Italian Fashion: Up To The Challenge
By Mari Davis
Photo below: From the Giorgio Armani Spring 2006 collection
Photo by: Giovanni Pucci

DALLAS, Nov 30, 2005/ FW/ --- With textiles, clothing, shoes & accessories comprising 15.8% if Italian exports in 2004, fashion houses all over Italy are faced with the challenge of making that number higher as 2006 rolls around.

Though the Italian Trade Commission confidently said in the beginning of 2005 that ‘Luxury is back,’ the slight global economic downturn and the trade gap with China made it very hard to reach ‘complete recovery by end of 2005’ as predicted.

Though the numbers are bleak, there is general optimism in the industry.

“China has copied us. What can we do? But our design sense and creativity is not just a function of technology. It’s also a reflection of what’s valued around the world: our style and taste,” said Graziano Brenna, president of the textile section of the Industrial Union of Como, to the Washington Post.

Style and taste is what sets the Italians apart when it comes to fashion; the reason why Milan as a fashion capital dominates both sides of the Atlantic when it comes to clothing, shoes and accessories.

And the with the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index standing at 98.9 for November, up from 85.2 (October), as reported by the Conference Board, the Milan menswear fashion season is set to start on a high note when it kicks off in January.