The Tamesis
Other participants even traveled from Bangkok, Taiwan and Tokyo, Yasutake said. Technical director and part-time DJ Louis Chen flew in from Taiwan to participate in the Suit Walk. He has 21,000 followers on Instagram. His walking look featured a gray three-piece suit paired with a navy plaid coat, accessorized with a houndstooth scarf, a floral scarf and a blue and red striped bow tie. Tuesday was his third suit walk, having attended two previous events in Japan. “I have flown to Sebiro Sanpo from Taiwan three times. I know the organizers very well and I have close connections with the Japanese menswear industry 1768394552,” he said, “I’m very happy [Sebiro Sanpo] Now in Pitti. I can’t believe how many people were involved. I think there are more people participating today than in Japan. So that’s awesome…I’m really touched. “
VBC is currently focused on expanding its operations in Japan, which is how Barberis Canonico and his team met Sebiro Sanpo. Yoshimi Hasegawa, the plant’s Japanese ambassador, introduced the two organizations. In addition to the Pitti Uomo Suit Walk, VBC sponsored Sebiro Sanpo’s sixth Suit Walk in Osaka last year to increase the visibility of its textiles in Japan.
While publicity is the main goal of Suit Walk, to promote tailor-made clothing to the masses, Vitale Barberis Canonico also hopes to attract the attention of potential customers from the 750 brands exhibiting at Pitti Uomo. The manufacturer has previously been active in Pitti through rock events held in the Liverano tailor shop. During this event, a cocktail reception was held at the same location after the walk.
“Obviously, we’re more of a business-to-business, we don’t own stores or sell kits. We’re an ingredients brand,” Barberis Canonico said. “We want people to understand our fabrics and our history. Whether it’s their first job interview, their first wedding, or they’re just looking to buy their first suit, we’ll cater for their needs [the next generation]. Nowadays, they can find our fabrics on the Internet and hopefully they will choose us. We hope they will get bored of tracksuits and sneakers. “
This is not the first time Sebiro Sanpo has collaborated with a brand. The nonprofit received outreach support and space from Mitsubishi Estate for its fifth event in Marunouchi, Japan. Last year, it also collaborated with Barbour on a Tokyo event. The brand provided the six founders with wax jackets to match their suits.
While sponsorships help promote the concept in new cities, Sebiro Sanpo aims to remain as brand-neutral as possible. That’s why at Pitti it was right to work with factories rather than brands, keeping participants’ suits “brand neutral” and “ensuring that lovers of any suit brand can participate equally”. Yasutake said the next Sebiro Sanpo event is planned to be held in Japan. “While future walks are currently undecided, we are already seeing growing interest from around the world, with participants traveling from Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea to attend our recent event in Japan,” he added.
As for the events in Florence, content from public bystanders and influencers has flooded the web. “Unlike static mannequins or catalogues, seeing people actually wearing suits and walking down the street conveys the texture of the fabric and the beauty of the cut in a ‘living’ form,” continues Yasutake. “Walking through public spaces allows the public to see [this type of] Wear it straight and help redefine it into something approachable and relatable. “
