Hed Mayner's Twisted Tailoring Set to Hit Florence
The crop of designers invited to guest-show at this week’s edition of Pitti Uomo is diverse and creative. Rooted in menswear classicism and rich in sartorial references, their process often lands in unexpected and experimental territory, marking a departure from what’s considered traditional.
Among them, the Paris-based, Israeli-born Hed Mayner is hitting Florence with his men’s fall 2026 show. He has won accolades, including the inaugural Karl Lagerfeld Prize at the 2019 LVMH Prize for Young Designers, for his gender-fluid designs that play on proportions and layering.
Mayner developed his penchant for twisted tailoring in response to his obsession with the shape of the body, seeking ways to mold it after his vision without compromising the credibility or wearability of his pieces. His work is connected to the men’s world and classical elements, but he stretches and blurs these notions into something new.
Pitti Uomo is known as the mecca of menswear traditionalism, and Mayner’s subverted iterations are sure to bring an unusual perspective to the fair. He’s leveraging the Pitti Uomo showcase to reinstate his signature fashion codes, focusing on form and silhouettes rather than articulate narratives.
Mayner’s show takes place at Palazzina Reale di Santa Maria Novella, a 1930s brutalist marble building adjacent to Florence’s train station. The venue, with one facade overlooking the train station and the other the bustling nearby streets, will contrast with Mayner’s sculpturally rounded silhouettes done in a rich, but muted, palette of browns, navy blues, grays, and occasional pops of zingy colors.
Mayner’s study on form highlights clashing contrasts among different outfits and within each of them. For example, the exaggerated round-shaped shoulders of tailored jackets and capes are further highlighted by tight-nipped waists; pleated pieces are done in bondage-inspired fabrics lending them a “furniture-like quality.”
Mayner, who hails from a creative family, became interested in fashion during his teenage years. He enrolled at Paris’ Institut Français de la Mode fashion school before launching his namesake brand in 2015 and winning the Karl Lagerfeld Prize at the LVMH Prize for Young Designers four years later. His brand has grown organically, generating about 40 to 50 percent of its business in Asia and the rest split between Europe and the U.S.
Mayner’s show in Florence feels like a full-circle moment, as Italy has been a formative country where he learned to master the sartorial skills and eventually subvert them. It’s also the country where most of his production takes place and where he found partners that have helped him structure the company and obtain solidity.
