“You must never give up. You need the anger inside, as my uncle used to tell me. It is essential to grow”. Antonio De Matteis, president of Pitti Immagine and CEO of Kiton, launched his appeal to young people at Future For Fashion, an event held in Florence on 14 and 15 March. The initiative, entitled “The Soul of the Consumer”, was aimed in particular at the new generations identified both as future consumers and as potential new resources to be employed in fashion companies.
In order to involve young people, for the entrepreneur, it is necessary “to go back to talking about product, not just style. Fashion must start again from young people, make young people fall in love with the product”, not only in buying it, but also in making it. “Young people are the driving force of the world”, he continues, “we must be good at encouraging them to do the most beautiful job in the world”.
De Matteis’ “anger inside”
“We did this 23 years ago by creating new tailors,” says De Matteis. In fact, Kiton has long moved to involve young people in the company, with a focus on their satisfaction. “The average age of our employees is 36”, he says. “We have always offered a small salary to those who attend our training school, and a refund of expenses for travelling outside Naples”. Salaries are a subject dear to the entrepreneur’s heart. “We are one of the Italian companies that pays the most,” he specifies. Young people, for their part, “must be committed and work hard, they must take responsibility, not sleep at night, be passionate and believe in themselves”.
What fashion needs
“We need to go back to talking about quality, about how a product is made. About the people who make it, about wages, about the quality of the service we offer,” says De Matteis. “Quiet luxury has no meaning for me,” he sentences. “We have doubled the turnover of our company by offering a classic product, and 2024 has also started positively”. Pitti Immagine is reporting positive figures as well. “Trade fairs are going very well,” he says. “We have the ability to overcome this difficult time as well. Italy has already demonstrated it in the past”.
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