For the first time in its 119-year history, Montblanc has made its debut in clothing. The collection — consisting of 16 all-leather looks designed by creative director Marco Tomasetta — was unveiled during Milan Men’s Fashion Week in June 2025. Montblanc enters the world of fashion This inaugural collection offers a functional yet sophisticated vision […]
Even in Japan, the supply chain is in crisis. Low-cost products from China are posing a threat to Japanese manufacturers as well. The supply chain is losing key components and struggling with generational turnover. Geopolitical tensions are being felt in Tokyo too. Here is the account of Yuzo Shiokawa, manager of the bag brand Etiam,...
Chaos over Greenwashing in Brussels. On June 20, Brussels had made a surprise announcement that it was withdrawing the proposal focused on greenwashing, included in the broader Green Claims Directive. That’s because it would have also involved SMEs. Also in the background is the tariff game, with Europe seeking an agreement with the US. A […]
“We’d love to work more with the Italian market, but it’s difficult”. That was a recurring sentiment heard across the booths of Pitti Uomo 108 (17–20 June 2025). The phrase came from many Italian brands that place much of their value on Made in Italy production, accepting higher costs and stricter limitations in the name...
Is the manufacturing chain in trouble? “Yes, and we need to examine our conscience. Companies that produce for only one client, with no margins….” Antonio De Matteis, CEO of Kiton (in photo) and president of Pitti Immagine, grooms entrepreneurs. “We always blame others and we always create an alibi. We need to analyze businesses and...
“The supply chain needs to be streamlined in order to reduce costs”. So says Marco Palmieri (pictured), CEO of Piquadro, in an interview with La Conceria. Palmieri also expresses concern over the lack of generational turnover within manufacturing companies and calls for government intervention to help improve the situation. The supply chain needs streamlining “I...
While shoe factories are trudging along, between layoffs and low orders, the Seishou brand has just opened a site in Tuscany, in the San Miniato area. The need of the brand is to have full control of production, but the news runs opposite to the general trend in Italian manufacturing. The brand, born five years...
A “deep crisis, but Made in Italy can reclaim its leading role through vision, supply chain integration and targeted investments”. This is the key message delivered by Mauro Bergozza (pictured left), President of Assomac. He stressed the vital importance of technology as an engine of innovation in this phase of active resistance. Assomac — the...
Luxury is in a storm: there is no shortage of geopolitical tensions, falling markets and other issues. And of course, there are lower sales, turnover, profits and even employees, in production and in sales. So much so, in fact, that even LVMH is worried, and along with Kering, seems to be accumulating concerns. Industry analysts...
Pitti Uomo: a two-speed edition. The event, which ended on Friday at Florence’s Fortezza da Basso (17–20 June 2025), saw strong attendance during the first two days but a sharp drop-off in visitors over the latter half — not least due to a public transport strike announced for Friday. As of Thursday afternoon, after two...
Despite the crisis, major brands continue to invest in French manufacturing chain. Chanel is expanding its production capacity by working with the Camille Fournet company, which on June 18 inaugurated a new leather goods factory dedicated to the brand. Meanwhile, Hermès is laying the foundations for a new site. Investing in French manufacturing Camille Fournet...
Understanding how Artificial Intelligence can serve as a genuine tool for enhancing the competitiveness of Italian SMEs in the leather supply chain. Debunking myths. Opening up new avenues for discussion and future perspectives. After its March stop in Fermo, the project “Lineapelle on the road – Trame Intelligenti: Weaving Fashion and AI” arrived on Wednesday...
In the first quarter of 2025, international trade of hides and leather shows mixed signals between Europe and Latin America. Spanish tanning declines, ad in the Iberian country the tanning sector shows a worsening export balance, especially in the segments of raw and tanned leathers, while only semi-tanned leathers grow. Imports, on the other hand,...
“Excluding hides and leather or greatly simplify the EUDR“, because the obligations imposed by the Anti-Deforestation Regulation are heavy and, in many cases, unworkable burden on Italian and EU tanneries. And because they are an undue burden, since leather is not a driver of deforestation. This is how one can summarize the message that Antonio […]
Cuoio di Toscana marks its 40th anniversary during a prolonged economic downturn. How is the leather sector responding to this challenge? The sector is undergoing a period of transformation. However, the tanneries within our Consortium are tackling the challenge with the determination and resilience built over forty years of hard work. We are focusing on...
The perfect location for an event that promises to be the first of a long series. On Friday, June 13, the first edition of the Italian Leather Research Summit 2025 was held at the Engineering History Library of the Federico II University of Naples, organized by SSIP, aka the Experimental Station for the Leather Industry....
Fashion is seeking substance. There’s a buzz in the air at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, among the booths of Pitti Uomo (17–20 June). The menswear fair got off to a strong start, with particularly high footfall on the second day. “It’s the key day, when the largest number of visitors come through”, they...
Jonathan Anderson’s appointment as creative director of Dior had been rumoured for some time, yet still managed to catch many by surprise. Not just for the timing, but for the scale of the decision: it marks the first time the maison has entrusted women’s, men’s, and haute couture collections to a single creative director. Explaining...
“Price increases? No problem. We’re not expensive”. In other words: we cost what we’re worth. So says Gildo Zegna, CEO of the eponymous group (pictured right in the Imagoeconomica photo), in an interview with MF Fashion, given during an event in Dubai where the brand recreated the Oasi Zegna in the foyer of the Opera...
Chanel has appointed a new creative lead for handbags, small leather goods, accessories, and eyewear — an important addition to the team supporting Matthieu Blazy, who has been at the creative helm of the French fashion house for nearly six months. The new designer Blazy has chosen to join him is, like himself, a former […]
