This year’s edition of Pitti Uomo will host Ann Demeulemeester as a special guest.
Per a press release, the legendary Belgian brand will star as “the protagonist of a special event” held on January 12 as part of Pitti Uomo, a twice-yearly menswear trade show based in Florence.
2021 marks the trade show’s 101st iteration, and 40 years since Demeulemeester founded her eponymous label with the help of creative partner Patrick Robyn.
The event announcement comes in the wake of several monumental developments for the brand.
In 2020, it was acquired by Italian retailer Claudio Antonioli. The deal was inked shortly after Sébastian Meunier departed as creative director of the label, which he took over in 2010 — three years before Demeulemeester stepped back from fashion.
Under the advisory of Demeulemeester, Antonioli is ushering the label into a new era. An in-house team designs all collections, and nearly all manufacturing has moved from Belgium to Italy.
Earlier this year, Ann Demeuelemeester reopened its historic flagship store in Antwerp, which houses apparel alongside Demeulemeester’s homeware products — an endeavor the designer launched in 2019.
Citing the label’s renewal under Antonioli, Pitti Uomo’s Director of Communication and Events, Lapo Cianchi, proclaimed: “The event created for Pitti Uomo 101 will have a special energy, thanks to the exchange between different forms of creative expression, a special attention for the younger generations, and a synchronized tale between future, present, and past that recounts the fashion of Ann Demeulemeester.”
It’s not entirely clear whether the event will manifest as a conversation between Demeuelmeester herself and Antonioli, or something entirely different.
Whatever it ends up being, here’s hoping we get the lowdown on Ann D.’s very first fragrance, news of which broke in March.
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