Menswear Fashion Week

21 January 2016 - 02:29 By Jerri Mokgofe

''London Collection's Men" kicked off menswear fashion week in Milan. I missed the beginning because the rand and the pound are not exactly besties and I could afford only a limited number of days in Italy. I joined the global menswear fashion fraternity in Florence at the Fortezza da Basso last weekend to attend one of the key global trade events that showcases men's fashions and contemporary lifestyle trends: Pitti Immagine Uomo.Pitti Uomo is more than just a fashion trade fair. It hosts special events that run concurrently with the fair's schedule. I bumped into Ouigi Theodore, of Brooklyn Circus, a US men's clothing label, and asked him what Pitti Uomo represents to him: ''It's the drama that the fashion industry needs. It uses pop and celebrity culture to survive. You need excitement and energy to sell clothes and that is what Pitti Uomo offers."The Pitti Uomo 89 is a collaboration with L'Uomo Vogue, GQ Italia and MINI, with guest designer Juun.J, the first Korean guest designer to show at Pitti. I arrived early to photograph Juun.J's dress rehearsal. The collection was called "Less" and paid homage to some of the fashion trends, such as genderless fashion.The Generation Africa show focused on fashion from Africa, promoting young, talented designers from the continent. The five African designers who showcased their 2016 collections were Ikiré Jones (an apparel company that marries the romance of classic art with the vibrancy of west African culture), South African design collaboration Lukhanyo Mdingi and Nicholas Coutts, Keith Henning and Jody Paulsen, of AKJP, and U.Mi-1, by Lagos-born designer Gozi Ochonogor.Henning and Paulsen said: "Presenting our designs at Pitti Uomo is a huge achievement for us. It's our first runway show in Europe."British lifestyle brand Superdry showcased its AW16 collections, revealing key looks for its winter range.Famous street-style photographer and blogger Scott Schuman (thesatorialist.com) added "fashion designer" to his titles, debuting a menswear collection in collaboration with Roy Rogers. Italian Instagram star Mariano di Vaio showed his footwear collection.It wouldn't be fashion week without the much sought-after party invitations. In Florence, the Seletti Wears Toilet Party was the hot ticket, and in Milan 'Lil Wayne performed at the Phillip Plein afterparty.Early this week street-style photographers, editors, Korean buyers and Russian fashion girls went to Paris for Paris Menswear Fashion Week. And I packed my bags for warm South Africa.The manJerri Mokgofe is a South African fashion stylist, publicist and highly acclaimed blogger -(according to jerri.com).He works with celebrities, fashion houses, modelling and advertising agencies, and magazine editors. He's collaborated with international and local brands as their fashion publicist.Mokgofe attended the Pitti Uomo and Milan Menswear Fashion Week and shares his experiences...

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