«A whirlwind of events that confirms the positive momentum of men’s fashion». This is how Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, introduces the 104th edition of Pitti Uomo – «richer than expected», he says – a fair dedicated to menswear scheduled in Florence from 13 to 16 June with 825 brands, 41% foreign, and a series of important events including the Fendi fashion show at the new Fendi Factory and the event by guest designer Eli Russell Linnetz.
De Matteis (Pitti Immagine): «Elements to be optimistic for 2023»
Pitti Uomo – which together with the Milan Men’s Fashion Week is the point of reference for the sector worldwide – is the litmus test of a segment, menswear, which has faced (and continues to do so) head-on a challenging situation: « In an international situation that does not give us peace of mind, we can say that the fashion sector has reacted better than others in Italy – explains Antonio De Matteis, newly appointed president of Pitti Immagine -; men’s fashion performs better than women’s: there are elements to be optimistic about. 2023 will be a positive year and optimism also emerges from the requests to participate in Pitti: we could not fulfill them all, but there will be 50 more exhibitors».
Zoppas (Ice): «Fashion is an international source of pride»
The menswear accounts are driven by exports which according to the data processed by the Confindustria Moda study center for Smi last year achieved a +24.7% on 2021, reaching 8.9 billion euros. In 2022, the first customer of made in Italy men’s fashion was Switzerland, the country where the hubs of the luxury groups are based, followed by France and Germany. The USA, growing strongly (+68.6% on 2021) has come to absorb a share equal to almost 10% of exports in value. Sales also increased in South Korea (+40.7%), Japan (+8.7%) and China (+8.6%). While in contrast there are Russia and Hong Kong.
«The fashion sector has always been a source of pride for our country and has led us to become a point of reference throughout the world – comments Matteo Zoppas, president of Ice, referring to fashion as a whole -, as the data on exports for 2022 also demonstrate this, which stands at over 80 billion euros (+17.7% on 2021). A positive trend that seems to be confirmed also for 2023: in the first two months of this year the value of exports of textile/clothing products grew by 12.7% compared to 2022, reaching almost 11 billion euros». The unknown, according to Zoppas, is represented by prices: «At the moment they have risen on average by 11%, thanks to industrial-type inflation, linked to the increase in energy costs and raw materials. We have to see how they will be metabolized ». Ice will bring 350 buyers and 250 foreign journalists to Pitti Uomo: the event has always been an international point of reference and expects numerous foreign presences, including “buyers from China and Russia” says Agostino Poletto, managing director of Pitti Immagine.
At Pitti Bimbo the goal is to restart
From 21 to 23 June, however, the Fortezza da Basso will host Pitti Bimbo, an event dedicated to junior fashion now in its 97th edition with 220 brands, 75% of which from abroad. Contrary to menswear, and in contrast with the fashion sector in general, exports of baby fashion (the only segment whose customs flows can be circumscribed, ed) closed 2022 with a decrease of -6.2% to 159.6 million euros, thanks to the negative performance of the main European partners (France, Germany and Spain). On the other hand, both exports to the USA and South Korea marked an increase: two markets that are confirmed to be promising for Made in Italy. Broadening our gaze to junior fashion (0-14 years), on the other hand, 2022 saw an increase in both value (+4.6%) and volume (+2.8%) over 2021 (Source: Sita searches for Smi).