Pitti Immagine has announced that Soshiotsuki, the menswear label by LVMH Prize–winning designer Soshi Otsuki, will serve as the guest designer for the 109th edition of Pitti Uomo, taking place in Florence from January 13 to 16, 2026. Fresh off his 2025 LVMH Prize Grand Prix victory, Otsuki will unveil his Fall/Winter 2026 collection through a special runway presentation that blends Japanese sensibility with contemporary tailoring. He will also design the costumes featured in the fair’s new campaign visuals.

“Meeting Otsuki in Tokyo, I immediately sensed a deep connection with his world,” said Francesca Tacconi, Special Events Coordinator at Pitti Immagine. “His work engages in a dialogue with centuries of Japanese tradition while sharply interpreting modern tailoring. There’s a tension between restraint and vitality, evoking both the Japanese spirit and a certain Italian sensibility—an echo of the 1980s Tokyo era when men wore Armani and other Italian labels. Yet his approach is never nostalgic; it’s contemporary, thoughtful, and inherently commercial. We’re eager to see how his collection will resonate on the Florentine stage.”

Reflecting on the announcement, Otsuki commented, “Fifteen years ago, I competed in an Italian contest but fell short. Perhaps I thought Japan’s somber spirit didn’t belong under Italy’s bright sky. To return now, after more than a decade, and present a show in Florence feels truly special. I look forward to seeing how Soshiotsuki’s clothes reflect under that sky.”

Born in Chiba in 1990, Soshi Otsuki studied menswear at Bunka Fashion College and attended the private school Coconogacco before launching his brand in 2015 and incorporating it in 2021. He was a semifinalist for the LVMH Prize in 2016 and won the Tokyo New Designer Award in 2019. His brand explores “a form of dandyism shaped by Japanese spirituality and tailoring technique.”