Several Italian fashion companies cited strong fall order books, but some currency concerns are looming as the euro continues to strengthen against the dollar and the yen.
The numbers indicate a broadly positive season. Versace’s orders jumped 22 percent while Etro’s were up between 15 and 20 percent. Echoing a wider trend in the industry, Dolce & Gabbana said pre-collection orders rose 48 percent on a comparable-client basis, as more retailers anticipated their orders ahead of the runway shows.
Giorgio Armani had data on the U.S. market only. Those numbers showed an 8 percent jump in pre-collection orders for Giorgio Armani and a 7 percent rise for Armani Collezioni.
Missoni was the least bullish of the bunch. Its fall orders were flat, hurt by the currency issue as well as technical delays at the company.
Prada and Blufin each said the season was shaping up positively, but declined to release figures.
Loredana Nastro, Versace’s worldwide wholesale director, said there was strong demand for women’s apparel, including shirts, dresses, skirts and outerwear.
“[There is] increasing interest for special products,” she said. “There is a growing trend toward sophisticated, less ostentatious prints.”
Etro’s commercial manager, Fabio Gnocchi, also noted rising demand for a calmer, darker palette. Etro incorporated more black into its fall collection to offset more subtle patterns than it has used in the past.
“There is a tendency toward more refined colors and prints, which we are going to see at the coming shows,” Gnocchi projected.
Meanwhile, there is an open debate as to just how much of an impact exchange rates are having on companies’ balance sheets. Over the past year, the dollar has lost 8.3 percent in value against the euro, while the yen has shed 14.3 percent, biting into retailers’ budgets and consumers’ spending power.
“Japan is very difficult now,” said Vittorio Missoni, sales and marketing manager for his family’s company. “The U.S. market has been suffering for the last three years [on currency issues], but Japan is starting to show the effects of this right now.”
Missoni said the fashion house did well to keep its overall fall orders stable, but he was working to improve and speed up the timing of collections.
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In contrast, Cristiana Ruella, director of general affairs at Dolce & Gabbana, said her order book wasn’t suffering on exchange rates.
“Our sellouts are very good, which makes the retailers extremely confident in us,” Ruella said.