Telfar Clemens and Stefano Pilati bring gender blurring brilliance to Pitti Uomo

This week Pitti Uomo saw designer Telfar Clemens’ eponymous label Telfar and Italian fashion stalwart Stefano Pilati’s label Random Identities blur gender boundaries with two exceptional collections.

Over the past couple years, Pitti Immagine, the organizing entity for Pitti Uomo has been inviting the world’s foremost fashion designers and the emerging wunderkinds to show in the Florentine capital.

Here's the verdict on two of the most hotly-anticipated collections.

Staged at the majestic Palazzo Corsini, Telfar greeted guests with red lights and a large round table, with its centre recessed and the top dressed like the aftermath of a grand dinner.

In the sunken middle, Telfar positioned Gio Escobar’s band Standing On The Corner for a concert, now a staple at his shows, and performances by show walkers.

Known for putting on a show, the New Yorker did not fail to deliver - and all with Solange Knowles sitting front row.

In 2018, Clemens won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize, and has been on a roll every since, blitzing the fashion arena with black queer verve and vigour.

For the brand’s AW20 showcase, Telfar fashioned a collection where the idea of misfits made sense. A penchant for embracing the rad, many of the looks featured denim jeans with biker twists while some were trimmed with puffer-like leg warmers. There were plenty of leather trousers too, a few mashed-up with knitting at the bottom. Silhouettes varied, with tops ranging from bodycon to billowing.

Clashing elements were seen in the jackets too.

It would have been remiss of Clemens not to showcase his hit raised “TF” logo pleather bags - aka the 'Bushwick Birkins' - and this season they came in moody tones. The signature “TF” leather boots finished a collection that sits in a space where both men and women can lean in.

Red seems to have been the uniting colour last night. At Stefano Pilati’s Random Identifies show, a red haze and smoke set the tone for a show with no seats. Everyone stood equally to look at a collection that exuded a decidedly non-binary feel.

Pilati launched Random Identities in 2017, and since then the former head designer for Yves Saint Laurent (2004-2012) and Ermenegildo Zegna’s (2014-2017) has been pushing a new direction for luxury - a fashion where the male and female symbol are interlocked (similar to the tattoo on his arm) and where random styles nonchalantly clash.

For his AW20 offering, a relaxed rebelliousness was the attitude. Drawing on his penchant for tailoring, the jackets, coats, trousers and shirting were sublime – but all with a twist.