Pitti Uomo opens with support

(ANSA) - Florence, June 13 - The 94th edition of Pitti Uomo kicked off at Florence's Palazzo Vecchio on Tuesday in the presence of new Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli.
    Bonisoli knows the fashion industry well, having served as dean of the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan (NABA), a private university in Milan specializing in fashion and graphic design.
    "In 2009 in Milan, the slogan 'culture is in fashion' was coined. I'd turn that phrase around, 'fashion is culture', as shown by the archives, sketches, and designs from historic fashion houses that should be conserved and promoted in museums," Bonisoli said.
    "I'll do all I can so that my work as minister embraces the entire fashion world from the cultural point of view. I'll try as hard as possible to integrate it into something that represents our pride worldwide," he said.
    Pitti Uomo, which runs through June 15, is taking place in a climate under which the fashion industry has called on the government for support, despite a strong showing amidst the economic crisis.
    The industry has a 3.2% growth rate and revenues of 94 billion with exports up 5% at 60 billion.
    Florence Mayor Dario Nardella is one of the politicians who has called on the new government to support the industry and the city.
    Nardella said Florence is a "living city" but one that "needs additional infrastructure to ensure adequate services".
    He highlighted the fact that Florence was the first city in Italy to inaugurate a Student Hotel, which with Polimoda and the Florence Maragoni Institute, "hosts young people who come from around the world".
    In this light, Pitti Immagine President Claudio Marenzi called on Bonisoli to "make it easier for foreign students to get stay permits".
    Michele Scannavini, president of the Italian Trade Agency ICE, said the "extraordinary plan for made in Italy goods can't be considered extraordinary but rather must be structural, part of the system that helps and stimulates our businesses to grow in the world".
    "That's how it is in other countries. I very much hope that it can be that way for Italy as well," Scannavini said.