by MILAN — It looks like a new trend is shaping up for next month and can be filed under “Brexit fashion”.
Not only is Sir Paul Smith returning to Florence as a guest designer at Pitti Uomo, a pool of other London-based brands have descended on Milan Fashion Week to present or debut their new collections to celebrate menswear.
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As the Italian fashion chamber presented the official schedule on Wednesday, it was revealed that the likes of Martine Rose, Dunhill and David Koma will be joining the Milan calendar, which has more than 80 events between the 14 and the 18th of June.
The chairman of the organization Carlo Capasa highlighted the highest number of appointments for the June edition and was enthusiastic about the “strong energy that exists in Milan at the moment.” He reiterated the synergy with Pitti Uomo and “the wonderful harmony and continuity” with the men’s trade show, which creates a week of momentum for Italian fashion.
There is also a slot rearrangement on Milan’s schedule. The week will open with the Moschino show at 4 pm, when creative director Adrian Appiolaza will unveil his first menswear collection for the brand alongside the women’s holiday 2025 line.
MSGM will adopt the same coed format to mark the brand’s 15th anniversary in the first show on June 15. “In June 2009, I presented the first MSGM men’s collection alongside the women’s selection. I want to celebrate that memory and recreate the same energy,” founder and creative director Massimo Giorgetti said of the selection.
On that day, Koma will make his menswear debut by presenting at a yet-to-be-disclosed location. Other key events on the day will include Fendi and Emporio Armani shows as well as presentations staged by Brioni, Ralph Lauren Purple Label and Woolrich Black Label by Todd Snyder, to name a few.
On June 16 there will be a Martine Rose fashion show at 5 pm, preceded by Simon Holloway’s sophomore collection for Dunhill. On that day also Magliano will return to the Milan schedule after his one-time decamp to Pitti Uomo in January; the always eagerly awaited Prada show; Matteo Tamburini has his first men’s collection for Tod’s, and JW Anderson’s runway show is just around the corner. Canali will also present his presentation on stage, and a special art exhibition and party will be held on the inaugural day to mark his previous 90th anniversary.
Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Zegna will end the week of physical shows on June 17, while the final day will be dedicated to digital presentations by emerging brands in line with the post-pandemic Milan Fashion Week tradition.
Other priorities in the schedule include the Diomene brand Damir Doma, the indie label Ascend Beyond and the Chinese brand Valleyouth, to name a few. These add to the Danish brand Henrik Vibskov, who will lead the pack of Scandinavian labels that will be shown in Milan thanks to a new partnership between Camera della Moda Italiana and the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair CIFF.
Called “Ciff Showrooms Milan”, the project will feature brands such as Stine Goya, Mark Kenly Domino Tan, Cover 1976, Aiayu, Adnym, Isnurh and Les Deux. Incidentally, the initiative is set to replicate the CIFF exhibition held during Pitti Uomo as well, but Capasa said the selection of brands will be slightly different.
Similarly, Capasa revealed that a new memorandum of understanding has been entered into between the Italian fashion chamber and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to mentor and promote emerging brands in South Korea during Milan Fashion Week in September .
Regarding the state of the fashion business in 2023, the executive updated the predictions shared in February. The sales of the fashion and related industries (including textiles, clothing, leather goods, footwear, jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics) amounted to 102.1 billion euros in 2023, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to the previous year. In 2022 the sales of the overall sector grew by 20.8 percent to 98.8 billion euros compared to 2021, when the total turnover also increased by more than 20 percent.
In particular, the local fashion industry slowed in the second half of 2023, Capasa said, with clusters of sectors reporting conflicting performances. Sales of “core” categories – textiles, clothing, leather goods and footwear – fell by 4 per cent, while those generated by companies working in jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics were up 5 per cent.
Capasa addressed the growing geopolitical instability as well as the crisis of e-commerce platforms as factors affecting the results. “I see prices more or less in line with the prices of the last few years but there is a big change in distribution, which also affects discount strategies, for example,” said Capasa. “We will have to figure out together how to address this disruption and think about what other ways can be leveraged to connect with consumers.”
On a more positive note, exports continued to be the main driver of the Italian fashion industry in 2023, growing 3.5 percent to 89.4 billion euros. Again, sales were mainly driven by a 13.7 percent increase in the jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics categories compared to the same period in 2022.
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