Born in the USA: Pitti Uomo + Pitti W Pick Band of Outsiders and Rodarte as Guest Designers

Each season, Pitti Immagine, a Florence-based company that runs numerous high-profile fashion events, chooses a women's and men's collection to highlight during Fashion Week. This year, the company has looked to the West for inspiration, focusing on two emerging but already influential brands: Scott Sternberg's Band of Outsiders (left) and sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy's line Rodarte. Scott, if you need a date -- we're available.

"Rodarte and Band of Outsiders are two very different design talents," says Lapo Cianchi, who serves as the director of communications for Pitti Immagine,"but they both connect us to the mythology of Western America: Los Angeles, where all three designers live and work; film, which they are obviously interested in; and the expanses of the interstate highway that runs through California or heads into the desert of Nevada. The European curiosity about California culture and the landscape played an important role in Pitti's decision to invite both designers to Florence at the same time."

It's nice to see some interest in the Los Angeles fashion scene, as New York is often cited as the American fashion capital (well, let's face it -- it is). We're thrilled to see how the designers will take their inspirations and adapt it for the wordly Pitti audiences.