THE FASHION

THE FASHION SECTOR TAKES STOCK OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

For the Italian fashion and textile sector the year 2009 has not been a happy year at all and has caused many difficulties to the firms in our Country.

The year that is going to finish should close with a decrease of 16%, reduced to 45 billion Euro and with a loss of 26,000 places of work according to the association Sistema Moda Italia.

There are however positive signals, indeed Mario Borselli said: “The way down has stopped but the resumption is too slow and the risk is to lose too many firms in the meantime”.

Michele Tronconi, chairman of Sistema Moda Italia:

“We should keep the production chain articulated”. Tronconi suggests the scrapping of the software, trying to create a virtuous circle among firms, banks and credit insurances.

More positive are the results of the luxury sector, which has clear signals of improvement, with an estimation of growth around 5% in 2010, after the negative trend of 2009, with a turnover decrease between 5% and 9%.

To go out from this crisis the fashion world is aiming mainly at the green economy, trying to create alternative products, finding different consumers’ orientations and addressing the whole production chain towards this direction.

The green thought effects more and more new social groups, being leaders in some choices and costumes with the aim to take again possession of the environment.

It is better to cover the body with natural products produced by our plants.

In the meantime the firms wink at the East.

The true hope of growth is still coming from the Far East with the only exception of Japan.

For the firms it will be absolutely fundamental to recognize China’s commercial power, which will be the engine for the resumption.