No Response Is the Response – How Pitti Uomo’s Silence Exposes Trend’s Accountability Disaster
For over a decade, I’ve flown into Florence — excessive heels, digital camera, and confidence in tow — to cowl essentially the most prestigious menswear commerce present on the planet: Pitti Uomo. I’ve interviewed high designers, filmed runway moments, forecast traits earlier than Vogue caught on, and promoted impartial manufacturers earlier than they have been cool.
However this yr, one thing modified.
I used to be silenced.
Not with phrases, however with one thing louder — the whole absence of them.
The Incident That Triggered It All
Yearly, I submit my press credentials on time. Yearly, I cowl the occasion. And yearly, I face the identical resistance: “You’re not on the checklist.”
However this time, I captured it on video.
A workers member at Pitti Uomo instructed me that entry was based mostly on whether or not the journalist offered “protection to us.” In case you do, you eat. In case you don’t, you don’t.
Overlook press credentials. Overlook skilled courtesy. This was a sport of selective visibility — PR politics disguised as protocol.
Even after presenting years of options and confirmed press promotion for Pitti Uomo, I used to be denied entry into key areas and handled like an outsider.
I used to be made to really feel like I didn’t matter.
However I do. And so do the ladies like me.
I Despatched the Electronic mail. I Despatched the Video. I Requested for Respect.
And What Did I Get?
No response.
Not from the press workplace.
Not from the PR company.
Not from the Pitti Uomo board.
The silence wasn’t simply private — it was systemic. As a result of when an establishment like Pitti ignores somebody they’ve labored with for over ten years, they’re not simply ignoring Gracie Opulanza.
They’re ignoring each lady on this trade who fights for visibility, for truthful remedy, for a seat on the trend desk that’s been run by gatekeepers for much too lengthy.
Silence Is a Assertion
Within the trend world, silence isn’t impartial.
It’s strategic.
It’s defensive.
It’s dismissive.
And on this case, it’s discriminatory.
This isn’t about me not gaining access to a lunch buffet or lacking a runway seat. That is a few tradition of silence and exclusion that hides behind PR businesses and authorized loopholes to keep away from accountability.
Legalities Matter – And So Does Skilled Responsibility
In any skilled setting, when somebody raises a proper criticism with documented proof — video, voice recordings, written timelines — it’s the accountability of the organizers to analyze and reply.
Pitti Uomo did neither.
After I filmed and printed the incident, I anticipated a dialog. What I obtained was company cowardice.
Let’s be clear: When an occasion that represents world trend homes fails to answer a press discrimination criticism, it’s not simply impolite — it’s legally questionable.
What occurs if somebody is harmed underneath their watch?
What occurs once they ignore a girl who speaks up?
What message are they sending to the following era of feminine journalists?
The Manufacturers Standing By Silently
Pitti Uomo is backed by main luxurious manufacturers that declare to help inclusivity, variety, and feminine empowerment. They characteristic girls in campaigns. They showcase gender-fluid designs. They use phrases like “equality” and “empowerment” on their social feeds.
So the place are they now?
By persevering with to showcase at an occasion that denies press entry to girls and refuses to handle discrimination, they’re complicit within the silence.
And in trend — the place picture is every little thing — that silence speaks volumes.
Why This Issues for Ladies in Media
I’m not sponsored. I’m not owned. I constructed MenStyleFashion from the bottom up.
I’m one of many few impartial feminine voices in luxurious menswear, and I’ve achieved extra for selling rising male designers than a lot of the mainstream media.
So when Pitti Uomo chooses not to answer me, they’re making a really loud assertion:
We resolve who issues.
That is how girls are erased in actual time — not with insults, not with slurs, however with stone-cold silence. It’s how establishments shield their reputations by sweeping uncomfortable truths underneath the terrazzo carpet.
I Will Not Be Ignored
It’s possible you’ll ignore my electronic mail, however you’ll not silence my voice.
I’m right here to doc the ugly reality behind the attractive fits. I’ll maintain highlighting the hypocrisy throughout the trend system. As a result of if that is taking place to me — with my platform, my viewers, and my years of contribution — think about what occurs to younger journalists simply beginning out.
Think about what occurs to girls of shade.
To non-native audio system.
To these with out the privilege of cameras or platforms.
This isn’t nearly Gracie. That is concerning the energy imbalance that retains trend’s gate shut to the very voices it claims to have a good time.
What Must Change?
- Public Accountability – Pitti Uomo should tackle the criticism and clarify their protocol. That is not simply inner. It’s public, and their silence is hurting their credibility.
- Clear Press Insurance policies – Who will get in, who doesn’t, and why? If entry is performance-based, say so. Don’t conceal behind empty lists.
- Model Stress – Manufacturers that showcase at Pitti have to ask: Are we comfy aligning with an occasion that silences girls? If not, they should demand higher or pull out.
- Authorized Oversight – Media discrimination and denial of entry based mostly on selective standards can open the door to authorized claims. Trend must get up — this isn’t the 90s anymore.
- Ladies Supporting Ladies – In case you’re a journalist, blogger, influencer, or model founder who’s been ignored or silenced, converse up. Don’t let this turn out to be your norm.
The Podcast Episode That Says It All
I’ve recorded a podcast episode titled “No Response Is the Response – Why Pitti Uomo’s Silence Exposes a Damaged Trend System.”
In it, I define the incident, play again the audio, and lay naked the reality behind the occasion’s institutional silence.
That is the episode the style elite don’t need you to listen to.
However it’s best to. As a result of trend with out accountability is simply advertising.
And advertising with out ethics is simply manipulation.
The Last Phrase
To Pitti Uomo:
You possibly can maintain ignoring me, however each silent day is one other sew in your unraveling model picture.
To the style trade:
Cease clapping for variety on runways whereas silencing it in actual life.
To the ladies studying this:
Your voice issues.
Even once they fake to not hear it.
And to the readers who’ve adopted my journey for over a decade:
Thanks.
This combat isn’t about bitterness. It’s about higher.
And I promise you — I’m not achieved.
