Energy, export, creativity: fashion asks for support

"Fashion is the second largest manufacturing sector in Italy and has lost about 10% of its turnover in two years. We need to change a narrative based on the notion that 'fashion makes it on its own': this is not true. Many companies have closed down and some brands are also in difficulty'. Carlo Capasa, president of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, speaks at the close of a complicated year for the sector, hit by the luxury goods crisis that has had repercussions on orders and put the Italian supply chain in difficulty, but also by a series of episodes that have seen brands accused of failing to control their supply chain where there have been episodes of worker exploitation, most recentlythe Tod's case.

2026, according to Bain-Altagamma estimates presented in Milan, could be the year of the upscale sales recovery, the segment of choice for Italian-made products, but the unknowns and challenges remain. As does the appeal to politics to help the sector: 'We have presented 13 proposals for the sector that have been included among the amendments to the Budget Law 2026. Among the most important ones is the extension of the tax credit for aesthetic design, currently at 5 per cent and expiring, which we would like to see extended to the next five years and raised to 10 per cent. We were told that the measure (in a reported amendment signed by M5s, ed.), which we estimated would cost the state about 70 million euro, would not have the financial cover, and so we relaunched by proposing to use the funds left over from Industry 5.0'.

Then there is the topic of the fight against ultra fast fashion - on which an important step forward was taken at the Ecofin with the approval of taxation for parcels up to 150 euro in value. While waiting to see how the measure should (and could) be brought forward to 2026, i.e. two years before the Eu customs data hub becomes operational, the CNMI has proposed to introduce a progressive environmental tax (from 5 to 10 euros by 2031) on every parcel of clothing coming from non-EU countries weighing less than 2kg, in addition to a ban on promotion and the obligation for platforms to comply with disclosure requirements in line with those for European companies. "It is crucial to act immediately to defend the Italian supply chain, workers and sustainability," says Capasa.

Currently, among the amendments to the Budget law proposed by the majority parties (Fdi, Fi, and Lega) that have been 'flagged', and therefore those that have passed the first screening, are those relating to the granting of a tax credit for the purchase of the energy component and the exemption from social security contributions for companies that purchase minority shareholdings in SMEs in difficulty, as well as a fund to safeguard the supply chain with an endowment of 150 million euro per year for 2026 and 2027. However, the games are not yet over: the manoeuvre is still in its infancy.

There is also another package of regulations that involves the fashion sector and, linked to the annual ddl on SMEs, has already been approved at first reading in the Senate: the one that introduces a system for certifying the legality of the supply chain (criticised by the social partners because it would introduce a 'criminal shield' for brands, ed.) Cnmi is aiming for a change in the text: 'We want to work to improve the regulation, we don't need a criminal shield but we want the possibility for brands to cooperate with the judicial authority before a possible commission. We all want to row in the same direction'.