Excellence and quality are the antidote to uncertainty

How to revitalise, stimulate, relaunch a fashion market shrouded in an apathy that seems to have no end? This is the key question hovering, whether overt or covert, among the stands of the Florentine Pitti Uomo fair, which until tomorrow hosts 740 brands, 45% of them foreign, exhibiting their clothing, accessories and lifestyle collections for spring-summer 2026.

Companies are responding in chorus: the way forward is to focus on beautiful and 'authentic' products, the result of accurate workmanship, versatile, durable and with a fair price, i.e. far from the crazy price rises seen in the last two years. From big to small brands, the refrain is the same: stop ostentatious, designer, shouted luxury, give way to elegance without logos and timelessness. "The market needs suggestions," explains Marco Landi, owner of the L'Impermeabile and Zerosettanta brands (and president of Cna-Federmoda), five million in revenues, "and we have chosen to focus on the territory, giving legs to the Tuscan lifestyle with an offer that includes the Empoli mackintosh, the Maremma jacket with the Capalbio brand, and the Tuscan cigar for which we have created a waistcoat. We try to propose a concept, a lifestyle'.

Trying to detach itself from wars and tariffs, trying to focus on the product made well, is the path taken by the knitwear brand Daniele Fiesoli, which is launching the 'Seminare bellezza' (Sowing Beauty) project: "Each shirt in the 2026 summer collection," explains the Florentine entrepreneur, more than 15 million in turnover in 2024, 65% of which will be exported, "will have a biodegradable tag and a sachet containing 20 wild flower seeds selected to bloom from May to September and thus help bees survive. It will mean spreading about five million seeds around the world, and thousands of smiles from ReykJavik to Palermo at the beauty the flowers will release'. According to Fiesoli, the direction is clear: 'The market demands elegance, which does not mean formal garments.

Versatility, in order to be able to use the jacket for several months, is the answer of Chris Wang's Duno outerwear brand, with headquarters in Empoli and production in China in the family business: 'There will always be difficulties,' explains the entrepreneur, 15 million in turnover, 70% of which is exported to Europe and Asia, 'but you have to be good at proposing the right product: with the climate change and milder temperatures, we have adapted the garments to be suitable for the mid-season. The same line of adaptation to the warmer climate has been followed by the scarf brand Faliero Sarti, which has now expanded into ready-to-wear: 'Our scarf has become lighter,' explains Federico Sarti, owner with his sister Monica of the nine-million-turnover company, 70% of which is exported, 'and it has increased in size so that it can also be used as a sarong. We are about to open our sixth shop in Panarea, which will be seasonal, and we are convinced that only by concentrating on quality and specific products can we have a chance'.

This is what the small Modenese leather goods brand Biagini, owned by the Amidei family, has done, with a turnover of almost four million: 'We bet on a product that has a history, authentic, handmade, a product that you can pass on: this is the card we can play in this complex market'.