The 28th Pambianco (PwC) Fashion Summit, was organised in Milan in collaboration with Grazia. The hybrid event took place at Palazzo Mezzanotte, the headquarters of Borsa Italiana, with a selected audience and the rest of the community following through online streaming. The event addressed the challenges and potential opportunities for the fashion industry in the digital world from the view of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and representatives from the tech world.
PwC’s latest study, presented by Erika Andreetta, partner and EMEA Fashion & Luxury leader at PwC Italy, revealed that the luxury industry continued to grow in the first nine months of 2023 despite current inflationary tensions and rising interest rates. However, Q3 observed a slight decline.
Luxury brands such as LVMH, Moncler, Hermés, the Zegna Group and Brunello Cucinelli recorded revenue growth in 2023. Furthermore, the USA recorded surprising GDP growth in Q3 despite being more strongly impacted by inflation.
However, European consumption has remained stagnant, with Black Friday forecasts significantly lower in Italy, Spain, France and Germany. In Asian markets, exports decreased by 14.5 per cent compared to 2022 due to high youth unemployment and property market issues. However, luxury labels are able to grow using holidays and traditional culture in China.
The urgent challenges the fashion industry faces are new technology and digital solutions. Speaking about the digital solutions, Meta’s country director in Italy, Luca Colombo, said, “We believe that in the future, the internet will be much more immersive and connected with people; we will probably no longer need a mobile phone, but we will access the web through hands-free wearables. One example is the latest generation of headsets, enabling users to enjoy an immersive VR experience while watching the physical world.”
Additionally, Riccardo Vola, managing director of Zalando, emphasised the importance of e-tail in a new wave of transformation, with customers seeking inspiration and personalising the shopping experience.
