Like every season, Florence becomes the place to be for fashion lovers and connoisseurs during the renowned Pitti Immagine Uomo, the short but highly relevant fashion week that takes place twice a year. One of this edition’s highlights is the introduction to the world of Guess Jeans, a new brand by Nicolai Marciano, the son of Paul Marciano, co-founder of Guess forty years ago with his brothers. And what’s special about their new brand? That it aims to revolutionise the denim industry as we know it, just like they did when they presented their pair of stonewashed jeans back in the early 1980s.
Taking a look at the brand’s rich history of the past forty years but more especially focusing on the next forty, Guess Jeans is taking Florence by storm with two different projects: first, an installation within the grounds at Fortezza Da Basso, and second, an immersive experience at Teatro Del Maggio, both open to the public from January 9th to 12th. And because we can’t look into the future without remembering the past, it’s interesting to note the Marciano family’s link to the famed Italian city: it was Florence that saw the opening of the first European Guess store back in 1994. Feels like yesterday, doesn’t it?
The exhibition at Fortezza Da Basso “embarks upon a curated exploration of Guess’ storied past with a denim-focused retrospective paying homage to the brand’s humble beginnings and meteoric rise,” they explain from the brand. The meteoric rise they refer to, of course, is the introduction of the stonewash jeans in 1981, which caused frenzy among American buyers first, and the rest of the world later.
On the other hand, Teatro Del Maggio hosts an immersive installation where guests can witness the brand’s newest technological innovations, such as the Guess Airwash. As they explain, “this sustainable innovation significantly reduces water consumption by replacing the use of coarse pumice stones with light and air,” something that is certainly needed in today’s situation.
As a brand that’s helped define the aesthetics of the last decades since its foundation, Guess keeps pushing the boundaries of fashion through its newest venture, Guess Jeans. After the presentation in Florence, we’re yet to see what the next steps into the future they’ll take. But surely, their path is headed towards something great.
