MILAN – Pitti Uomo has announced a fourth guest designer for the upcoming edition of the menswear fair, adding further buzz to the event, scheduled for June 16 to 19.
The 2024 LVMH Prize for Young Designers’ semifinalist Jiyong Kim, a South Korean designer, was named special guest of the trade show where he will present his spring 2027 menswear collection.
“Being invited as a special guest at Pitti Uomo this coming June is both an honor and a meaningful moment for us. At JiyongKim, we do not see clothing as a fixed result, but as something that evolves through time and exposure,” Kim said.
The South Korean menswear designer is to mount an installation inside the fair’s Fortezza da Basso venue and host a presentation and exhibition. Hinged on one-of-a-kind garments, whose finishes are achieved through the signature “Sun-Bleach” technique of leaving fabrics exposed to natural weather conditions, the JiyongKim brand is known for experimental silhouettes.
“Our ‘Sun-Bleach’ process allows natural forces to shape each piece, leaving behind marks that cannot be controlled or replicated. For this project, rather than presenting a single moment, we are interested in creating an exhibition where garments, space, and time can unfold together. Moving away from a traditional runway format, we aim to offer a more immersive and layered experience. Through this exhibition, we hope to present work that continues to respond to its surroundings and remains open to change over time,” Kim explained.
JiyongKim’s participation at Pitti Uomo was orchestrated in tandem with the Korea Creative Content Agency, a government agency under South Korea’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The latter has been a partner of the Florentine trade show for a year now, having collaborated on the creation of the first Code Korea section in June 2025. The spotlight was replicated last January.
A look from JiyongKim.
Courtesy of JiyongKim
“Our interest in JiyongKim’s work began almost as soon as he debuted, but has since consolidated in recent seasons, thanks to the originality of his reflections on fashion and the method he adopts in designing his garments. His style ranges from technical experimentation to a refined play of contrasts, from ‘Sun-Bleach’ to sophisticated pattern making,” said Francesca Tacconi, special events coordinator at Pitti Immagine, the trade show’s organizer.
“We felt it was important to bring to Pitti Uomo his fresh approach to materials’ second life, in relation to the incessant flow of time: each garment is conceived as a mechanism in a sustainable yet unrepeatable natural cycle, an authorial intervention that transforms vintage fabrics and garments into unique pieces, with signs of transience and subtle references to the climate crisis. Jiyong Kim’s is therefore an artistic and slow fashion ideology, which exalts the authenticity of experience and transforms it into beauty,” she offered.
The announcement of JiyongKim follows news that Sunflower, DSM Kei Ninomiya and Simone Rocha will also be guest designers at the upcoming edition of the fair.
Notable guest designers at past fairs have included Hed Mayner, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake, Niccolò Pasqualetti, MM6 Maison Margiela, Setchu, Marine Serre, Martine Rose and Grace Wales Bonner.
