MILAN — Italy’s fashion industry continues to grow, despite political and financial uncertainty worldwide, and the Italian Fashion Chamber is evaluating new ways to update its Milan Fashion Weeks.
Asked about a possible review of the show dates, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana president Carlo Capasa said the Italian Fashion Chamber offered to revise its schedule by moving the two women’s fashion weeks to July and January. “But the Americans don’t want to participate in the change and London wants to keep its men’s fashion week, even if it consists of just 12 to 13 shows,” he revealed.
According to the Fashion Economic Trends provided by the Italian Chamber of Fashion on Tuesday, the Italian industry’s revenues in the first quarter of 2017 are expected to be up 0.8 percent compared to last year, when the sector generated 84.05 billion euros, or $92.40 billion at average exchange rate, in sales.
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In the first nine months of 2016, revenues of the country’s fashion companies were up 1.9 percent compared to the same period of 2015, while sales of firms offering eyewear, jewelry and beauty products increased 6.5 percent.
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The researchers said that in October and November the output prices of textile and fashion products were down 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
Exports of Italian fashion items rose 1.2 percent in the first nine months of 2016. Exports to other European countries were up 1.5 percent — with Spain, Romania and Germany the largest markets for Italian fashion — while sales of to the U.K. registered a slowdown in the period after the Brexit vote. Exports toward non-European markets increased 0.9 percent. In particular, positive signals came from Japan, which was up 8.2 percent thanks to the higher value of the yen, while exports to Russia climbed 3 percent. Exports of Italian fashion products to China and the U.S. dropped 3.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
In the first 10 months of 2016, in-store sales of fashion and footwear products in Italy were down 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. They increased 1.9 percent in Spain and 0.3 percent in France, but dropped 0.3 percent and 3.3 percent in Germany and in the U.K., respectively. Outside Europe, in the same period, fashion and accessories stores saw their sales rise 0.3 percent in the U.S. and 6.7 percent in China, while they dropped 5.1 percent in Japan.
During the seasonal press conference presenting the schedule of the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week, running Feb. 22 to 27, Capasa said the calendar will include 70 shows and 88 presentations. A range of international brands will make their Milan debut, including Xu Zhi — who will show at the Armani Theater; Annakiki; Calcaterra; Situationists, and Angel Chen. Vionnet will also relocate its runway show from Paris to Milan, where the company is based.
Instead of an inaugural lunch in the presence of Italy’s Prime Minister, now Paolo Gentiloni, who succeeded Matteo Renzi at the end of last year, international journalists will be invited to a press conference at the start of fashion week on Wednesday. During the conference, Capasa will present the projects for the September edition of Milan Fashion Week. The following Monday, a memorial will be held at the Duomo cathedral to remember the late Vogue Italia editor in chief Franca Sozzani, who died last December.