Excellence and quality are the antidote to uncertainties

How can we revitalize, stimulate, and relaunch a fashion market that is enveloped in an apathy that seems to have no end? This is the key question that hovers, whether overt or hidden, among the stands of the Florentine fair Pitti Uomo, which until tomorrow hosts 740 brands, 45% of which are foreign, exhibiting their clothing, accessories and lifestyle collections for spring-summer 2026.

The companies answer in chorus: the way forward is to focus on beautiful and “authentic” products, the result of accurate, versatile, durable workmanship and the right price, that is, far from the crazy price increases that have been seen in the last two years. From large to small brands, the refrain is the same: stop ostentatious, designer, shouted luxury, green light to timeless, logo-free elegance. “The market needs suggestions,” explains Marco Landi, owner of the brands L’Impermeabile and Zerosettanta (and president of Cna-Federmoda ), five million in revenues, “and we have chosen to focus on the territory, giving legs to the Tuscan lifestyle with an offer that includes the Empoli raincoat, the Maremma jacket with the Capalbio brand, the Tuscan cigar for which we have created a vest. We try to propose a concept, a lifestyle.”

Trying to distance itself from wars and duties, trying to focus on the well-made product, is the path taken by the knitwear brand Daniele Fiesoli who is launching the project “Seminare bellezza”: «Each shirt of the 2026 summer collection – explains the Florentine entrepreneur, more than 15 million in turnover in 2024 for 65% exports – will have a biodegradable tag and a sachet containing 20 seeds of wild flowers selected to bloom from May to September and thus help bees survive. It will mean spreading about five million seeds around the world, and thousands of smiles from Reykjavik to Palermo in front of the beauty that the flowers will release». According to Fiesoli the direction is clear: «The market demands elegance, which does not mean formal garments».

Versatility, to be able to use the jacket for several months, is the answer of the outerwear brand Duno by Chris Wang , headquarters in Empoli and production in China in the family business: «There will always be difficulties – explains the entrepreneur, 15 million in turnover for 70% export to Europe and Asia – but you have to be good at proposing the right product: with climate change and milder temperatures, we have adapted the garments so that they are suitable for the mid-seasons». The same line of adaptation to the warmer climate has been followed by the scarf brand Faliero Sarti , which has now extended to ready to wear: «Our scarf has become lighter – explains Federico Sarti, owner with his sister Monica of the company with a turnover of nine million for 70% export – and has increased in size so that it can also be used as a sarong. We are about to open the sixth store in Panarea, which will be seasonal, and we are convinced that only by focusing on quality and specific products can we have a chance».

This is what the small Modena-based leather goods brand Biagini, owned by the Amidei family, with a turnover of almost four million, has done: «We are aiming for a product that has a history, is authentic, handmade, a product that you can pass on: it is the card we can play in this complex market».