Soshiotsuki Fall/ Winter 2026 / FW26 at Pitti Uomo entitled “IN FLORENCE”

The SOSHIOTSUKI Fall/Winter 2026 collection focuses on the manipulation of tailoring details and the relationship they create with the body. Peak lapels and shirt collar tips are given an artificial curl through pattern engineering and ironwork, introducing a subtle sense of movement into otherwise static structures. Oxford shirts are constructed on the bias, intentionally emphasizing the drape that appears when tucked in, and designing an expression that is completed through the motion of wearing.

At the core of this seasonʼs creative process is a question surrounding the feeling of “nostalgia.” Why do we feel a sense of longing for scenes and eras we have never actually experienced? The designer, who did not formally study tailoring nor receive specialized education abroad, travels to Italy the spiritual home of tailoring to reinterpret its context through a personal lens. This act can be seen as a kind of reverse importation. Quiet and rigid. An aesthetic stripped of excessive decoration and overt emotion. Silhouettes that remain largely unchanged regardless of culture or nationality. Within this framework, identity is not understood as something rooted in cultural background, but rather as something formed through an accumulation of posture, decisions, and attitude.

This season explores tailoring through multiple collaborations, reconsidering its framework from different perspectives. These include PROLETA RE ART, which traverses the boundary between art and clothing; Spanish shirtmaker CAMISAS MANOLO; and GUNZE, founded in 1896. Pieces by artist KOTA OKUDA, who has collaborated with the brand since 2023 and works between material and expression, are also presented. In addition, a new collaboration with ASICS Sport style focusing on the relationship between sport and body structure launches with this runway show. Each collaboration is positioned not as decoration, but as an experiment in rethinking structure, function, and physicality.

Presented at Pitti Immagine Uomo 109, the latest collection does not exaggerate tailoring as something exceptional, but instead quietly manipulates, observes, and updates it for the future.

Q: How does it feel to be showing at Pitti Immagine Uomo (hereafter referred to as “Pitti”)? Where and how do you usually show?

A: I have presented my collections in Tokyo in a lookbook format until now, but it is a great honor to be able to stage a show at Pitti, a place with a long history as a festival of menswear and one that has invited so many legendary designers. Having been born and raised in a remote island nation in the Far East, and having long stood outside the context of the international fashion scene, the desire to leave my mark as a counterpoint to Western tailoring culture has always been at the core of my creative work. Standing here today, I feel both as though I have finally stepped into a page of history and a very honest sense of “Iʼve finally made it this far.”

Q: What is the inspiration for this collection? Do you produce in Italy?

A: Until now, I have drawn strong inspiration from the period during Japanʼs bubble economy in the 1980s and 1990s, when Made in Italy suits were in vogue. This time, I wanted to take that era when Italian suits were flowing into Japan and go one step further, imagining a reversal of perspective, almost like a form of reverse importation, from Japan to Italy. However, this is not about opposition, but rather a sense of coexistence. I aimed to combine the strengths of both Japanese and Italian suits. I was also deeply inspired by the unique evolution of suits in Japan at that time, which developed its own distinct, almost “Galápagos-like” context. In addition, 98% of our production is carried out in Japan.

Q: The last 6 months have been amazing for you: winning the LVMH Prize and now showing at Pitti Uomo: how does it feel? What next is coming up?

A: Amid such rapid changes in my environment, I honestly feel that reality has not quite caught up with me yet. That is why, for now, my most genuine feeling is simply a desire to properly catch up with these changes. Looking ahead, we have a number of collaboration projects and events lined up, and I want to make each of them something truly solid and meaningful.