If Milan is considered the backbone of Italian fashion, then Florence, the city of Renaissance art and architecture, located in the country’s centre, is its unsung hero. Florence is home to Pitti Uomo, a leading and globally renowned menswear fashion trade fair where trends are set, men’s style is born, and designer brands are discovered.
Held twice a year, in January and June, over four days, the business and cultural event often sets the men’s fashion calendar for the year ahead. It features a series of runway shows, brand exhibitions, guest programmes, and social gatherings.
Pitti Uomo is one of the rare places where you’ll encounter some of the most impeccably dressed people in one setting.
Each season, thousands of visitors from around the world, including menswear enthusiasts, buyers, designers, brand owners, editors, stylists, and creatives from key and emerging markets, descend on Florence for the series of festivities.
Launched in 1972, the gathering is historically known for celebrating sartorial, classical menswear with Italian sprezzatura – or the art of effortless dressing, as we know it today.
The Rise of the Female Dandy
Once viewed as an exclusive boys’ club characterised by men in dapper linen outfits and bold silk scarves, sleek pinstripe suits, gilets, and fedoras – the kind of garments and accessories that typically define a sophisticated, traditionally masculine style – today Pitti Uomo offers a slightly different picture.
In recent decades, the showcase has seen a rising number of dandizettes, or female dandies. Though largely overlooked throughout history, the female dandy has existed for centuries, challenging gender norms by subverting menswear and rewriting its rules from a female gaze.
By reimagining menswear, these dandizettes are challenging the status quo, disrupting long-established norms around gendered dressing.
The women of Pitti Uomo don’t necessarily use their style to embody masculine energy, but rather as a form of self-expression and identity, showcasing and harnessing the power of their own femininity.
Multi-hyphenate creatives like Tamu McPherson, stylists Britt Gray and Arlene Peleka, and fashion mavens Angelique Noire and Sade Akinosho exemplify the influential women, particularly of colour, who are reframing this largely Eurocentric menswear space.
Their style is not one-dimensional. On the contrary, it’s versatile and shapeshifting.
For instance, Angelique, who typically attends the fair with her partner, a fellow style enthusiast, might wear an androgynous suit on one day, and a playfully flattering period-style dress crafted in Angola the next.
In Tamu’s wardrobe, you’ll find a Thebe Magugu heritage dress alongside a quirky outfit by Italian brand Miu Miu.
It’s with this versatility and nuance that these female dandies are reshaping the narrative, bringing forward cultural ideas and discerning style narratives.
However, like with most fashion platforms today, Pitti Uomo also serves as a performative arena. As one of the world’s biggest stages for tailoring, it would be unusual if there were no exhibitionist aspect to the occasion.
Dandizettes, alongside other visitors with unique style, are often captured by streetstyle photographers, leading to viral social media moments and features in Vogue, Women’s Wear Daily, and other major publications.
This visibility has helped popularise the female dandy at Pitti Uomo, while also opening the event to more women attendees.
AW26 Style Trends at Pitti Uomo
Looking at the recent showcase, Autumn/Winter 2026 style trends across menswear and womenswear centre on pragmatic yet personalised dressing, with a strong focus on texture and durability.
Designers and guests alike leaned into winter staples, including layered premium fabrics such as tartan and cashmere, corduroy sets, leather boots, cosy scarves, and faux fur in natural tones – timeless cold-weather pieces we all know and return to each season.
With the rest of the styling more restrained, accessories – from caps and colourful beanies to neckpieces, leather bags, separates, and bold ties – emerged as key focal points, adding character to otherwise muted looks.
With the next edition just months away, there’s no doubt that the female dandy will continue to influence Pitti Uomo – both on the streets of Florence and within exhibitions and designer shows – quietly shaping the next era of menswear tailoring.
That’s the force of the female dandy in action – subtle, assured, and impossible to ignore.
About Pitti Iomo
- Location: Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy
- Frequency: Bi-annual
- Access: Tickets available from the official website
- Nearest Airport: Amerigo Vespucci in Florence
- Stay: Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, The James, W Florence, The Hoxton
- Next edition: 16–19 June 2026
- Website: pittimmagine.com
