Pitti Uomo focuses on fashion -- and football

Fashion and football go hand in hand, as an upcoming exhibition at the menswear event Pitti Immagine Uomo 94 proves.

The high-profile trade show, which will open this June in Florence, is set to present "Fanatic Feelings -- Fashion Plays Football," highlighting the impact the sport has had on the world of men's fashion.

The exhibit is the third installment of a collaboration between the Fondazione Pitti Immagine Discovery and the Museo della Moda e del Costume di Palazzo Pitti.

Curated by Markus Ebner, founder of German fashion magazines Achtung Mode and Sepp Football Fashion and contemporary art critic Francesco Bonami, the exhibition will examine the crossover between tailoring and sportswear, football stars and fashion designers.

The show will feature Karl Lagerfeld and Hiroshi Tanabe illustrations of famous players, an extensive look into the "Sepp Football Fashion" archives, and screenings of the documentary "Zidane: A 21st century portrait."

It will also explore the lives of football icons who made a mark on fashion throughout their careers, such as George Best, Eric Cantona, Gigi Meroni, David Beckham and Neymar.

"Men's fashion is going through crazy times where the worlds of tailoring, sports, active and street wear are one big melting pot," said Ebner in a statement.

"Football Fashion as an expression of style will be manifesting itself more and more. Why not wear your team's jersey with a great suit? The show will give weight to this argument."

"Fanatic Feelings will focus on the immediacy and the emotional element that fashion and football share," adds Bonami.

"While the fashion runway compresses in a few linear moments the vision of a whole season, the football field stretches a different sense of time over an entire season."

Pitti Immagine 94 will run June 12-15.