Milan Fashion Week: What can we expect?

Milan Fashion Week has barely begun and is already attracting the attention of fashion fans and industry players alike. Until Monday 23 September, the Lombardy capital will host the women's spring-summer 2025 collections. The event will feature 173 appointments, including 57 physical and 8 digital fashion shows, 69 presentations, 6 presentations by appointment and 33 events. The brands on the calendar include Marni, Iceberg, Alberta Ferretti and Fendi. This year, Monday, 23 September, will be dedicated to digital content presented on the CNMI (Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana) platform.

This edition also sees the celebration of several anniversaries. Iceberg is preparing to celebrate its 50th year since the label was founded in 1974 by designers Silvano Gerani and Giuliana Marchini. A fashion show designed by James Long, the brand's creative director, will mark this milestone. Laura Biagiotti is also preparing to celebrate her fiftieth year on the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week.

But despite the joyous atmosphere that, as usual, surrounds the eagerly-awaited event, hearts are not entirely in celebration. According to Confartigianato (the association representing Italian craft companies), the sector is in a state of 'deep crisis' and is suffering 'the deterioration of indicators over the summer'. In fact, during the first six months of 2024, fashion houses recorded an overall '5.3% drop in exports, representing a loss of 1.8 billion euros in value'.

Even the footwear sector, one of the pillars of the Italian fashion industry, is not doing so well: the first half of the year was marked by a fall in sales (-9.1%) and a freefall in exports (-8.5%). Despite being the driving force behind the sector, with 85% of pairs produced in Italy sold outside the country's borders, export sales are proving to be the hardest hit.

Industry players' expectations for the second half of the year rule out any major improvement in the short term. Confartigianato's survey of member companies shows that the majority (56% of the panel) expect sales to fall in the current third quarter compared with the same period in 2023. Three out of four entrepreneurs believe 2024 will not offer results as good for their business as the previous year.

Despite the crisis, the luxury fashion industry is playing the novelty card with communications operations that will help to boost brand identity. This is the case with the filming of the cult series 'Emily in Paris', which has moved to Rome for a fifth season, just approved by Netflix. The beauty of the capital and Italian brands, already present at the end of season 4, will once again be in the spotlight. The brands chosen by costume designer Marylin Fitoussi include Armani, Zegna, Pucci, Valentino, Miu Miu, Versace, Tod's, Berluti and many others. Could this be a way of confirming the soft power of made in Italy? All bets are off.