With their polished brogues, waistcoats festooned with pocket-watch chains and tailoring almost as sharp as their twizzled moustaches, for better or worse, the feted peacocks of Pitti Uomo have defined much of what “menswear” meant over the past decade. Perhaps it was the chunky sneakers that finally did it, but after taking a kicking from streetwear, the men who strut around at Florence’s biannual menswear trade show are quite different creatures in 2020. That’s not to say tailoring is gone, of course (Firenze doesn’t give up its darted jackets so easily), but nowadays, it’s a more relaxed, workwear-influenced, streetwise peacock that sticks his head above the crowd. Here are five of them that exemplify what it now means to be a Pitti peacock.

With the way his white shirt crumples its way out from beneath his sweater, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Comfy Peacock is a little unkempt. But a look at the rest of his outfit and you’ll see that sartorially at ease is more like it. A master of layering, his sweater and bomber jacket sit below his knee-length fleece coat, which takes all the cosiness of a fleece and effectively doubles it. If you catch him nodding off on the front row, blame the coat.

Much like his Pitti forebears, the Vivid Peacock is flamboyant. But instead of a lurid trilby or cravat, he shows his confidence through more casual clothes. A lemon-yellow K-Way windbreaker hoodie is the perfect thing to put under what looks like a reversible quilted and houndstooth jacket that’s business on the outside, party inside. The paint-splattered bleached jeans, too, are more the kind of thing you’d see in Milanese suburbs than at a fashion trade show in the past, but they’re reinvented here to look casual and comfy.

With a hodge-podge of tailored shirts, streetwear, structured denim and statement accessories, the Eclectic Peacock doesn’t stick to one look or trend, and prefers to wear everything at once to reflect its grasp on all that’s going on in fashion at the moment. A bright pink beanie hat is not the obvious choice to top an otherwise minimal outfit of a blue shirt, jeans and white sneakers, but it adds an element of fun to the look, and having fun with your clothes is what Pitti seems increasingly to be about.

Here we can see some of the more traditional accents of Pittis past: the crisp, white tailored trousers, the corduroy blazer over a rollneck, the impassive sunglasses, even the well-kept beard all speak to the classic side of menswear. But with just a few tweaks here and there, and the addition of a camo workwear jacket (note the gloves stuffed into the chest pocket), this is a toughened-up look that’s a worthy peacock update.

Peacocks, while solitary show-offs, do on occasion club together to complement each other’s style. We’re not sure if these two planned to wear their Red Wing Shoes on the same day, but it’s certainly a hell of a coincidence. Their chinos, too, are rolled up with suspicious similarity. And their hats, though different in style, are exactly the same colour. Wait a minute… these are Team Peacocks! While Team Peacocks once used to flock around Pitti in matching Panama hats and complementary ties, now they fly under the radar a little more, though are no less coordinated for it. The aforementioned workman’s boots add a grounded element to both of these looks, and they work really well to temper the comparative fluffiness of this peacock’s coat.

The men featured in this story are not associated with and do not endorse MR PORTER or the products shown