Spring ’15 marks the 60th anniversary of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana, and thus, a very special edition of Pitti Immagine. In addition to guest brand Z Zegna’s forthcoming show, presentations from up-and-comers like Au Jour Le Jour, and a three-museum installation by Francesco Vezzoli, houses with Florentine roots such as Gucci, Ferragamo, Pucci, and Ermanno Scervino are hosting bashes and celebratory exhibitions. Needless to say, this installment of the Italian fashion fair needed to kick off with gusto, and it did just that last night at the Opera di Firenze.
The evening began with I Costumi Della Sartoria Tirelli—a show comprising of costumes from the storied Roman atelier created between the 1950s through the present. I was particularly taken by the lavish scarlet gown and gilded, pearl-embellished crown worn by Monica Bellucci in Terry Gilliam’s 2005 flick, The Brothers Grimm, as well as the ruffled rose suit donned by Donald Sutherland in Federico Fellini’s 1976 film, Casanova. The latter earned its designer Danilo Donati an Oscar in 1977.
Following a stroll through Tirelli’s sartorial fantasyland, guests including Pitti CEO Raffaello Napoleone and Suzy Menkes were ushered into the theater, where we were treated to a concert from Andrea Bocelli and Patrizia Orciani. You didn’t need to speak Italian to be stirred by the pair’s performance—in fact, Bocelli’s “Ave Maria” encore moved more than a few attendees to tears.
Walking out of the theater, Menkes commented that, while packing at 2 a.m. for fashion events like Pitti, it’s easy to forget how remarkable they can be. If this opener is any indication, we’re in for quite a week.
