If awards season is anything to go by, we’re set for an exciting year when it comes to menswear. And while Pitti Uomo and Milan Fashion Week Men’s look a little different for Autumn/Winter 2025, with a reduction in big-brand shows and activations, organisers expect new names to bring some crucial energy this season. And of course, from Prada to Giorgio Armani, we can rely on the major labels that remain to bring a suitable amount of buzz.
Even amid the luxury slowdown, the Italian menswear market is growing faster than that of womenswear, presenting an opportunity for brands that can cut through the noise. The Italian men’s designer apparel market grew 2 per cent to €2.2 billion in 2024, and is projected to grow a further 2.6 per cent this year, per Euromonitor. (The women’s designer apparel market, while much larger in size, grew just 0.02 per cent in 2024 to €3.7 billion and is projected to grow 0.05 per cent this year, according to Euromonitor.)
Fashion week governing body Camera Nazionale della Moda president Carlo Capasa is keen to remain positive and push the envelope on creativity to reignite stronger growth. “We should promote buying. But based on Italian creativity and craftsmanship. We shouldn’t think marketing will fix all problems. Marketing is an Anglo-Saxon word. In Europe we lead with creativity.”
Here, Vogue Business breaks down the brands, shows and events to note.
Pitti Uomo
There will be two guest designers at Italian menswear trade show Pitti Uomo this season, which takes place from 13 to 16 January. MM6 Maison Margiela will hold its show on 15 January at the art nouveau greenhouse Tepidarium Giacomo Roster in Florence. Unlike former Pitti guest designers (last season featured Marine Serre and Paul Smith, the season before was SS Daley and Magliano), the MM6 design team is not headed by a single, public-facing designer. Instead, the creative team behind its contemporary outerwear, accessories and separates is kept relatively anonymous. (Similarly, Margiela’s main line was led by the design team for five years between the tenures of Martin Margiela and recently departed creative director John Galliano.)
Emerging label Setchu is the second Pitti guest designer, showing on 16 January. Setchu was founded in 2020 by Japanese designer Satoshi Kuwata, who has held roles on Savile Row, at Givenchy and The North Face, all of which he says amount to a “360 design” perspective. Setchu won the LVMH Prize in 2023, and is known for modular, genderless, sculptural pieces.
“This year’s featured designers are two of the most exciting labels in menswear right now,” says Jian DeLeon, men’s fashion director at Nordstrom. “Satoshi Kuwata of Setchu reimagines tailoring and elegant dressing in a way that speaks to a gender-inclusive wardrobe while making the kinds of cerebral pieces that remind many people of why they love fashion in the first place. And MM6 has been building off of the energy of a great year with some news-making partnerships [collaborating with brands from Solomon to Supreme] and a renewed awareness of the brand.”
In recent years, Pitti Uomo has played host to major brand activations, from Fendi’s factory opening and show for AW24 and Paul Smith’s immersive art-inspired presentation for SS25. This season, there’s no big-ticket activation. But Ferragamo will host a presentation, celebrating the craftsmanship behind its latest shoe the Tramezza, where artisans will show the various construction steps that go into its creation. And at the fair, we’ll once again be visiting the Kering-backed S/Style showroom, which this season is challenging emerging talents Bennu, Connor McKnight, Curious Grid, Dhruv Kapoor, Junk, Margn, Maxime, Mworks, Philip Huang and Waste Yarn Project to create a look from recycled materials.
Milan Fashion Week Men’s
The schedule for Milan Fashion Week Men’s, running from 17 to 21 January, is relatively sparse this season, with notable absences from some of the city’s key brands.
There will be 16 physical shows and 45 presentations (last season had 20 shows and 42 presentations). But no Gucci, which has exited the men’s schedule to show co-ed during the womenswear season. And no Fendi, who dropped off the schedule amid creative director changes at the house. JW Anderson is also not showing, fanning the flames of rumours that designer Jonathan Anderson is leaving Loewe for a new house this year. Plus, Moschino, DSquared2, Neil Barrett and MSGM will not show for men’s AW25 (MSGM will instead host a party on 17 January). London designer Martine Rose, who showed in Milan in June, is not returning.
“In Milan, without two big commercial shows in Fendi and Gucci, the energy will doubtless be a little depleted,” says Vogue Business and Vogue Runway’s Luke Leitch. “And that’s before you consider the absence of JW Anderson (but why?) who has been such a brilliant addition to Milan in recent seasons, plus the absence of Martine Rose after her last-season cameo here. Furthermore, what ever happened to Versace menswear? And why no Moschino, when its designer is such a menswear connoisseur?”
There are still some key brands to anchor the week, including shows from Prada, Giorgio Armani and Zegna and presentations from Ralph Lauren and Brunello Cucinelli.
“Any schedule that includes Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren (albeit in presentation) has some serious tentpoles, beyond even Paris — for these two are the old masters of menswear, its Beatles and its Stones,” Leitch says. “Fashion’s emphasis on the new makes it easy to overlook what a privilege it is to see their collections with them at the helm — even if Ralph doesn’t travel himself — I relish every chance to.”
“Prada continues to be one of my favourite shows of the season, especially with the way they continue to lead the charge in footwear trends. Their low-profile sneakers and dress shoes for spring 2025 are something we think will be items to watch this season,” says Nordstrom’s DeLeon. “There’s also a new energy around Armani, with Mr Armani making quite a splash with his return to New York last year, but also previous partnerships with Kith and Our Legacy that helped remind everyone why he’s regarded as one of the menswear greats.”
Leitch also looks forward to Zegna. “Under Alessandro Sartori, [Zegna] has evolved beyond its executive tailoring era to become what is in some ways menswear’s equivalent to womenswear’s Max Mara: a top purveyor of old-money modernist, with-a-twist neutrality (wreathed in plenty of wool and cashmere).”
“Zegna is always a personal highlight for me, our business with them is going from strength to strength and the shows always feel like a true experience,” adds Daniel Todd, buying director at Mr Porter, who also notes Brunello Cucinelli and Brioni as key labels for his customer. Dunhill under Simon Holloway is another expected highlight, experts agree, since he took the helm in 2023 and continues to revamp the brand.
Italian streetwear brand Philipp Plein and Chinese label Pronounce will each return to the runway this season, showing on 17 and 18 January, respectively, after a couple of seasons of hosting presentations. Elsewhere, buzzy outerwear player CP Company will stage a presentation, which Leitch notes as one to see. Outerwear in general is a key category for any autumn/winter in Milan, DeLeon says, “I couldn’t be more excited to see what’s happening in outerwear. Not only is it great to see someone like Haider Ackermann taking his vision to Canada Goose (and soon Tom Ford), but there have been some really interesting things happening with Chitose Abe’s Sacai, the resurgence of Barbour and other heritage outerwear labels like The North Face.
Several fresh names are on the schedule for AW25. Pierre-Louis Mascia, who previously showed on the women’s calendar until September 2023 before staging some smaller scale presentations, will open Milan this season; while emerging London-based designer Saul Nash will bring his performance-based, movement-inspired show concept to Italian soil for the first time. Buzzy streetwear label PDF, recently worn by the likes of Central Cee and Lewis Hamilton, will make its runway debut on 17 January.
London-based, Middle Eastern label Qasimi, will make its Milan debut with a presentation on 17 January. And Grossi, designed by Hyères 2020 finalist and denim designer Andrea Grossi, will make its presentation debut on 18 January, opening with a cocktail event and demonstration of the making of a Grossi garment from its raw materials to finished product.
For Camera della Moda CEO Capasa, it’s this new blood that will help drive the Italian fashion industry through 2025. “I’d love to focus on the energy. We are experiencing big crises, not even just within the [fashion] industry, but externally,” he said during a press conference ahead of fashion week. “Our brands should pursue creativity as best they can. Delivering dreams is the way we restart consumption. So I’m very much relying on the ability of young designers to do that.”
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