Pitti Market: Cultural Group Assignment

When we arrived at Pitti Market at Fortezza di Basso our first impression was overwhelming but with a rush of excitement. Immediately we observed buyers with suitcases, photographers taking pictures, and an overall well dressed group of people. While inside we noticed that there were more men than woman and they were dressed more sophisticated. To our surprise the overall age group of vendors and buyers was a lot younger than we expected. Another observation we came across was that it was a family oriented atmosphere. The vendors invited the buyers into the booths as if it was their house, which allowed a very relaxed and personal feel. With knowledge of the Italian culture, with time being valued not spent we noticed that buyers and vendors spent a lot of time building a relationship. Going back to Retail Lab and Seminar we were able to recognize the process they were going through. In addition we were able to identify purchases being placed, buyers handling the clothing before making the purchase, and buyers negotiating the purchase.

Throughout the show we came across many trends in clothing, accessories, watches, and shoes. The colors that we saw the most were navy, pinks, greens, red, and oranges in various hues. Going along with colors we also saw textures such as lace, crinkle, and distressed. Some of the patterns that we saw were plaid, floral, stripes, and checkers. Overall the style of the clothing was very tailored which represented the Italian culture of always returning to their roots. 

  

Even though we all have a different bias on style, fit, and color. As a group, one of our self-inflicted prejudices is bright color on men. In our culture, men do not typically wear color; In the Italian culture, we see men wearing colors such as pink, purple, and green.  We have seen a lot of shorter hemlines on men. This style is not socially acceptable in the United States but is very common in Europe. Another one of our self-inflicted prejudices that made us uncomfortable is men carrying more feminine bags. Growing up in America we are not used to seeing men carry any another sort of bag besides a briefcase. Overall we have noticed that these trends will not make it to the United States, but if we were to become buyers or vendors we would not let our self inflicted prejudices get in the way.