This edition of Pitti Uomo had a fiery hot start, thanks in part to the weather in Florence, but mostly because of the HUGO SS18 show.

We arrived to the Manifattura Tabacchi, a former tobacco-manufacturing factory built in the 1930’s just when the sun began to set, and as the sky started to get darker we noticed a red glow coming from the building. It reminded us of the pictures of an infamous party held by the Rothschild family in 1972 where amber lights were used to create the illusion the building was on fire. It was surely a prelude of the upcoming show.

The runway extended through a hall between the buildings, with a huge metal sphere marking the place where it started. The music began, the lights were dimmed and suddenly the sphere caught fire. We were promised that the show would be a blast; we didn’t know it was going to be a literal promise.

The collection was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. The inspiration came from voodoo symbolism and referenced artists like Basquiat with its particular expression of style; precious clothing worn in a non-precious way. It was a great way to draw distance from its more refined big brother brand, Hugo Boss.

The pieces told a brilliant color story, starting with white and off-white looks that as the show progressed were filled with colors and artistic prints, some were even hand painted. The shape and tailoring drew inspiration from the first HUGO collection with loose silhouettes and exaggerated proportions. Also worth noting, a lot of pieces were created to be unisex like a pajama suit or belted overalls.

One big hit were the accessories. Giant sized men’s bags and chunky soled sneakers added a playful touch to the splashes of colors like blue, yellow (a must for the upcoming season) and the signature HUGO red that little by little transformed the collection into a vibrant living canvas.

Our favorite pieces from the HUGO SS18 collection? The mesh t-shirts and the electric blue pajama suit.

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Watch the highlights from the HUGO SS18 show here:

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