An explosion of pattern - mostly animalia - overtook MSGM's Spring/Summer 2020 collection, which also happened to be the Italian label's 10 year anniversary collection. So it was a joyous, life-embracing collection full of fun, summery clothes meant to be taken outside in the sun, with bold colors and loud patterns smiling back at the sun.

Clare Waight Keller's first full-fledged menswear collection was shown in Florence to much anticipation. Until now, we've only ever had a smattering of men's looks interspersed among her larger womenswear collection for Givenchy. What was the result? It was an interesting posit with specific influences - Korean subcultures and Korean technical advances, the latter showing up in the technical fabrics. Tailoring also made a big impact here and it should since it's what Keller has been showing on her Givenchy men since her very first college - for couture, no less. That's where she shined brightest - sometimes quite literally with glistening tailored garments, such as a shiny brocade on a coat. Other interesting looks came in the form of the oversized parkas in liquid-y metallic fabrics and rave-inspired influences. In the end, it was a good effort and one that highlighted that her strength is in evening wear and tailoring.

Pitti Uomo celebrates 30 years this year and after Salvatore Ferragamo helped finance the restoration of one of Florence's most famed landmarks, the Florentine label showed its SS20 collection during Pitti. It was a coming-home event with call backs to the past but looking towards the future with a new creative director. The SS20 collection was more colorful with deep oranges, blues, olives and more; all seen on relaxed and sporty clothes. Especially eye-catching were the leather garments. Though they might not be the most practical in the summer, the suppleness and color saturation of the burnt orange pants or a light blue moto-jacket were inviting enough to want to purchase even if it meant you'd sweat through it in the hot summer sun. And, really, isn't that what fashion is about? Throwing practical out of the way for a beautiful piece of clothing?

Y/Project was invited to be the special guest designer at Pitti Uomo this season. Glenn Martins, the designer behind Y/Project, is known for his exploration of shapes. This manifested itself this season with a strong pattern story that gave off 3D effects, like one was looking at a puzzle. Fabrications also trended towards luxe with rakish trousers and fuzzy corduroys.

German mega-label Hugo Boss traveled to Florence to showcase its sporty label, Hugo. The result melded some big trends in fashion such as athleisure with branding and fluidity, both in the cuts but also gender. On that last point, many of the pieces could easily be worn by either sex while athletic-minded pieces like the cycling shirts, gym bags and patterned garments all evoked a street-friendly aesthetic, one that could be layered or easily removed and replaced quickly to keep up with the wearer's busy life.

Craig Green was invited to be a special guest at Pitti Uomo for SS19 and so he showed his latest collection not in London but in Florence and the result was visually arresting. His signature style was accented by clothes that looked like cut outs or drawings of other clothes: shirts that had a shadow of a camisole or a coat with what looked like overalls plastered on it. Speaking of shadows, the structures secured to the models looked like abstract figures like one would see in a figure drawing class exercise. All of this was spectacular to view but one has to wonder how this translates to commercial viability or is Green less concerned about that as he is about the art?

The original Band of Outsiders aesthetic hinged upon a certain cool-geek-intellectual aesthetic that's been injected into this SS19 collection shown in Florence, sans the founding designer. The SS19 collection looked similar to that of the old but the feeling was different, it seemed, as West Coasters would say: full of posers. There was an intended tackiness to the collection that was on trend with the industry but as a whole, the collection felt inauthentic. It is a very difficult job to have to revamp a label that was so loved and whose aesthetic nearly defined a chunk of American fashion history. It might not be entirely the design team's fault, instead majority of the blame should rest on the new owners who attempted to relaunch the label too soon, with everyone's fond memories still fully intact.

Roberto Cavalli's new designer, Paul Surridge (previously at Jil Sander and Z Zegna), offered a strong debut for the Italian house now owned by Clessidra. There was no lack of animal print but the strongest pieces were the ones that mixed the codes of the house (maximalist prints) with Surridge's pristine and carefree tailoring skills. There was plenty to digest here, ardent fans will see familiar offerings that won't dissuade them to go to other maximalist designers while those who've shied away from the loud prints and its equally vocal namesake designer will find something to appeal to them as well.

Fumito Ganryu's debut during Pitti Uomo was a big deal, mostly because his is the latest label under the umbrella and tutelage of Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garcons. The result of this collection was one that aimed to create harmony between the wearer and nature. Oversized cloaks, which were fully waterproof, were excellent metaphors to the rest of the collection, as if protecting them from the elements; the technical fabrics also juxtaposed the nature inspiration.

The Soloist's Takahiro Miyashita and Undercover's Jun Takahashi came together with a purpose to see what the result would be if they chose a theme on duality and each would design one half - think of it as "one picks yin and the other picks yan". The result was an explosive show that was a feast for the senses. The clothes, shown below, showed what each designer thinks of the future. One, Miyashita of The Soloist, sees a dark and ominous future of hooded warriors in nouveau tailored suits, while Takahashi opted for one of optimism littered with references to mistakes and human errors but also learning from it and reaching new boundaries. The finale saw a parade of shirtless models in opposing colors, The Soloist's gang in black and Undercover's in white.

For its Fall/Winter 2018 collection, M1992 looked to the 1980s for inspiration. The excesses of the decade lent to this collection boxy suits, extreme takes on classic menswear patterns like houndstooth and a play on Americana that felt quite subversive and apropos whilst in the midst of America's current political climate. That being said, the collection was undoubtedly fun and did not take itself too seriously. These are clothes for well-heeled youths who have money to burn on rhinestone encrusted hoodies and all-denim puffers.

Brooks Brothers, founded two hundred years ago this year, is one of the stalwarts of American fashion. It has shaped menswear in more than one ways; presidents have worn it and it's seen all throughout many of the biggest and most important board rooms around the US. So, why after this notoriety did Brooks Brothers decide to stage a runway show? For one, it's a celebration of its 200th anniversary and also, since shuttering its collaboration collection, Black Fleece, with Thom Browne, it wants to reinvent itself as a modern clothier with a high fashion reputation. Did it succeed? For the most part. The collection was undoubtedly more youthful than what one might see in stores, the proportions were much more Fashion-forward than conservative boardroom. In the end, skewing younger and playing around with the pack isn't why Brooks Brothers has endured for so long; it's because of its quiet innovation and though the clothes were perfectly good, if it's indistinguishable from the pack, can the company last another 200 years?

Virgil Abloh, the founder of Off-White, is having a moment. He has won awards and been recognized for his outstanding collection; he has also been recently tapped to redesign IKEA's famous oversized blue shopping bags. Last, and not least, he was invited to be the guest designer at Pitti Uomo in Florence.

What he showed in this Spring/Summer 2018 collection was special and proof positive that his accolades aren't for naught, his talent in messaging and design is a rare feat in fashion where embellishment is often seen as revolutionary. This quiet collection, looking almost ghostly - thanks in large part to the dramatic lighting - had elements of streetwear, tailoring and a youthful spirit that elevated the louche track jackets that zipped open and shut to reveal a taut stomach while technical fabrics seen on boxy pants worn with a cable-knit vest looks sublime.

Jonathan Anderson eschewed his runway show in London for Florence as a guest designer at Pitti Uomo and Rihanna comes to mind when viewing the collection since Anderson seems to have Love On The Brain. Hearts littered a collection that was surprisingly tamed, focusing on menswear staples and less on the conceptual and often gender-bending nature of Anderson's previous collections. Here, there was plenty for men (and women) who love Anderson's designs to wear but may have abstained because the clothing was just too out there for them. Has the British designer, who is also the creative director of LVMH-owned Loewe, changed his aesthetic? Only time will tell but this collection, shown in Florence, is clearly an outlier for Anderson and that in and of itself makes this collection special.

In its first show in eight years, Hugo by Hugo Boss chose to reappear on the fashion calendar in Florence during Pitti Uomo. It was in that rustic city that the label, which had been the subject of a podcast that details the German company's history with the Nazis, that roomy cuts and artful prints made their debut to great effect.

Eschewing a show in Paris, Paul Smith showed his FW17 collection in Florence during Pitti Uomo. What followed was an exercise in functionality and style. Rather than static models who stood in hot lights for hours at a time, Smith hired models to perform gravity defying feats while donning his performance-friendly collection. The clothes trended to have a base color of black with bright dashes of color, something Smith is known for.

Tim Coppens decamped to Florence this season to be the guest designer at the men's fashion expo, Pitti Uomo. The resulting collection was one of reflection, both in the literal sense, meaning reflective material that's common on Coppens' signature athletic-inspired sportswear, but also reflection with one's sense. This, too, took literal meaning with words such as "In My Heart" emblazoned on shirts and while a print of an atomic mushroom cloud had "Never Ending Fun" on it. In all, Coppens designed a collection that was streamlined, with touches of performance-ready fabrics and finishes to create a collection for the modern man on-the-go.

Fausto Puglisi is not a new name in fashion but this is his first menswear collection. The maximalist designer has been creating bright, pattern and print-heavy designs for women for years. Though the fashion calendar is in such flux, Puglisi was urged by retailers to create menswear so he did. The result was a richly colored and, you guessed it, pattern heavy collection that was sporty and ready for the streets to be photographed by street style photographers.

Raf Simons' Spring/Summer 2017 show traveled to Florence to showcase a grown up collection that was filled with sexual references, complemented by the work of others. Unlike other designers, Simons is giving in his praise and acknowledgement of influence. Here, he was influenced by famed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, whose photographs were printed onto the clothes. Mapplethorpe's homoerotic photographs of his subjects, sometimes nude, sometimes not, were seen on shirts, bags and everything in between. There was even a shirt with a photo of an erect penis. The resulting collection was quite striking and was filled with sexual references and subversion, take the leather hats, belts worn around the neck like a leash and the unbuttoned knits revealing bare skin or an image from the Mapplethorpe's archives.

The American references, like business shirts (oversized, disheveled like after a quick romp, hanging off the models), could be a sign of where Simons' mind is in. Particularly one American city: New York City. Rumor has it that Simons is soon to take up the creative directorship at Calvin Klein in August (after his non-compete with LVMH ends in July), overseeing both men's and women's. Mapplethorpe is one of New York's most famous sons and this collection could be signaling the big shift for Simons and his eponymous label. Regardless of his next move, Simons seems to be moving his collection forward in a more mature, sex-infused direction. Perfect for the house that Calvin built.

Dashing country boys strode down the runway at Visvim's Spring/Summer 2017 show in Florence. The collection was cool and nonchalant, with easy to wear pieces that popped out at the audience for their chic wearability. Summer sweaters in candy colors were standouts as were the slimming jackets and the outerwear.