What to Expect From Milan Men’s Fashion Week in January
Sabato De Sarno’s menswear debut for Gucci, Stone Island’s first fashion show, the new Woolrich Black Label by Todd Snyder and presentations from emerging brands Mordecai and Institution are among the 74 appointments in calendar.
By SANDRA SALIBIAN
DECEMBER 13, 2023, 12:15PM
MILAN — The upcoming edition of Milan Fashion Week is set to open with a bang, according to the preliminary schedule presented by the Italian fashion chamber on Wednesday.
Running Jan. 12 to 16, the event will kick-start with Sabato De Sarno debuting his menswear vision for Gucci at 3 p.m. CET. Sandwiched between Billionaire and the Dsquared2 coed fashion show, Stone Island will also stage its first runway show later that day in the city’s La Cattedrale industrial space.
“As we embark on this next chapter for Stone Island, Milan Men’s Fashion Week provides us with the platform to gather our community together and share Stone Island’s new manifesto, which speaks to the unique legacy, values and mission of this iconic brand,” said Robert Triefus, the former Gucci executive who was appointed chief executive officer of the Moncler-owned outerwear company earlier this year.
On the presentation front, the inaugural day will feature Brunello Cucinelli, Boglioli and the debut in the official schedule of emerging label Mordecai, launched earlier this year by former Moncler designer Ludovico Bruno. As reported, Kiton will also stage the “Tailoring School. A Journey Into Education” showcase in partnership with the Triennale Milano museum to celebrate its in-house academy and spotlight the importance of craftsmanship and the training of a new generation of tailors.
The following day will mark the turn of the likes of Fendi, Emporio Armani, MSGM, Neil Barrett and Philipp Plein to stage their fashion shows, while the Woolrich Black Label by Todd Snyder will make its debut via a presentation format.
As reported, Etro earmarked Jan. 14 to unveil its new men’s tailoring collection, cutting the ribbon of its first store exclusively dedicated to the line and the made-to-order service in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone. The fashion house will skip a runway event this season, opting for a coed show in February.
Moschino is also missing from the schedule, as it already presented its men’s fall 2024 collection this month, alongside its women’s pre-fall 2024 range. The lineup was conceived by an in-house design team, while the creative helm of the brand remains vacant after the tragic and sudden death of Davide Renne.
Also in a transitional phase as it awaits for Matteo Tamburini’s start in February, Tod’s will present its men’s fall 2024 collection on Jan. 14. The day will be packed with the much-anticipated shows of Prada at 2 p.m. CET and JW Anderson at 7 p.m. CET as well as other debuts. These will include the first show in Milan of Pronounce, the Shanghai-based fashion label founded by Yushan Li and Jun Zhou; the launch of Institution, the solo brainchild of Act N.1’s former designer Galib Gassanoff; and the first men’s collection by footwear label Stuart Weitzman, among others.
Giorgio Armani and Zegna will reprise their usual time slots on Jan. 15, with the former staging its show at 11 a.m. CET at its storied headquarters on Via Borgonuovo, and the latter securing the 3 p.m. CET timing but not disclosing details on the location yet.
Filippo Grazioli will also present his latest menswear effort for Missoni that day, along with Dhruv Kapoor, Lessico Familiare and indie brand Noskra.
As per post-pandemic tradition, the closing day will feature only digital showcases — mainly from indie brands — rounding the total number of appointments in the schedule across shows, presentations and events to 74.
Assessing the ever-increasing impact of Milan Fashion Week on the economy of the whole city, the local municipality said that the event in September broke records, generating 88 million euros in sales across restaurants, transportation, hotels and other services.
The Italian fashion chamber’s chairman Carlo Capasa offered updated sales projections for 2023, instead. Sales generated by the country’s fashion and linked industries (including textiles, clothing, leather goods, footwear, jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics) are expected to grow 4 percent to 102.8 billion euros compared to last year.
Capasa underscored that sales of men’s apparel and accessories specifically grew 5 percent versus last year and account for 20 percent out of the total sales generated in these product categories.
The cautious forecast of the overall sales for the current year is the result of a slowdown registered in the third quarter of 2023. The retail channel showed particular fatigue, with sales of apparel down 4.7 percent and 5 percent in September and October, respectively, and footwear sales decreasing 3.4 percent and 3 percent in the same months.
According to data shared by the organization, overall sales projections for 2024 will follow this year’s increase rate and be up between 3 percent and 4 percent.
As for exports in 2023, they are projected to grow 5 percent to 90.6 billion euros in 2023, versus last year.
In the first eight months of 2023, exports continued to be a key driver for the industry, increasing 6.3 percent overall, but at a different speed according to the different categories. In the core sectors — textiles, clothing, leather goods, footwear — they were up 3.2 percent, while they climbed 16 percent in the jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics categories, compared to the same period last year.
The top destinations for Italian fashion in the period were France, Germany and the U.S., followed by Switzerland and China.
