The future of fashion? Sustainability, innovation and lots of training – Corriere.it

Italy and France are two countries closely connected by economic, historical and cultural ties. Fashion is the greatest expression of this marriage. The largest luxury groups are French and lead the world turnover (which exceeds 34% of the total in the sector). While a large part of European production, rich in experience and craftsmanship, is Italian. Among the top 100 global fashion companies, 23 are Italian and we recorded a turnover in 2022 that is close to 100 billion. A strategic sector for both economies. What better way to face future challenges than by collaborating as a system between companies, associations and institutions?

Sustainability and innovation are the keywords in the world of luxury, but the theme of training and the search for talent is also strong. This was discussed during debate «The future of fashion» which was held yesterday behind closed doors at Palazzo Farnese, on the initiative of Sopra Steria, French multinational with six offices in Italy, European leader in consultancy, digital services and software development. Guests of the French ambassador in Italy Christian Masset, the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, Lucia Borgonzoni, Undersecretary for Culture and with the top management of Altagamma, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Fendi, Gucci, Hermes Italia, Idee Partners (Pattern Group), LVMH , Tod’s.

A comparison on the future of fashion between the most relevant Italian and French players who have touched on topics such as the need to adopt common standards in a long and pulverized supply chain that still takes little account of the end of life of the product, technology as an enabling element to effectively achieve and measure the objectives set e training. It is precisely the latter that has the most access to the debate: the concern of a generation gap that must be filled starting from lower and higher schools. Professional figures, designers, creative director aside, are a shortage that alarms the sector, due to the lack of thousands of artisan workers who are the strength and value of Made in Italy.

“The link between Italy and France in the fashion sector is historic and inseparable,” Urso said —. We are in the field together to protect the sector with an assertive position on the European Regulation on Ecodesign especially as regards the obligations to ban the destruction of unsold goods, the digital passport of products, recyclability and the increase in the life span of products . We are convinced that Made in Italy must be increasingly sustainable and at the forefront also in the digital and green transition”. Ambassador Masset also spoke of collaboration. “Our companies are role models on a global scale. For this reason, the issue of reducing emissions in this sector is of great interest to us, as we are committed to promoting a new path to sobriety”.

We need to start afresh from a common vocabulary, adopt circular models that currently account for only 3.5% of the global market and supporting small businesses in the supply chain to implement ever-increasing regulatory requirements. «The production chain of the fashion sector, particularly affected by the decisions of the regulators regarding the reduction of climate-changing emissions, presents specific complexities linked to a high degree of fragmentation and to different levels of maturity in terms of environmental sustainability – commented Stefania Pompili, CEO of Sopra Steria Italia. In this regard, the digital transition plays a crucial role as an enabler of energy efficiency and a measurer of the results achieved in terms of compensation. In this sense, an alliance between Italy and France, the reference markets for the sector, can foster digital integration between the production chains and create a European measurement platform that promotes an integrated vision. Innovation therefore places itself at the service of sustainability to create synergies between different but close markets».

Among the fashion companies who participated in the debate: Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari; Serge Brunschwig, president and CEO of Fendi; Antonella Centra, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability of Gucci; Claudio Delunas, CEO and founder of Idee Partners (Pattern Group); Francesca Di Carrobio, CEO of Hermès Italy; Stefania Lazzaroni, general manager of Altagamma; Chiara Murano, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility of the Tod’s Group; Eleonora Rizzuto, Director of Sustainable Development Bulgari & Lvmh Italia and Leo Rongone, CEO of Bottega Veneta.

An opportunity for discussion that gave excellent insights into the future of fashion, to open up a constructive collaboration towards change.