Gucci’s return to the menswear runway calendar, strong Italian fashion sales, and goodbye to the pandemic-imposed trend of virtual shows: it’s all working out for Milan Men’s Fashion Week, which opens on Friday. .
A promising show and optimism after a year in which sales of Italian fashion showed the highest growth in the last 20 years, the presentations of the Fall-Winter 2023/2024 men’s collections continue until Tuesday.
Of the 79 shows, only four are digital, a holdover from the debilitating pandemic period that plunged sales and halted live shows.
Nothing replaces “the live experience, the frenzy, the expectation, the applause, the top models walking down the catwalk and the powerful music,” fashion consultant Elisabetta Cavatorta told AFP.
The most anticipated is fashion powerhouse Gucci, which is hosting a men-only show for the first time in three years.
It will also be the first since the surprise departure of artistic director Alessandro Michele in November.
– New address at Gucci? –
With bold and colorful collections leaking into the 1970s, Michele gave a new lease of life after being chosen in 2015 to revive sales at the storied brand with the world-famous green and red striped logo.
While sales soared 44 percent in 2018 for Kering’s flagship brand, growth has lagged behind competitors in the past two years.
“It remains to be seen if Alessandro Michele’s departure initiates a change of direction for the fashion house,” Cavatorta said.
As for who will take the reins at Gucci, the fashion world awaits news of Michele’s successor with bated breath.
– Very high income –
Armani, Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana and Zegna are among the big brands that will present men’s collections in the Italian fashion capital.
But there have been defections, including Versace, which plans to show its men’s and women’s collections together in Los Angeles on March 10.
Despite the war in Ukraine and the impact of the energy crisis on an energy-hungry fashion supply chain, Italian fashion sales rose 16 percent last year to 96.6 billion euros ($104.4 billion). .
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“This is the highest income in the last 20 years,” Carlo Capasa, president of the Italian Fashion Chamber, said in a presentation before the shows last month.
Inflation has had an impact, with Italian fashion prices rising by around 9 percent in 2022, but their rise is “a positive sign that closes a year marked by dramatic events and difficult times,” Capasa added.
Fashion exports “Made in Italy” increased by 18.7 percent in the first nine months of last year, driven by demand in the United States and the Gulf countries, where exports soared by more than 50 percent. .
Sales to China grew more moderately, 18.8 percent, while exports to Russia fell 26 percent, following the invasion of Ukraine.
But one area where the impact of the Covid-19 crisis will still be felt in Milan is the absence of Chinese buyers.
Despite the lifting of coronavirus-related health restrictions by Beijing authorities, the number of buyers traveling to the city for shows will be “limited,” Capasa said.
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Source: news.google.com