Band Of Outsiders And Rodarte To Headline Pitti In June

Florence is going all-American this June. Pitti Immagine, which sponsors the seasonal Pitti Uomo and Pitti W fairs, will host two California-based designers as its guests: Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders for the men’s fair, and Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte for the women’s. According to Pitti’s Lapo Cianchi, the local connection between the two is no accident. “Rodarte and Band of Outsiders are two very different design talents,” Cianchi says, “but they both connect us to the mythology of Western America: Los Angeles, where all three designers live and work; film, which they are obviously interested in; and the expanses of the interstate highway that runs through California or heads into the desert of Nevada. The European curiosity about California culture and the landscape played an important role in Pitti’s decision to invite both designers to Florence at the same time.”

Rodarte joins a roster of past Pitti W guest designers that includes Gareth Pugh, Haider Ackermann, and Giambattista Valli; Band of Outsiders follows Trussardi 1911, Corneliani, and Adam Kimmel.

Above: Fall 2011 looks from Rodarte (left) and Band of Outsiders (right).