Top image: Backstage at Stefano Pilatti for Random Identities, Pitti Uomo 97 / Photography Vanni Bassetti

As fashion events worldwide continue to get cancelled, Pitti Imagine‘s Board of Directors today shared a message of optimism alongside the news that upcoming June events would be rescheduled, not removed. Explaining that measures had been taken to allow all staff to work from home, a statement published on the official website reassured read: “What we want to tell you loud and clear is that we are all working hard to open next June’s fairs on the days announced. We have never stopped. Put simply, it is out duty: no more or less than our duty towards you.”

In terms of this year’s events, Pitti Uomo – the influential menswear trade fair which recently hosted shows by Telfar, Stefano Pilatti and Jil Sander – has been moved from June to 2nd September, when it will run for the usual three days. A handful of other events have been similarly postponed, either until September or at a 2021 date to be announced in the near future.

“We are fully aware that this fair season will not be like all the others,” the statement continued. “It will be an exceptional season, combatting the fear and the emergency. Not in order to remove them but rather with the aim of facing them and realistically laying down the foundations for a relaunch that is as rapid as possible.”

The pandemic has also sparked investment into a new, advanced version of the e-PITTI Connect digital platform, which promises to offer new levels of interaction for fashion professionals and fans alike. It’s a pragmatic but ultimately optimistic approach, one summarised by the statement’s accompanying hashtag: #pittilooksahead.

More information on rescheduled dates can be found on Pitti Imagine’s official website.