How the Italian luxury fashion industry is responding to the coronavirus pandemic

At the time of writing, the Italian government has decided to suspend all commercial activities, aside from the essential ones which will remain open while rigorously respecting the indications provided by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italy’s national institute of health) to limit human interaction and, consequently, the risk of contagion.

The governor of Lombardy — the region most affected by Covid-19, which includes Milan — where the headquarters (but not necessarily the production sites) of most groups and brands are located has announced an agreement with Confindustria Lombardia on a possible suspension of production until the start of April. This is a hiatus that leader of Italy’s Lega party, Matteo Salvini, is asking to extend to the entire country. If this happens, only the manufacturing part of the supply chain — currently making textiles and leathers for apparel — would be affected.

It is not a coincidence that on 9 March, two of the world’s biggest producers of high-quality textiles, the Como silk factories Ratti and Mantero, announced their commitment “in case of necessity” to “share their products and materials, to back up each other in production, according to workloads” and to “undertake a common course of action for the protection of production, to carry out current orders and safeguard employment”. The statement is being seen as a move that speaks volumes about the Italian textile and apparel industry and its entrepreneurship — one that above all, says a lot about its spirit.

A moment to digitise

Coronavirus has not disrupted or halted the usual working pattern, although relevant safety measures have been adopted (surgical masks, spaced-out work stations for artisans and longer breaks). The winter pre-collections, due to be delivered in May, are at stage two of the process, with parts of production taking place in Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto, and tanneries in Tuscany and Campania.

The putting-together of garments will be carried out at the end of April. Right now, fashion brands are working on prototypes for next winter and designs for autumn that need to be communicated speedily to contractors who are currently busy with the finished garments and quality control. Last year, Easter coincided with a string of public holidays, and the factories were closed for three weeks. Managers face the prospect of coronavirus disrupting their carefully planned production line and it may be that places close again for a number of weeks, this time unscheduled.

The second aspect: stores are closing — Sandro Veronesi of Calzedonia and Giorgio Armani have led by example, without waiting for further directions, and donations to hospitals are increasing (Gucci’s CEO Marco Bizzarri has donated €100,000 to the health services of his home town, Reggio Emilia) — but production has not stopped. There’s too much to do.

Bottega Veneta says that the brand is waiting for two large leather orders from Tuscany, while Fulvia Bacchi, general director of Unic-Lineapelle, has confirmed that its companies have received “orders almost exceeding production capacity” and are busy until the end of April. In other words, business as usual. After a slowdown at the end of last year, leading fashion houses, including Salvatore Ferragamo and Aeffe’s, report an increase in orders.

Loretta Caponi, the luxury lingerie and loungewear brand in Florence that dresses much of European royalty, says that €400,000 worth of orders have been placed since January. “We are witnessing a decline in individual orders and, as expected, of in-store purchasing,” Guido Conti Caponi, the founder’s niece, tells Vogue. “My mother Lucia is making the most of this moment to digitise and update the patterns of our heritage embroidery, in particular those from the 1960s and 1970s.” Embroidery from those decades is coveted online.

The Italian spirit

Some analysts pointed to a slowdown in wholesale orders before coronavirus hit, but Alessandro Maria Ferreri, CEO of The Style Gate, says the fashion industry can withstand challenges, even life-threatening ones. “During the fashion shows, when coronavirus was starting to spread, at least three quarters of the orders had already been placed,” he says, “so we won’t be seeing the consequences of the slowdown until the next semesters.”

Other observers are also predicting the extraordinary ability of the Italian fashion world to react to crisis. The family-run business model, which is customary for many small- and medium-sized companies in Italy, is proving once again successful in moments of crisis. Italian fashion houses may be intolerant to discipline, as The New York Times claimed, but Italian textile industries kept working under the bombs of the Second World War. The web, in Italy, is not only short for the internet, but it is a social network of support and collaboration, too. This is why Ratti and Mantero’s partnership is particularly meaningful. And we are certain it will not be the only one, coronavirus or no.

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