Summary

• Kei Ninomiya and Simone Rocha are the guest designers for Pitti Uomo 110, signaling a shift from traditional tailoring toward diverse styles of dress.
• Ninomiya will showcase his DSM line, a collection of “agender” everyday staples that contrasts with his typically intricate, sculptural Noir label.

As Pitti Uomo, Florence’s menswear trade fair, inches closer to its 110th edition this June, the organization has announced the second guest designer who will take over its well-trodden runway. Following last week’s announcement of Simone Rocha, who will unveil her inaugural men’s collection, Kei Ninomiya was revealed as another special guest, representing his role in leading Dover Street Market’s first in-line collection.

The Japanese designer, who joined Comme des Garçons as a pattern-maker during his university years, established his namesake label Noir Kei Ninomiya under the Comme des Garçons umbrella in 2012. Guided by Rei Kawakubo’s mentorship, Ninomiya’s Noir has produced highly intricate women’s collections for more than a decade. Staying true to Kawakubo’s avant-garde couture sensibilities, the brand officially joined the Paris Fashion Week calendar in 2019.

However, under the 2025-born DSM Kei Ninomiya—for which he is the inaugural designer—Ninomiya has showcased rather unexpected sensibilities. Known for his otherworldly garments that border on wearable artwork, Noir’s aesthetic is far from what the Ninomiya-led DSM line has produced thus far.

When the partnership was announced last June, the Japanese designer shared with WWD that he aimed to craft “pieces that suggest a shared visual identity, something subtle and symbolic,” while toning down his typically adventurous aesthetics for “everyday garments, jersey pieces, and familiar silhouettes that people live in.”

Indeed, Ninomiya described his first concept for DSM, which included DSM jerseys and all-black basics, as “unnamed team wear.”  More recently, his SS26 collection boasted everyday pieces and easy-to-wear staples, including a duffle coat and an Ivy-style jacket rendered in gray marle jersey.

In 2025, Dover Street Market co-director Adrian Joffe also confirmed that the intention behind the new line was “definitely not a guest-designer situation,” as they plan to keep him in the lead role for an extended period. “We plan then to add other creators under the DSM brand umbrella, each with a different idea and concept and name,” Joffe added.

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As for what Ninomiya has in store for June, the first preview is a scan of Jamie Reid’s photo book “eight fold year.” The British artist, who is known for defining the Sex Pistols’ visual identity through album art, created the project in 2017, reflecting on the natural landscapes of the British Isles and Ireland.

Both Simone Rocha’s inaugural men’s runway show and Ninomiya’s DSM debut advance the evolving atmosphere of Pitti Uomo, which is slowly breaking away with its traditional tailoring-focused voice. Not only did Pitti Plaza host the “first-ever” men’s fashion show for Italian tailoring label Brioni, but it continues to host the famous annual “suit-walk.” However, the guest designers of Pitti Uomo 110 blur these boundaries. In addition to Rocha’s reputation as a women’s designer, Ninomiya’s DSM line is touted as “inclusive, ageless, and agender.”

From legendary titans like Giorgio Armani (1979) and Vivienne Westwood (1990) to 21st-century minds like Raf Simons (2005) and Virgil Abloh for Off-White (2017), Pitti Uomo has become somewhat of a launchpad for the most influential names in menswear. With Kawakubo’s cosign and Pitti Uomo’s prominent history of major guest designers, Ninomiya is in an ideal position to be one of the industry’s next great designers.