Chinese buyers are back and business is booming – Milan Fashion Week kicks off with plenty of momentum on Wednesday, despite the shadow cast by rising energy costs.
The return of a mostly packed live program after two years of coronavirus was marred in February by Russia’s attack on Ukraine two days earlier.
But this season, the international jet set is back in full force: 300 journalists and 450 buyers are expected – including the first Chinese delegation since the pandemic closed borders around the world.
Among the key events of Spring/Summer 2023 are the Moncler 70th anniversary celebrations and the Ferragamo catwalk show at the site of the future Milan hotel.
new faces
Meanwhile, some personnel changes are causing a stir: Marco de Vincenzo is the new creative director at Etro, Filippo Grazioli at Missoni and Andrea Incontri at Benetton.
New faces Valentina Ilardi, Marco Rambaldi and Matty Bovan are also being closely watched as an indicator of future trends.
And the mood is good. After the difficult times of the pandemic, Italian fashion has regained its footing, with sales up 25 percent in the first half of 2022.
This is “the strongest growth in the industry in 20 years,” said Carlo Capasa, head of the Italian fashion federation, at a recent press conference.
Exports on the up
However, there are clouds on the horizon as Europe faces rampant inflation and an energy crisis linked to the Ukraine war.
This year’s growth is partly due to price hikes, but even without the increase, sales are up more than 18 percent, returning to pre-crisis levels of 2008.
Exports have increased significantly in the first five months of 2022, up 21.9 percent in fashion and 30.2 percent in related sectors.
Markets were the strongest in the US and South Korea, while China and Russia, where the luxury goods industry has been hit hard by Western sanctions, suffered declines. Exports to Russia fell 26 percent for clothing, 68 percent for jewelry and 56 percent for eyewear.
burden energy costs
“The energy crisis is having a significant impact on the fashion industry as the entire upstream supply chain is energy intensive,” said Capasa.
“To make a fabric or a bag, you need raw materials that consume a lot of energy.”
He said energy costs used to be about 10 percent of the end product, but are now at least 30 percent.
“Prices cannot be adjusted indefinitely, and that puts companies in the difficult position of wondering if it’s worth doing the work,” he said.
As Italy faces a new government following Sunday’s elections, he expressed hope that “dramatic measures” will help stem rising energy costs. (AFP)
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.