Fashion Week kicks off, set to bring 217 million induced revenue to Milan

Two months, indeed three, to be framed for Milan: after the Olympics, which animated the city from 6 February to last Sunday, from 6 to 15 March there will be the Paralympics. Fashion, we might say, adds more sap: two days ago the fashion fairs began and today the fashion shows, showroom presentations, events and exhibitions start, as an international showcase of women's collections for autumn-winter 2026-2027. Now that fashion week is over, we are already looking ahead to design week, with the Salone del Mobile that from 21 to 26 April will bring Milan - once again - to the centre of the world creative scene.

Much has already been said about the positive balance of the Winter Games, but the estimates on the induced activities for fashionable Milan are also improving, in a sort of virtuous circle between the various events that put the city at the centre of global media and tourist attention.

According to the Centro Studi di Confcommercio Milano, Lodi, Monza e Brianza, the total tourist spending for the Women's Fashion Week that starts today exceeds 217 million (217.4 to be precise), an increase of 17.7% compared to last year. The expected number of visitors is also up: over 132,200 (+17.4% on 2025), 55.3% of whom are Italian, the remaining 44.7% foreign. It is also estimated that 100 million will be earmarked for shopping, 84.8 million for accommodation and catering, 32.6 million for transport, and that tourist spending per capita will be €1,644 (slightly up on 2025). Of the total induced revenue, 120.5 million will be spent by Italian visitors, 96.9 million by foreign visitors.

"The data confirm Milan's great international attractiveness," explains Marco Barbieri, secretary general of Confcommercio Milano, Lodi, Monza and Brianza, "and the concomitance of 2026 between fashion and the period of the Games amplifies visibility, tourist flows and economic opportunities for the entire urban system. Strengthening Milan's role as a global platform where major sporting and creative events generate development, innovation and competitiveness for the territory'.

Opening the days of the women's collections (in some cases presented together with the men's, in the so-called coed mode) today will be Diesel, the brand around which founder Renzo Rosso has built the Otb group, one of the largest in Italia, with 2025 revenues of 1.7 billion. Camera della moda inaugurates its customary Fashion Hub, a showcase, at Palazzo Morando, of emerging talents and brands. Two more Otb brands, Jil Sander and Maison Margiela, will be on the catwalk tomorrow 25 February, alongside Fendi, Etro, Missoni and Antonio Marras, among others.