Inside THE POOL: Simone Rocha, Kei Ninomiya, outdoor utopias and the new emotional menswear taking over Florence
Every season, Pitti Uomo attempts to redefine what a menswear trade show can be.
Not just a place where clothes are shown, bought and sold — but a temporary cultural ecosystem where fashion, image-making, nightlife, performance, craftsmanship and global subcultures collide inside the walls of Florence’s Fortezza da Basso.
For its 110th edition, running from June 16 to 19, Pitti Immagine Uomo enters a more introspective, cinematic territory.
The theme is THE POOL.
And no, this is not about resortwear clichés or Mediterranean escapism.
Conceived by SSAW Magazine’s Chris Vidal Tenomaa and Tuomas Laitinen, THE POOL imagines the swimming pool as an emotional and psychological landscape: suspended, reflective, seductive and slightly uncanny. The campaign imagery — featuring a lone young man dressed in Simone Rocha, staring at his own reflection like a contemporary Narcissus — feels closer to a Luca Guadagnino fever dream than to a conventional menswear campaign.
The atmosphere is icy and sensual at the same time.
Think David Hockney light filtered through Gen Z melancholy.
That tension — between elegance and vulnerability, performance and intimacy, fantasy and infrastructure — becomes the key to understanding this entire edition of Pitti Uomo.
And honestly? This might be one of the strongest Pitti lineups in years.
THE NEW GUARD TAKES FLORENCE
The headline moment arrives with Irish designer Simone Rocha, this season’s Guest Designer, who will present her first independent menswear runway show at Florence’s historic Teatro della Pergola on June 18.
Rocha’s menswear has quietly become one of the most emotionally intelligent proposals in fashion right now — balancing romanticism, masculinity, fragility and ceremonial dressing in ways that feel radically contemporary. Her involvement also shapes the visual identity of THE POOL itself, making her less of a guest and more of a spiritual anchor for the season.
Then comes DSM Kei Ninomiya.
The Japanese designer — already known for his sculptural work at noir kei ninomiya under the Comme des Garçons universe — will debut the first menswear collection for DSM, Dover Street Market’s new in-house label. Expect conceptual tailoring, experimental construction and one of the week’s most anticipated shows, staged at the Complesso di Sant’Orsola.
Meanwhile, South Korean designer Jiyong Kim brings his label JiyongKim to Florence as Special Guest following international acclaim and his rise through the LVMH Prize circuit. Known for his signature sun-bleached garments and process-driven design language, Kim represents the growing influence of Korean menswear on the global stage — a presence deeply embedded throughout this edition.
Also worth watching: Copenhagen-based label Sunflower, presenting a special runway project tied to the 20th anniversary of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Their stripped-back Scandinavian tailoring and understated cool feel perfectly aligned with fashion’s current shift toward quieter forms of luxury.
OUTDOOR IS NO LONGER A NICHE — IT’S THE UNIFORM
One of the biggest transformations happening at Pitti Uomo 110 is the evolution of outdoor culture into a full aesthetic and philosophical framework.
The clearest example is OUTOPIA, the new project developed with Vanish Magazine inside the I GO OUT section. More than an exhibition, OUTOPIA positions technical fashion, trail culture and progressive outdoor design as central forces shaping contemporary style.
Brands like Snow Peak, Norda and Scandinavian Edition are no longer operating on the margins of fashion — they are fashion now.
Performance wear has become emotional wear.
Protection has become identity.
At a moment where fashion consumers are increasingly searching for functionality, tactility and connection to nature, Pitti seems fully aware that gorpcore has evolved beyond trend status into a long-term cultural shift.
THE RETURN OF EMOTION IN MENSWEAR
Across the fair, a larger pattern emerges.
Menswear is becoming softer again.
Not softer in terms of impact — but softer emotionally. More personal. More narrative. Less obsessed with rigid archetypes of masculinity.
You see it in Simone Rocha’s romantic tailoring.
You see it in the poetic material treatments of JiyongKim.
You see it in the handcrafted intimacy of brands like IBELIV or Consinee’s textile installation “Suspended Grounds.”
William Palmer’s politically charged yet deeply human approach to tailoring feels perfectly aligned with the emotional atmosphere of Pitti Uomo 110.
Even the massive central installation by designer Philéo Landowski and artist Pascal Hachem reflects this mood. Instead of creating a literal swimming pool, the duo focuses on the hidden infrastructures beneath it: oversized industrial pipes transformed into a monumental sculpture visitors can physically walk through.
It’s about what exists beneath the surface.
Invisible systems. Hidden labor. Emotional architecture.
Which feels strangely accurate for fashion in 2026.
WHAT EVERYONE WILL ACTUALLY BE TALKING ABOUT
Beyond the runway calendar, Pitti Uomo 110 is packed with moments likely to dominate fashion group chats and Instagram stories all week.
There’s the return of cult labels like Dickies, presenting its SS27 collection while dressing the entire Pitti staff. There’s the revival energy around Murphy & Nye and RefrigiWear. There’s Japanese outdoor giant Snow Peak continuing its slow takeover of luxury fashion spaces. And there’s Sundek’s relaunch under BasicNet, reconnecting surf heritage with contemporary Italian fashion culture.
The fair also continues its global expansion with projects spotlighting Korean, Chinese and Japanese creativity through CODE Korea, CHINA WAVE and J∞QUALITY — reflecting how dramatically the center of gravity in menswear has shifted toward Asia over the last decade.
Meanwhile, the buyer list reads like a map of the entire international fashion ecosystem: from Dover Street Market and SSENSE to Harrods, Isetan Mitsukoshi and Galeries Lafayette.
In other words: what happens in Florence this week will shape retail globally six months from now.
PITTI’S BIGGEST FLEX? STILL MAKING PHYSICAL FASHION MATTER
At a time when much of the fashion industry exists online — accelerated, algorithmic and endlessly scrolling — Pitti Uomo continues to defend the value of physical presence.
Touching fabrics.
Meeting people.
Discovering brands accidentally.
Walking through the Fortezza in 35-degree heat while carrying too many tote bags and an overpriced iced coffee.
That’s still the magic.
And maybe that’s why THE POOL works so well as a theme.
Pools are social spaces, but also reflective ones. Places where bodies, identities and performances become hyper-visible. Places of leisure that can also feel strangely lonely. Intimate and public at the same time.
Pitti Uomo 110 understands this contradiction perfectly.
This season, Florence isn’t just hosting a menswear fair.
It’s building a temporary emotional landscape for the future of fashion.
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