Daily Front Row

2009 May 12

Pitti Plans for Proenza Schouler

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(NEW YORK) Between Karl’s Venetian cruise collection for Chanel, Bulgari’s Roman blowout, and Pitti Immagine in Florence, it seems Italy is the place the chic set is decamping to for the summer. But Pitti, the huge Italian trade show (including UOMO men’s events, W women’s events, and BIMBO children’s events) will have a special American take this year, as Proenza Schouler has been chosen as the special guest fot the fourth edition of the Pitti W precollection (an honor previously held by Giambattista Valli). This afternoon at Il Buco, Pitti Immagine’s Raffaello Napoleone and Sibilla Della Gherardesca gathered  Lazaro Hernandez with New York press to discuss Proenza’s plan (missing in action was Hernandez’s partner, Jack McCollough, who’s currently embattled in a police investigation against Keifer Sutherland after the actor allegedly head-butted the designer, breaking his nose at a post-Met party).

After a glowing introduction from Della Gherardesca (“They will bring a slice of America to Florence!” she raved), Hernandez spoke of the team’s turn in Florence, where they will show their pre-spring 2010 collection. “We didn’t want to do a traditional runway show,” he said. “You all sit through hundreds of thousands of runway shows a year, we won’t put you through another!” Instead, the design duo will present the collection with the help of three performance artists: Karen Black, Haim Steinbach, and Kalup Linzy. “It should be an interesting way to showcase the collection!” he said.

On the UOMO side, the special guest of the season is Undercover’s Jun Takahashi. “He’s got an unmistakable style, with roots in rock music, art installation, and manga cartoons,” said Della Gherardesca, before revealing that Takahashi’s performance will be accompanied by a special performance by the designer. In addition to the special guests, an installation called Pitti People will be on display throughout the trade show, dedicated to the community of Pitti Immagine. Visitors to the central courtyard will face a huge wall, updated daily with portraits and snapshots of the show-goers. Pitti Immagine runs from June 16-19.
EMILY GYBEN