Buonjourno!
On the road again, this time to Florence. I like the Pitti Menswear Show as I’m part buyer, part seller, part writer, many cappellos that fit!
I walked the show on the first day with Mr B slightly relieved to find the temperature a little less than scorchio, last year in June we melted. Mr B said that he would have liked a box fresh shirt every couple of hours, fortunately for us this year we quickly found Eton Shirts.
I noticed that this brand was working well in Selfridges (they were flying off the shelf not in the ones and two’s but gents were buying 4 or 5 shirts in one go!) Now I realise that the appeal is world wide. It’s good to see a shirt brand doing so well. Clearly its not only Mr B that appreciates a well designed well made new shirt! With a name like Eton Shirts I had mistakenly thought the brand English, they were in fact founded by a husband and wife team in Sweden in 1928. So only 90 or so years for worldwide brand recognition and international sales then!
We also spent time with FEDON 1919 an Italian brand of beautifully made leather accessories that we introduced to the UK. This brand works because of a clever mix of new design and traditional craftmanship. They have been established almost 100 years, that 100 years is translated in their understanding of luxury production which makes every item special.
So with many years in the fashion business (ten years with a mens accessories brand denisonboston and two as an online retailer Boston&Boston) I find increasingly customers want a mix of old and new. Old manufacture, traditional values and new thoughtful design for our generation. Men want to look good but they also want functionality and durability and the next new design for the next new tablet, laptop, phone. Transition and tradition.
In Florence we stayed at The Grand Hotel Minerva, Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. In one of the oldest hotels in one of the oldest Piazza’s. This year they had installed a swimming pool and bar on the sixth floor. It was amazing. A swim at the end of a long hot day on your feet was just the trick, bliss. Transition and tradition.
As fast moving busy people in todays world the best brands that we buy, the best hotels that we visit work because they give us what we want. A mix of old and new.
Love DSB X
