Milan prepares (also) for fashion week as industry recovers

A very interesting round of fashion shows and presentations and various events, it is fair to call it, the one scheduled in Milan from 24 February to 2 March: opening the dances will be Diesel, closing them, in fact, Giorgio Armani, with a double fashion show scheduled for Sunday 1 March (the following day the calendar will feature exclusively digital fashion shows of young talents).

This is an interesting return not only because it is the first real women's fashion week of the year (New York and London have in fact lost any relevance), but because 2026 is a potentially disruptive mix of unknowns, global uncertainties and fears, and creative explosions linked to individual brands and the fashion system as a whole. As with the men's novelties presented in January between Pitti in Florence, Milan and Paris, on the catwalk and in the showrooms we will see the collections for autumn-winter 2026-2027, with numerous debuts.

Prominent among them are those of Maria Grazia Chiuri, who left Dior last year to take over the creative direction of Fendi, and Demna Gvasalia from Gucci, who in the last round (September 2025) had indeed presented a first collection but 'only' with a film and a boutique event. The Roman maison is part of Lvmh, the Florentine one of Kering, and both groups are struggling with the slowdown that has affected even the high-end.

Carlo Capasa, president of the National Chamber of Fashion (Cnmi), explained in Milan that there will be 162 appointments in all: 54 physical fashion shows, eight digital ones, 73 presentations and 27 events. 24 February will also see the inauguration of the 'Next on Air: A brand selection curated by Rinascente and Cnmi' project, born out of the collaboration between Camera della moda and Rinascente Duomo and which will see eleven new-generation brands on display at the store's Air Snake Space until 9 March 2026.

Capasa also presented the economic picture with the customary Fet (Fashion economic trends) on the Italian fashion industry with the figures on 2025 of textiles, leather, leather goods, clothing, footwear, jewellery, costume jewellery, cosmetics, and eyewear. The good news is that in the third quarter of 2025, turnover in the 'core' sectors of Italian fashion (textiles, clothing, leather, leather goods and footwear) finally returned to growth, after eight consecutive quarters of decline.