Pitti Uomo celebrates Pierre-Louis Mascia at Palazzo Antinori
Pierre-Louis Mascia, a loyal participant in Pitti Uomo, had his moment of glory on Wednesday evening during a special event organised as part of the men's fashion show. The designer from Toulouse took over the historic palace of the Antinori marquises for the occasion, receiving his guests in one of the most beautiful buildings in Florence.
Right from the courtyard, the tone was set with an enormous draped canopy serving as a backdrop. Once you climbed the stairs to the palace, all you had to do was let yourself be guided through the series of rooms that has been redesigned by the talented illustrator-designer with his partner of fifteen years, the Como silk printer Achille Pinto.
One room was covered in dark drapes with multiple patterns, while sumptuous curtains opened onto fitting rooms of sorts, where the pieces of the collection for autumn-winter 2023/24 were displayed. Stoles with paisley designs in amaranth tones, wool tartan jackets, printed silk shirts, jacquard knits, quilted waistcoats, brightly coloured coats and printed velvet capes.
Inspired by abandoned civilizations, Byzantine mosaics and medieval symbolism, patterns and graphics merged in a palette of warm and dark colours, blending with text and lettering. Like a series of T-shirts, which was laid out on a large dining table amidst ancient Chinese porcelain, featuring words and poems by Baudelaire.
The melancholic melody of India Song from the film of the same name by Marguerite Duras, images of which were projected on a wall, gently accompanied the visitors, reinterpreted by the rapper Wisly, who also recited verses by Baudelaire. This intimate atmosphere gradually immersed the visitors in Pierre-Louis Mascia's world.
"I like to tell stories with images. I wanted to show here who we are, that is to say the textile, my designs, but also this house which accompanies me as an incredible work tool. On all the walls, we have selected a series of prints from our archives," explained the designer, emphasising how his work is part of a long term journey. "It's an idea that stretches and grows with each collection," he says.
The man who was for nine years the artistic director of the Parisian accessories show Première Classe and has worked, among others, for the shoe brands Robert Clergerie, Stephane Kelian and Arche, is continuing to develop. After the opening of a first boutique under his name in the heart of Milan last year, a new opening is planned, again in Italy, this time in Portofino. In addition, the brand has initiated a pop-up project within the Belmond luxury hotel chain.
The designer, originally from Rodez, who set up his studio in Toulouse, where he studied Fine Arts, started out as an illustrator, working in particular for Yohji Yamamoto and Romeo Gigli. He went solo in 2007 with a small series of printed silk accessories made by Achille Pinto, who became his financial partner in 2018.
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