Pitti Uomo: Soshi Otsuki to be guest designer with his eponymous brand

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A portrait of Soshi Otsuki Credits: Courtesy of Pitti Uomo

Automated translation

Florentine trade show, Pitti Uomo, scheduled for January 13 to 16, has announced that Soshi Otsuki, designer of the eponymous Japanese brand Soshiotsuki, will be the guest designer for its 109th edition. For the occasion, the winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers 2025 will present his brand in Florence through a special runway show.

Soshiotsuki also created the outfit featured in the new campaign for the upcoming Pitti Uomo theme.

In a statement, Francesca Tacconi, special events coordinator at Pitti Immagine, shared: “Meeting Soshi Otsuki in Tokyo, entering his world, and feeling a natural affinity left us with no hesitation. We immediately offered him a premiere at Pitti Uomo in January.

“Soshi's work reveals an ideal of ambitious clarity, founded on a continuous dialogue with a thousand-year-old tradition, yet imbued with a modern sartorial awareness. These are worlds that coexist and influence each other. It is a 'Made in Japan' filtered through the concept of 'Made in Italy'.

"The reference is to the 'baburu keiki' years, the Japanese economic bubble in the mid-80s, when men in Tokyo wore Armani and Italian style. The language, however, is contemporary and entirely anti-nostalgic, recodified according to present-day desires with a subtle yet effective commercial appeal. We look forward to discovering Soshiotsuki's new collection in Florence, with its refined and concrete message.”

“It has been 15 years since I tried four times to enter a fashion competition in Italy, which I never won. At that time, I thought the sombre atmosphere of Japan was ill-suited to a bright sky like Italy's, so I set the idea aside. Now, more than a decade later, it is a great honour for me to be able to show in Florence. I am intrigued and excited by the idea of seeing the effect of Soshiotsuki's clothes under the Italian sky today,” said the designer.

Born in Chiba, Japan, Otsuki graduated from Bunka Fashion College, specialising in menswear. The designer also attended the private fashion school Coconogacco, based in Tokyo. In 2015, he launched his eponymous menswear brand; his second collection was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2016. The company was founded in 2021.

The brand's philosophy stems from the designer's personal interest in Japan's classic performing arts. This is translated into fashion through meticulous tailoring and craftsmanship.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

LVMH Prize

Pitti Uomo

Soshi Otsuki

Trade show