Pitti Reveals Big Plans, Makes Peace

This afternoon, the fashion set chowed down on bacon, rigatoni, and cream sauce, which can mean only one thing: the biannual Pitti Immagine Uomo/W luncheon. Held at downtown Italian eatery Da Silvano, the afternoon gathering gave Pitti CEO Raffaello Napoleone the opportunity to speak with press, buyers, and more about the plans for the Spring ’15 Florence fashion fair—and boy, are there a lot of them. 2014 marks the 60th anniversary of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana (essentially the organizing body for all things fashion in Firenze), so in addition to exhibitions and presentations from emerging and established designers, fairgoers will be treated to a three-museum exhibition by Francesco Vezzoli, who will insert his own work among classical paintings, sculptures, etc.; an opening opera starring Andrea Bocelli; an exhibition of Roman costume atelier Sartoria Tirelli’s confections; a bevy of film screenings; the debut of Nick Wooster’s capsule collection; and more. Also on the docket? Florence-born brands Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, and Ermanno Scervino will each host special events.

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As reported last month, Z Zegna will be the featured guest menswear designer, but there will be no guest womenswear designer this season due to the many other events on the itinerary. We suppose the abovementioned powerhouses’ Florence-centric projects will suffice. “We don’t want it to be just another fair,” Napoleone told while sipping a glass of vino rosso. “We want to create a cultural experience.” Provided the itinerary lives up to expectations, it seems he’s done just that.

The overcrowded menswear schedule also came up in discussion this afternoon. If you’ll remember, there was a bit of a tiff between Pitti Uomo and the London Collections: Men last season, as the recently founded London shows conflicted with the Florence fair. “There will be no more troubles in 2015,” announced Napoleone. While the showcases will once again overlap this time around, next season the calendar for all four cities will shift, allowing London, Florence, Milan, and Paris each to have its fair share of time in the spotlight. (This helps explore the new dates for Paris Couture, too.) “This is better for everyone,” asserted Napoleone, telling us that it took one year to reach the final agreement. “Having four menswear events in Europe is a good opportunity because the manufacturers will remain strong and [we] can drive the [menswear] sensibility,” he added. It’s nice to see all the fashion cities (finally) playing nice.

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Join Jacquie Aiche’s Girl Gang With a Custom Leather Jacket

It isn’t every day a jewelry designer steps up to the sewing machine, but Jacquie Aiche isn’t your typical jeweler. Aiche started making her career-defining “finger bracelets” (delicate gold chains connected to a matching ring) for friends out of her Los Angeles garage, and as requests poured in from Hollywood and beyond, she found herself in the center of a cult phenomenon. The hand chain became a sort of symbol for the Jacquie Aiche “tribe”—with no retailers, you had to be part of the in-crowd to snag one of the pieces.

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Now Aiche stocks her distinctive jewelry at Saks Fifth Avenue, Catbird, Shopbop, Curve, My Theresa, and more. Her posse is expanding, too. “We travel as a tribe when we go to all the shows,” Aiche told Style. “We laugh about how we’re going to form a girl gang.” Aiche’s crew piles on the jewelry, but now they have another (super-special) way to pledge their allegiance: Aiche’s new leather jackets. Debuting exclusively here on Style, the bomber styles are decidedly unique. Constructed from exotic skins like snake, deer, ostrich, and crocodile, the jackets are completely customizable and handmade to order. A range of cool decorative patches is available, like the eye of Horus or a marijuana leaf (both recurring motifs in her jewelry line).

“It’s been a very organic process,” Aiche said of her foray into outerwear. “We were on our way to Paris fashion week and it was really cold, so I asked the guy who makes our leather jewelry pouches to take the leftover material and make jackets for us. They were magnetic from the first moment we wore them.”

At last night’s piercing party hosted by Love Adorned, model Phoenix Cotner sported her jacket topless with a tangle of necklaces, and several others were on hand to show off their toppers. “Each jacket is for a different woman,” Aiche said. “Maybe she wants protection, so she chooses the eye.” She recently sent jackets to Rihanna and Miley Cyrus—the latter has her name stitched across the back (we’re guessing the marijuana leaf made it on there, too). Shoppers looking for something extra luxurious can add black rabbit fur lining. We’ll be keeping that in mind for the next Polar Vortex.

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