Pitti Uomo, the infamous fashion trade show in Florence, is a little more than a week away, and when scrolling through the list of exhibitors, one thing is clear: There is no trend. Starting in the mid/late 2010s, everything was about Japan and Japanese design preferences—the oversized raglan shoulder coats, straight and wide-leg trousers—you get the gist.
We know Moleskine has been predicted to be hot for another year and fade out during SS25. Cashmere remains the sh#t, Zegna even launched a summer cashmere version of its popular overshirt (photos below).
![Zegna cashmere overshirt](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe2433ed7-1452-4fe7-a9ac-430181d20333_3024x4032.jpeg)
![Zegna cashmere overshirt](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc4a1f163-060d-4bdf-883c-aa718dd6d518_3024x4032.jpeg)
This is more of an engineering achievement than anything else and reminds me a lot of the first Packaway suit Zegna launched circa 2016/17. An ultra-light and thin fabric that is such a high twist and on the verge of being see-through that it still works while not appearing to be the most durable piece you’ve ever been enticed to spend $2500 on. So, while the trend forecasters, although most self-declared ones are pastcasters, that’s a different conversation, continue to walk on a straight from 2010s KPop to Korean beauty products for Western audiences to a low Yen and WFH policies prompting a 2+ week visit to Harajuku to the inevitable promotion of South Korean aesthetics and fashion brands. Because as it turns out, Japan has been the most mature lifestyle market since the 90s. So, no fashionado or forecaster has ever returned with new insights or brands - because it’s all been there already.
While I will note that there are always new and emerging brands, the demand for commercial success and the ever-narrowing taste palette (thanks to internet monoculture - written about long before any book or Twitter thread that got published since 2020) of consumers make it increasingly risky to deliver something novel. So we shall see if there are any “trends,” and I will report back.
HQ brands - Phi 1.618
Phi 1.618 is a French leather manufacturer that bases its design on the golden ratio. When you look at their products, it is immediately clear how this works. Smooth, proportionate silhouettes, lush French leathers, and a relaxed color palette all contribute to a soothing aesthetic. A highlight are the brand’s foldable/origami-esque bags.
$300 vs $500 shoes
Taking a look at quality control will give you a much better idea of the differences than anything else. The leather quality might be the same, but the rate at which individual steps have to be performed can increase the rate of tolerances that quality control will deem acceptable. Does this mean that the shoe is automatically inferior ? No, yet if you are looking for perfection at a low price point, there are trade-offs that have to be made in order to achieve that.
Children’s wear
In a country like Italy, where children play such an important role in culture, it comes as no surprise that the fashion nation has a surprisingly large number of domestic brands that apply Made in Italy to kidswear to produce well-made garments for even the smallest members of society.
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