Pitti Filatti, Florence has been a dream of mine to visit. I did it this year in January with NTU as a school excursion. To be honest I was a little disappointed because it was the Spring Summer exhibition that we visited. The yarns were amazing quality and tactility was paramount, however the knit structures and diversity were somewhat limited and it was explained that the Autumn Winter exhibition was much more exciting to visit. All the same I found the 'Future Trends' area highly inspirational as it was much more youth and trend focused. The pictures shown are from the 'Future Trends' stand and through the imagery it is evident that appreciation of land and the hand crafted (feel) was coming to the forefront of trend analysis. The stand had tractors and farming machinery to support the trend definition while the mannequins had an Amish feel with simple yet interestingly constructed pieces being displayed.   

I found the whole experience of Pitti Filatti interesting as I had over thought the whole experience after hearing so much from many sources. Inspirationally it was great with various interpretations of upcoming trends from yarn choice in weight, fibre, ply and yarn colour and ways to use the yarns. Texture and colour have become the relevance of upcoming development with the incorporation of mixing patterns, colour and texture within the one garment. The weight of the cottons, silks, linens and especially the merino has developed greatly, with merinos now in super fine (finer as a silk and blended with various fibres for more superior results). Development in the yarn fibre area felt paramount at the expo with an underlying tone to the importance of environmental sustainability.

 

However, many of the students, found the stallholders were disappointing in their approach to us as students. There was only one stallholder that followed the belief that we were the new generation of designers and should be treated with the same respect as existing designer; he was of Asian origins, with a less discriminate approach to business. The negativity from store holders really made you feel uncomfortable and less willing to participate in the exhibition once you were in Industry. Their loss, I feel.

Overall, I would love to visit Florence again however this time visit the Autumn/Winter exhibition to experience the difference between the two seasons and allow myself to make a more informed decision on the relevance and importance of the exhibition (it is argued the Spin Expo- Shanghai has taken over in size and relevance to Industry, it is also more local to us in Australia).