One thread runs through this week’s news: Italian quality is still the strongest argument in the room, even when the numbers call for caution. From Asian trade fairs to supply-chain figures, down to the boutiques rethinking their craft.
Italian textiles return to Shanghai
From 25 to 27 August, Italian textiles present their Autumn-Winter 2027/28 collections at Intertextile Apparel Fabrics in Shanghai. ICE and Milano Unica direct the effort: 480 square metres of exhibition space at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.
The message is plain: Asia remains a strategic platform for Italian fabric. Boutiques that buy well have known it for years — value starts with the material.
2026 exports: Confartigianato’s figures
Confartigianato has taken the sector’s picture: Italian textile and apparel posts a turnover of €58.39 billion, down 2.4%. Exports are worth €36.94 billion (-1.6%) — 63.3% of the business.
Two ways to read it. One: the moment calls for caution. The other: almost two thirds of the business comes from people outside Italy who keep choosing Made in Italy. The supply chain is asking for investment, not discounts.
Multi-brand retail rethinks itself
Tighter margins, generational handovers, online competition: the independent multi-brand store is questioning its future. Among the ideas on the table are distribution hubs that bring several boutiques together, leaving each its identity and autonomy while sharing the heavy lifting.
Whatever shape it takes, the craft stays the same: choosing well. Selection is the real value of multi-brand retail — no algorithm replaces it.
Mulberry starts again from womenswear
Mulberry has handed Christopher Kane the relaunch of its womenswear. The first collection debuts at London Fashion Week in September.
The signal goes beyond one brand: heritage houses are investing in the women’s wardrobe again. Womenswear is not a category — it is the centre.
In short
Italian fabric shows up in Shanghai. Exports hold where quality is recognised. Multi-brand retail is looking for new forms, not new values. And womenswear is back at the top of the agenda. The direction is one: less noise, more substance.