As part of the next edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo 94 which will be held in Florence from June 12 to 15, 2018, Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery will present “Fanatic Feelings – Fashion Plays Football”, an exhibition curated by Markus Ebner, founder of football magazines German fashion. Purchasing method And Sepp Football Fashionand contemporary art critic Francesco Bonami.
With the 2018 World Cup taking place in Russia and Eastern European aesthetics dominating contemporary fashion, the exhibition will take place at the Complesso di Santa Maria Novella, Florence. It will be inaugurated on June 11 and 12, 2018 and will remain open until July 22, 2018.
Through an extensive multimedia presentation, the exhibition will highlight the impact of football on men’s fashion, combining tailoring and sportswear in a mutual fusion. It will include illustrations of famous footballers by Karl Lagerfeld and Hiroshi Tanabe as part of the rich Sepp Football Fashion archives from 2002 to 2018.
The exhibition will also retrace the lives of football icons and fashion enthusiasts such as George Best, Eric Cantona and Gigi Meroni, who helped to strengthen the links between football and costume. “Street Style» The section will spotlight fashion icons such as David Beckham, Neymar and Franck Ribéry on what they wear off the pitch.
Projections of Zidane: a portrait of the 21st century the documentary by artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno will also be revealed.
Lapo Cianchi, Director of Communications, Special Events and International Relations at Pitti Immagine, explained why Pitti Immagine got involved in this project.
Why did Pitti Immagine organize an exhibition analyzing the links and reciprocal influences between fashion and football? This theme had already been explored before by creators through campaigns, legacies and collections….
It’s true. Many designers and brands have already launched their own initiatives and specific interpretations of football in relation to fashion in the past, although no one has ever created a project analyzing the phenomenon independently and beyond the initiatives of individual brands . In addition, as this year there will be world championships, we will talk a lot about this subject. This is why we took the opportunity to reflect and analyze in depth a complex phenomenon like this. We will approach it partly from a cultural point of view, but also through some more glamorous elements. In fact, these two worlds share many similar aspects….
Sketch of Paul Pogba by Karl Lagerfeld
Can you name a few?
Both worlds are based on aspects of costume and popular culture. For example, both worlds involve their own star systems, fans, and intrinsic aesthetic values. We tried to define such a distinct aesthetic. On one side we found a kind of higher aesthetic sense, but on the other side we also found some very scintillating aspects. And, equally importantly, we understood how body perception plays an important role in both worlds.
In what sense are you going to approach this phenomenon through a cultural lens?
In this project, we approached and compared two different languages, because each of these two worlds has its own. On one side there is men’s fashion, precise and very refined products, often made to measure, and on the other there is also a world that comes from the street and purely sporting activities. We also discovered that football players have their own elegance and aesthetic sense, which forms the basis of their own culture and lifestyle.
What will you present in this show? Clothes, photos, videos or what else?
Of course, we will not present any clothing because we do not want to create discontent. Instead, we will show photos and videos of this complex and unique world, on and off the playing field. We are also still considering whether and how many soccer-focused drawings made by Karl Lagerfeld and given to Ebner we will feature in the ‘exposure. It will certainly be a huge exhibition as it will occupy approximately 1,000 square meters.
Can you explain why you chose the title of the exhibition “Fanatic Feelings”?
Both worlds are populated by fans who often behave like fanatics… Think fashion and just think of a recently rising fashion designer. Now look at his fans… Don’t they remind you in some way of the fans of a seriously committed football team? Also consider that this exhibition is the third in a series following the one we organized in the summer of 2017 “Il Museo Effimero della Moda”. This exhibition was very exclusive, poetic and serious. This time we wanted to focus on another cool, but fun topic. And as unfortunately the Italian team will not participate in this year’s World Championships, we still had to have a good time!
