From 12 to 20 June, during Pitti Uomo, the Polimoda “Fashion Week” will take place again.

Florence, 24 May 2010.From 12 until 20 June 2010 the new edition of Polimoda Fashion Week will take place in the city of Florence: this second occasion introduces many new events and initiatives. Even more brand names – and not just from the world of fashion – will provide space for the ideas, pro-jects and creations of Polimoda's students, offering their shop windows in the city centre from Via Tornabuoni to Via Maggio, as an ideal meeting place for fashion, creativity and design. The most important new initiative in the 2010 edition will be the interactive event to be held in Piazza Strozzi in collaboration with the Colle Bereto Cafè, where young people, visitors to Pitti Uomo and the entire city will have the chance to star by participating in the video interviews In/contri and Video/Incontri event.

Bulgari, Emilio Pucci, Hermès, Max Mara, Patrizia Pepe, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Fer-ragamo, Space, as well as Allegri, Bang & Olufsen, Colle Bereto Cafè, Conte of Florence, Dodo, Loretta Caponi, Nomination, Universo Sport: these are just some of the prestigious brand names of the fashion world participating in this new edition. But not only will fashion be involved – the windows of the shops along Via Maggio, the street famous for the oldest and most beautiful antique shops of Florence, will provide magnificent settings for Polimoda creations in an encounter/comparison of design today and yesterday.

During the week Polimoda fashion will also occupy other unusual settings and historic locations in the city: the Lemon-house of Zenobi del Rosso in the Boboli Gardens will provide the setting for an exhibition of one-hundred interpretations of the designs of well-known fashion houses, devised by students of the pattern-making course, while the Montedomini Centre in Via de' Malcontenti will provide an unusual location for an exhibition of the collections created by Polimoda students.

“We have aimed – says Linda Loppa, Director of Polimoda – to create an event that not only reflects our educational programmes, but also offers an opportunity for Polimoda, Florence, the city’s residents and all the Italian and foreign visitors to Pitti Uomo to meet and mingle. We hope that the initiatives will involve everyone, stimulating active and constructive discussions about fashion. But we also intend to provoke criticism as this can generate new creative ideas and stimulate cooperation, during a period when the city hosts an exciting event and is particularly receptive to challenging ideas.”

Florence will be the setting for two important initiatives, both open to the public, where the debate will centre on fashion. Every day in Piazza Strozzi from 6pm to 8pm VIDEO/INCONTRI will take place – double interviews with an open exchange of opinions on crucial themes relating to fashion, which will involve well-known personalities, students, teachers and visitors. The interviews will be projected at the Polimoda stand during the event and will be available on the Polimoda site.

A second initiative is IN/CONTRO DI PAROLE (Word Links), a fun game created by the Polimoda Marketing Department, which will last throughout Polimoda Fashion Week. Guided by the Polimoda fashion week map, participants will examine the shop windows in the centre of Florence and, usung their own creative skills, choose two similar or contrasting words or phrases and consign them in the envelope provided at the Polimoda desk in Piazza Strozzi. Those who devise the most creative word pairs will be invited to participate in the video-interviews on the theme of “Who would you most like to meet (in Florence)? Tales of (im)possible encounters.” Every participant will receive a Polimoda gift.

There will be many occasions during Fashion Week to discuss and analyse the world of fashion. Polimoda will hold a debate on the increasingly topical issue of outlets in a conference scheduled for 14 June at 10am in the Medici Riccardi Gallery, entitled “Cities and Outlets: two worlds face to face”, organised jointly with Confesercenti Firenze (Florentine business community). On Thursday 17 June, at 6pm, the Feltrinelli bookshop will host the presentation of the book “Psicologia Sociale della Moda” (social psychology of fashion). A discussion will take place with author Paola Pizza - a Polimoda lecturer, psychologist and business consultant - and other well-known experts in the sector. From 14 to 18 June a series of workshops on architecture will be held in Scandicci, entitled “Progettare la Sostenibilità” (planning for sustainability), organized by AND Progetto Sapere and Scandicci town council; the initiative is intended for professionals in the sector who will be planning the new Polimoda Campus.

Polimoda Fashion Week is also an opportunity to promote “new talent”, and is part of Polimoda's mission to help students get started in the world of fashion following their training. On the occasion of Pitti Uomo, in fact, former student Filippo Fanini, who graduated in Fashion Design with a Master in Advanced Fashion Design in 2009, will present his own collection “Noonk” in the New Beats section, dedicated to first-timers.

Polimoda Fashion Week will be preceded on 9 June by the final fashion show of the collections created by students graduating in Fashion Design, to be held in the SaschAll Theatre. Open to the public, the fashion show is a double event taking place at 6.30pm and 9.30pm. Tickets for the event are already on sale on the SaschAll website.

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Polimoda Fashion Week Schedule

Go to Polimoda Fashion Show page