Day 1: June 15

Phew! Finally reached Florence. For this week, will say Firenze because when in

Rome… Thrill of reaching Firenze overtaken by thrill of bag reaching Firenze. Didn’t really need to pack two sets of clothes, shoes, clutch, make-up bag, accessory bag and Snoopy night shirt in stroller in fear of losing check-in luggage.

Transferred to Hotel Roma in purple Mercedes. Thank god it wasn’t purple’s twin yellow from last season. Driver not amused with “No hablo Italiano” (Spanish for I don’t speak Italian). Maybe he is anti-Spain. Kept quiet during drive. Looked out of window instead and spotted green louvred windows on yellow walls. Ah, Bong connection.

Was dizzy, slept it off. Too stressed about Air France to sleep on flight.

Food before fashion in Tre Merli Via De Fossi (in picture top) where pizza was super salty. Next time will avoid first waiter who speaks English.

Dropped in at first work event. Turned out to be party to launch flagship store of Stefano Ricci (in picture right) who turned out to be a passionate hunter on the lookout for man-eater tiger! “Bottega” is 900 square metre over two levels. Couches are crocodile skin, so decided not to sit.

Want to jump into the beautiful Ferraris (in picture right) outside but again decided not to.

Day 2: June 16

First fair visit. Stopped at pressroom. Checked mail and Facebook. Thought of 59,000 square metre of menswear to cover is big thought. Deep breathe… One, two, three and... A few favourites…

New York-based designer Christopher Fischer. Colour-oriented and China-oriented.

Philipp Plein whose face of the brand is Naomi Campbell. Good collection of rock couture — should have tried the look 15 years ago.

Stumbled into Ganesh. No temple, but a fashion booth (in picture top). They kept the name because Ganesh, “god of wealth had a positive vibe”. Also, maybe half the clothes are made in India! Hmmm…

Bjorn Borg distributed free undies. Only had to write a note on undies-shaped Post-It, smile for Polaroid picture. Easy pleas-y.

Plasti Chic had a tree of plastic watches to pluck and wear. Plucked a hot pink. “Take an orange, India is orange,” screamed designer Gabriel Elzarugh (in picture centre). Made a note to like him!

First fashion show at Laura Biagiotti, albeit in store-like conditions. Some shirts were bottled because Laura Biagiotti Uomo is “summer drink that quenches thirst for C-Lam (casual-glam)”. Resortwear, workwear, weekendwear… gimmickwear.

Momaboma bags (in pictureleft). Pop art prints and vintage-looking newspaper. Nostalgic? Yes. Homesick? No! PS: (NOT YET)

Day 3: J une 17

Feeling learned. Learnt rough meaning of precollection. A no-frill commercial collection released between two main lines (spring-summer and fall-winter) to generate sales and sustenance for the designers!

Browsed through designer section of Pitti W_Woman precollection situated at Villa Vittoria. First stop: Carta & Costura, Italian designers who make “cool couture for the ironic bride” (in picture top). Very white, very nice. Love trench coat with surprise bow at back.

Next stop: Touch and feel collections of British star designers of London Fashion Week fame. Fell in love with Christopher Kane whose clothes up close are nowhere near British Vogue editorial shoots (in picture second). Noted his ombre chiffon, metallic zippers, statement tees for men and cardigan-style jackets.

Also fell in love with edgy 3D look of Preen, chunky chains by Bexrox and Dominic Jones and snakeskin dress by Markus Lupfer.

Didn’t fall in love with Emma Cook’s forest prints and Jonathan Saunder’s sarongs. Issa’s resort-ish clothes were okay, hung-over from Gucci’s last season.

Last stop: The beautiful booth of Isabella Tonchi (in picture third from top). Black and white came together to create everything from ikkat to skeleton print.

From designer booths to mainstream booths, the womenswear precollection just got more interesting. The perfume section made its Pitti debut (in picture bottom). “We keep no basic things,” said a shoe designer. Green, purple, five-inch high heels, extreme designs. I got the drift…

Bumped into Annapurna, not cousin from Calcutta but a Roman design label. “We are women-dominated company, hence the name.” Missed my t2 gang. We too are a women-dominated team.

Decided I’m a colour person, not a black-white person. Fell in love with Los Angeles label Tarina Tarantino. They make the best, most colourful costume jewellery.

Browsed through Grevi Hats since 1875. Felt very young.

Decided to buy lots of Italian handcrafted jewellery. Blamed it on Maiden Art, conceptual design brand of Gabriele Negri who has rekindled my leather love. Especially when it’s in the shape of a pretty red rose.

Last thought before sleeping: Menswear vs womenswear. Not too different after all.

Day 4: June 18

Panic. Haven’t seen sights yet. Shopping sights don’t count as sights. Only Salvatore Ferragamo boutique counts.

Took out map. Looked hard.

Hotel Roma front desk sweetly circled Santa Maria Del Fiore or Duomo (in picture top). No time for Accademia Gallery to photograph David by Michelangelo, so off to see the copy at Galleria di Uffizi (in picture left)!

Ran to the Fortezza Da Basso for one last visit to the fair (and also to dig into the big buffet and big gelatteria) and post-lunch interview with Pitti chief Raffaello Napoleone.

Check out the seven finalists of Who’s On Next, like a GeNext awards organised by Pitti Immagine Uomo, Alta Roma and L’Uomo Vogue.

Picked up some Italiano. Favourite word: Grazie (thank you). Said grazie to everything and everyone.

PS: After checking my pulse, the Swine Flu Squad in Calcutta airport asked me if I could speak Bangla?! Maybe I look Italiano?!

June 16, 6pm

The 15th-century church-turned-Club Cavalli hosted an evening dedicated to the “10 years of the Cavalli Man” in association with Max magazine. The famous club at Piazza del Carmine belonging to Roberto Cavalli, perhaps the most famous living Florentine, is as signature (read satiny leopard prints) as signature can get! The party celebrated the opening of a photographic retrospective. Max’s best editorial shots — some quite outrageous — were blown up into larger than life posters forming the beatific backdrop to a heady champagne affair. The designer decided to give it a miss but on display were copious copies of the latest Max issue flaunting sexy come hither pictures of sudden-star Freida Pinto on the cover (picture right). Hmmm…

June 17, 8.30pm

The Undercover invite advised “ladies not to wear stilettos but flats” and one look at the façade of the beautiful Giardino Di Boboli and you knew why. A long pebbled walkthrough, uphill and downhill, led to a stunning lake with ducks swimming. The periphery of the lake became the ramp for Japanese star designer Jun Takahashi (in picture left) who previewed his first ever menswear collection for spring-summer 2010. Minimal and modern, he showed three looks — one white, one green and the last indigo and black. The colour element was introduced through bright sandals and prop twigs. Show over, it was time to hike across to another section of the garden for dinner where the designer also treated the audience to live doll-making accompanied by live music by Kan Takagi & Atsuhiro ITO.

June 18, 9pm

The final night of Pitti Uomo was held at the old castle Villa Della Petraia, an exquisite example of classic Italian architecture and landscaping. American ‘it’ brand Proenza Schouler, special guest at Pitti W_Woman Precollection, hosted an evening to remember. After taking in the breathtaking frescoes in the main courtyard of the villa, eyes rested on the massive installation of Proenza Schouler’s pre spring-summer 2010 accessories on a white carpet. Inside, by the garden, there were Renaissance-style photographs featuring model Liya Kebede printed and installed on canvas. The third installation was a live performance by The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. Lead singer Kembra Pfahler and the troupe of 20 dancers were all dressed in body suits by the designers. At their European debut, Proenza Schouler promised to deliver a “slice of America” and they did. Proof: hotdogs, popcorn, chips, cold lemonade and American pizzas that circulated along with the finest sparkling wines!