopeful] about fall. We know we need to offer unique and special merchandise.”

Ken Giddon, president of Rothmans in New York, hosted a pre-Father’s Day pros-tate cancer event at its new Union Square store last week in conjunction with Zero: The Project to End Prostate Cancer and Würkin Stiffs. An RV was parked outside the store offering complimentary testing and a gift bag for those who participated. “Close to 100 people got tested,” Giddon said, noting that he was happy to partici-pate in “anything that creates buzz.”

He said the store had success sell-ing “fun” neckwear, as well as apparel from Hugo Boss. A Vineyard Vines pop-up shop was popular, with shorts, swim trunks and ties leading the way.

Giddon said Rothmans is anticipat-ing a good fall thanks to its new store and its inventory selection. “Great prod-uct sells,” he said.

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An image from the book.

Macy’s had success

selling colorful

summer apparel.

Men’s WeekMW4 WWD THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

MILAN MUSINGDesigners were inspired by everything from architecture and nature to globe-trotting this season as they prepare for the start of the Milan spring shows this weekend.

Ports 1961 “Intellectually

sound for travel and commerce with a celestial demure,

the spring 2013 collection defines a new sense of cool.”

— FIONA CIBANI, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Roberto Cavalli “The charm of the Cavalli men’s spring ’13 collection is the sensual explosion of nature’s glamour. The gentleman’s impeccable tailored elegance passes from a luxuriant English fumoir and finds an electrical and mysterious sophistication in bright and nocturnal colors. It envelops, like a perfume, with a geometric silhouette that transforms sound into music, like nature itself.”

— ROBERTO CAVALLI, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DSQUARED2 “Night society.”

— DEAN AND DAN CATEN, DESIGNERS

BELSTAFF “For spring ’13, I was inspired by the romanticism of travel. I wanted to express in this collection a new language for a modern man who is, at the essence, the luxury global traveler.”

— MARTIN COOPER, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER

TRUSSARDI “The youngest son of Nicola Trussardi leaves the family vacation home to go to the beach with a group of his interna-tional friends.…They are on the move.”

— UMIT BENAN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

FOR MORE INSPIRATIONS, SEE

WWD.com/menswear-news.

GIORGIO ARMANI

Men’s Week MW5WWD THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

DIESEL BLACK GOLD “The Diesel Black Gold spring ’13 men’s wear collection recalls the strong DNA of the brand through the use of military constructions in an advanced contemporary spirit. The styling twist of this new collection gets accents of a rock chic attitude, inspired by the Steampunk world of the Eighties/early Nineties, mixed with a sophisticated sartoriality.”

— CREATIVE TEAM

Versace“For spring 2013,

Versace continues its evolution and

celebration of masculinity underlined by glamour,

modernity and sophistication.”

— DONATELLA VERSACE, DESIGNER

Z ZEGNA “Architectural khaki applied to tailored shirts and jackets. High-waist trousers with self-fabric belt worn with shirts and new knitwear with high necklines.”

— CREATIVE TEAM

CANALI “Wide spaces, open skies, in the background a city echoing distantly, of shapes and colors, the most elegant and sophisticated side of Los Angeles.”

— CANALI DESIGN TEAM

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA “Suit in pure silk taffeta with a mod-ern and reshaped silhouette, con-structed shoulder, wider revers and higher waistline; trousers with a single sewed pleat, slim fit and higher waistline. Pure silk polo with tropical design allover print with knitted silk

details on collar and sleeves. Geometric bag in pure French calf with vin-tage handles, contrasting color corners

and studs.” — CREATIVE TEAM

R

LES HOMMES “The inspiration behind the col-lection is a conceptual and minimal interpretation of a stateless man who finds his way home through the path towards style. His adventurous journey, marked by continuous research, is told through the combina-tion of natural European elegance, tribal references, color flashes and ethnic prints.”

— TOM NOTTE AND BART VANDEBOSCH, CREATIVE DIRECTORS

EE

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Fifties-inspired prints, the ‘short’ suit and checks. Ongoing trends that get better and more interest-ing with the new season include bright colors, unstructured tailor-ing and double-breasted jackets.”

“Pitti this year is hot…not only because it is a roasting 98 degrees out, but there is so much more in-novation and variety,” commented Fiona Paterson, commercial direc-tor for Thecorner.com. She men-tioned “hints of camouflage” and “beach cool” among the trends, say-ing: “It’s all about looking cool at the beach, and it goes beyond swim shorts. [There are] many cool new sunglass brands, shirts and shoes.”

A rainbow of color broke out across tailoring collections, which were also strong on prints and fabric mixes. Italian tailor Isaia introduced three “color stories” and fabric com-binations for suits and shirts, cou-pling brown with aqua, green with yellow, or blue with red, in cotton, cashmere or a cotton-silk blend.

At Italian high-end formalwear-maker St-Santandrea, bold colors, including coral reds, made their way into silk-cashmere knits, while Belvest’s palette for jackets includ-ed ice blues and deep greens.

Kiton, for its new Cipa 1960 lineup, which is sold exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman, intro-duced jackets in printed silk-cotton in strong col-ors, including red and orange. “Our final cus-tomer wants color, also in the Kiton main line,” Antonio Paone, Kiton USA president, said.

For Isaia, the overall theme was polka dots, a throwback to the Fifties, used on ties and scarves and in details on jackets and pants. The company presented cargo pants with “barchetta cut” pockets, welted and curved to better con-tour the leg.

Belvest showcased morning coats and Frank Sinatra-inspired unlined jackets with brightly col-ored prints. The company is push-ing “new silhouettes,” said Belvest USA president Roberta Cocco, with shorter cuts and narrower lapels — “very young,” Cocco said.

Likewise, Brunello Cucinelli presented contemporary slim-fit-

ting suits and had weightless jack-ets made from mohair “for a fresh, cool feeling in summer.” Aviator-style sleeveless vests had been lightened using wool padding. “I like the idea of a light down jack-et in wool worn with a wool pant, for example,” added the house’s namesake founder.

“You can see very traditional companies focusing on fit,” said Barneys’ Kalenderian. “This is the most important show for the luxury market and the brands presenting are very much aware of the oppor-tunities with younger clients.…Age isn’t an issue. It’s more about state of mind. There’s youthfulness about the styling and silhouette, which is very valuable,” he added. “There’s been so much focus on make and not so much on how people live, and this is a nice change, to see luxury brands creating collections which are upbeat and youthful and attracting younger men.”

In a nod to new shapes, Black Fleece included a new Octagon collection of shirts and point-pock-et Bermuda shorts patterned with navy octagonal motifs on a white ground. Another strong statement was the firm’s banana-leaf design, green on white, applied to cotton jackets, oxford shirts, Bermudas, a cotton bomber jacket and swim trunks. Parent company Brooks Brothers showcased casual navy blue trousers and shorts with col-orful sailboat prints, inspired — along with other parts of the col-lection — by the Fifties, sailing regattas and the spirit of the sea.

Isaia, whose collection in-cluded jackets with hidden functional de-

tails, such as pockets for an iPod

and cell phone, said that for next spring it

sees double-breasted jackets becoming pop-

ular again. Isaia president Gianluca Isaia said the new col-lection, which uses coral-dot in-terlock prints as accents through-out, was inspired by the Li Galli islands off of Italy’s Amalfi coast, one of his family’s favorite holi-day destinations.

The Neapolitan tailor, which in 2011 saw a 30 percent sales in-crease over last year, forecasts an-other year of double-digit growth. Sportswear is boosting the com-pany’s fortunes, Isaia said, adding that the firm “is investing more here.” Core seasonal wear, like shirts, apparel and ties, is also performing strongly. Isaia said the company is seeing growth all over the world, with the U.S. mar-ket particularly strong. In terms

of product categories, shirts have registered the strongest percent-age sales gains, he said. The com-pany is looking to expand its retail network, aiming for a New York opening sometime in 2013. Also, Isaia said the firm is working on an accessories project, to be focused on small leather goods and bags. “We want to do something unique [in accessories],” he said.

Following a general trend in the industry, St-Santandrea is also making a push into casualwear. At Pitti, the company launched a line of sartorial jackets with lighter structures. As part of the new ca-sual lineup the house introduced light cotton jeans that can be worn with matching sport jackets to cre-ate “a sport suit, which offers better fit and a younger look,” Gianpiero Banfi, the firm’s sales director, said.

Sporty looks are also working well for outerwear special-ist Allegri. Andrea Pucci, the company’s worldwide managing director for sales, said the firm has experi-enced four seasons of dou-ble-digit growth, thanks to a strong performance in the U.S. (the company’s second-largest market after Italy), where the brand is distrib-uted in Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Barneys.

Allegri showcased two im-portant innovations, debuting in denim — with a five-pocket, basic-look jean — and in tailored cloth-ing with short, unstructured jack-ets in natural, ultralight fabrics with stretch elements and slim-line pants featuring sartorial details.

Fellow outerwear company Herno, which plans to open its first monobrand store in central Milan by the end of the summer on Via della Spiga, presented its newest addition to the Dye Tech Project: a lightweight (80 grams per meter) gar-ment-dyed down jacket for spring-summer use, made of cotton or nylon. The coat comes in a variety of colors, and each garment is unique, thanks to a manufacturing process that doesn’t damage the fibers but enhances their original characteris-tics and gives them a worn look.

The firm also presented a new bonded laser-cut raincoat — avail-able in nine colors, including green, blue, beige, ocher and black — and introduced a light leather jacket, a first for the firm.

With luxe-casual style still om-nipresent, it was all about comfort and lightness.

Kiton’s Cipa 1960 line included new 100 percent linen dinner jack-ets accompanied by knit ties.

For its Sixties-flavored lineup, strong in checks and superlight cot-tons, Belvest offered double-breast-ed garment-dyed jersey jackets, aimed at attracting younger buyers. Materials included a light summer

wool and a 100 percent woven linen treated so as to give off a wrinkled look. Sport jackets in textured fab-rics had a strong, dynamic look.

Accessories added further light-ness of spirit to collections. As a fun complement to its Octagon and banana-leaf capsules, Black Fleece worked with Stubbs & Wootton for Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers tasseled espadrilles in navy blue and natural canvas.

Brooks Brothers also displayed new navy blue espadrilles with white anchor embroidery.

Luciano Barbera showcased suede shoes in shades of brown, which, Barbera said, “are best suited to being worn in contrast with smooth, light summer fabrics. Suede shoes maintain excellent opacity and softness.”

Men’s Week

BUYERS EMBRACE COLOR, NEW SILHOUETTES AT PITTI UOMO

MW6 WWD THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

{Continued on page MW8}

{Continued from page MW1}Scott James

Borsalino

Grenson

Folk Kiton

FOR MORE IMAGES, SEE

WWD.com/menswear-news.

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Lifestyle continues to be a driv-ing philosophy for contemporary men’s brands. Continuing to flesh out its universe, Jack Spade, which in July in New York will open a new showroom with sister brand Kate Spade at 2 Park Avenue, is entering the swim market with two styles: a trunk and a boyshort.

Having launched with premium swimwear five years ago, Britain’s Orlebar Brown, meanwhile, con-tinues to position itself as a fully fledged resort-oriented lifestyle brand. The label at Pitti intro-duced a three-piece suit with a pant inspired by its signature tai-lored swim short, made in collabo-ration with British tailoring brand Thom Sweeney.

With retailers acting cautiously, midlevel brands are seeing it as a time of opportunity. Looking to crack the European market, first-time exhibitors, swimwear brand Olasul and ready-to-wear men’s label Scott James, both from the U.S., and both offering quality fab-rication at attainable price points, feel that they are in the right place at the right time.

Scott James plans to open a Milan showroom in the next couple of months and is scouting out real estate in Europe. “We’re going to get aggressive. We started this brand when the market was down in the U.S., so I think entering Europe now while it’s down could be perfect tim-ing,” said company founder Scott James Kuhlman, who launched the brand two years ago. “I think where we’re positioned, it used to be many years ago when you were a new brand, retailers would go, ‘Oh, I don’t need any newness,’ but today when there are down cycles, that’s when they start looking again, because they want to reinvigorate, freshen up and not be stale, so we think it’s the right time,” continued Kuhlman, who believes “looking at what is happening with Europe,” more partnerships will open up be-tween brands and stores.

Humor, art, storytelling and soul-searching were common threads linking collections of many of the hip young contemporary ex-hibitors who are seeking emotional connections with their customers.

“We feel that the business is having a tough time, especially in Europe,” said Jockum Hallin, co-founder of Swedish men’s wear label Our Legacy 1980-81, which launched a sneaker line at the event, using ma-terials “in a new and interesting way,” such as a black neoprene style with a calf lining, or an-other in a waterproof knitted Japanese moleskin that is also used on a jacket in the col-lection. Youth culture in-fluenced the collection, he said, which featured reversible Smiley cotton sweatshirts, reversible printed denim “band jack-ets” and tie-dyed prints inspired by Hallin’s teen years in the Nineties.

Highlights at London-based ca-sualwear label Folk included an illustrated “Scary Tale” T-shirt de-picting an owl and a pussycat going to sea in a boat full of stolen money bags. The brand plans to give out brass owl key rings and chocolate owls for

every purchase of the line’s double-breasted jacket in “bouncy” jersey fabric. Folk’s first women’s collec-tion will enter stores in July.

Swedish label Uniforms for the Dedicated’s new concept was geared around the theme of The Listener, using a gramophone speaker as a metaphor for listen-ing and telling a story.

“In a global world where every-thing is about updates, retweets and the number of followers on [social media], it is more important than ever to just sit down, dine, have a glass of wine and listen to people’s stories. The art of storytelling is kind of disappearing, and we want to take it back,” said Frederik Wikholm, the brand’s cofounder.

The concept plays out in prints featuring hand-drawn characters, such as “the butcher telling the story of the beauty of slow cook-ing,” jacquard knits with the gram-ophone-speaker motif and jacket pockets designed to hold good old fashioned paper documents or “library cards.” The concept also serves as a platform for marketing. Wikholm said the brand plans to make a series of short documenta-ries about “all the creative process-es that go into the collections” — the brand’s sustainable ventures, people that inspire them and Uniforms’ soon-to-be-launched upcycled fur-niture line made from recuperated wood from the Stockholm archi-pelago. The furniture will be car-

ried in the brand’s first stand-alone store that will open in Stockholm this August. The label hopes to make its col-lection fully sustainable within five years “without

compromising on design or playful-

ness,” Wikholm said.Taking an urban

turn, Woolrich John Rich & Bros.’ lineup was gadget friendly. Spring themes in-cluded an elegant but functional wardrobe inspired by the idea of the globe-trotting “new journalist,” i.e., the blogger gen-eration. One look,

comprising a cargo pant and oxford

shirt with zipped side pockets big enough to

hold a passport, came accessorized with a hands-free take on the man bag in the form

of a slim vest fitted with multiple pockets. The brand also launched a T-shirt line with graphics by cult biker and surfer brand Deus Ex Machina, which also showed at Pitti.

Woolrich John Rich & Bros. parent WP Lavori in Corso, meanwhile, in September dur-ing women’s Milan Fashion Week will launch a tome celebrating its 30th anniversary, conceived by the Canadian magazine Inventory.

On the footwear front, as an old English shoe brand, Grenson tra-ditionally has always been known as a winter label. But times they are a-changin’, founder Tim Little said, with “men now going out to specifically buy summer shoes,” as opposed to wearing the same pair throughout the year, as many did in the past. As a result, Little said he is being asked more and more for brightly colored designs.

Catering to demand for more unique, playful creations, the hip shoe brand this season launched a customization service dubbed G Lab that mainly caters to stores that carry their brand. The ser-vice allows them to compose and co-brand their own designs using different materials and colorways, choosing from a range of swatches, leather soles and eyelets.

Grenson for spring has also launched a line of four bag styles carrying signature details from its footwear line.

The bags are named after the length of days they would typically be used for, going from a “one-day” tote to a “five-day” weekend bag.

Across brands, there was a shift from pop colors to softer tones, such as sky blue. Orlebar Brown, for its tailored sportswear range, had an “Easter” palette of pastel pink, yellow and green.

At J Brand, brights have been softened. “What inspired me this season is a feeling of calmness and how you interpret that with color and also in general with indigos,” said design director Matthew Saam.

The brand launched a selvage slim-fit jean dubbed the Tyler that is designed to sit straight from the knee, unlike the tapered legging ef-fect that has been strong over the past few seasons. The Tyler range featured a striking striped-back selvage style.

G-Star occupied Pitti’s Sala Ottagonale exhibition space for its Raw Denim Dome presentation of its latest contemporary denim collections and Raw Art Gallery exhibit, the latter featuring the brand’s biker-style Elwood jean fitted with pouches at the crotch inspired by medieval codpieces.

Denim veteran Pierre Morisset, G-Star’s longtime head designer, looked back to more distant times for the brand’s Raw Essentials collection that he hailed as a “completely new” direction for the denim world: the revival of the Toile de Chine indigo shade that, according to Morisset, predates denim and

was used for workers’ uniforms in ancient times. “They found traces of Toile de Chine in the [tombs] of the Pyramids,” he said.

The new line, which features washed fabrics in dark Toile de Chine indigo, includes pieces di-rectly inspired by ancient work-wear, such as a shirt with a round mandarin collar and jeans with antique constructions.

On a roll, Paris-based men’s polo-inspired label Vicomte A., meanwhile, cited strong demand for sporty designs decorated with badges from its Vicomte A. Palm Beach line. The brand, which is dis-tributed in around 400 stores, with about 26 franchised monobrand stores, mainly in France, plans to grow the tally of its own stores to eight, from two, by the end of the year, according to founder Arthur de Soultrait. In terms of market-ing events, the brand will dress the Brazilian Olympic show-jumping team, and on July 6 at the Paris Shooting Club will host an event for the 200th anniversary of Gastinne Renette, the defunct historic gun-smith brand that was relaunched by Vicomte as a heritage clothing line in 2011.

— WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALESSANDRA TURRA

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli continue to shape a new identity for the Valentino man. Long gone are the days of the charming Italian gigolo and in his stead is an ultrayoung, athletic, techno-savvy protagonist who is more at home in the concrete jungle than on the Riviera. Not that any of the elegance has been lost. The mix of sporty and military references with couturelike volumes, ergonomic lines and graphic paneled constructions resulted in a sophisticated offering. “Our goal is to revisit men’s staples, to turn them into icons,” Piccioli said. Mission accomplished. Even the bomber jackets were showstoppers, crafted from panels of cotton, leather and nylon with silk gabardine inserts in khaki shades with pops of color, while the traditional cotton poplin shirt morphed into polo style tops with exaggerated volumes.

Tailoring was sleek, minimalistic and modern, accessorized with cool multimedia sneakers with rubber studs. Though camouflage was one of the main story lines, worked on everything from trenchcoats to iPad holders with black leather intarsia details, this was not a wardrobe for blending into the background.

Men’s WeekMW8 WWD THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

BUYERS EMBRACE COLOR, NEW SILHOUETTES AT PITTI UOMO {Continued from page MW6}

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Valentino’s New Man

Black Fleece Belvest

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Allegri

Brunello Cucinelli