MFGS 2022 kicks off under the sign of challenges

The 21st edition of the MFGS - Milano fashion global summit kicks off today, an event organized by Class editori with the Cnmi - National chamber of Italian fashion as institutional partner, which until Thursday, October 27, will delve into the main issues related to the world of fashion and luxury, starting with a discussion on the current and future scenarios abruptly changed following the events of 2022. After the halt due to the first wave of Covid-19, companies had restarted with enthusiasm and confidence. However, the big picture became even more complicated with the continuation of the pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, resulting in soaring inflation and energy costs. In order to understand which strategies to implement and which business models are winning, the event will shine the spotlight on entrepreneurs, managers and fashion designers who will delve into today's challenges between geopolitics and Metaverse, while also touching on issues related to new technologies and aspects concerning sustainability, from supply chain to green transition, with a handover on October 28 to the Venice Sustainable fashion forum, of which Class editori is media partner.

The first day, called Megachallenges, will provide a general overview of the fashion & luxury market. Opening the morning's proceedings will be Paolo Panerai, editor in chief and ceo of Class editori, and the president of Cnmi, Carlo Capasa. This will be followed by one of the big protagonists of the 2022 edition, Moncler ceo Remo Ruffini, with whom they will talk about the new projects of the brand, which last month celebrated its 70th anniversary with a maxi event in Milan's Piazza del Duomo, on the occasion of Milan fashion week dedicated to women's spring/summer 2023 collections. The baton will then be passed to Marco Bizzarri, Gucci's chairman and ceo, who in a dedicated panel will share his thoughts about some revolutionary steps in the fashion world. The Italian fashion house itself, part of the Kering group, thanks to Bizzarri as helmsman along with creative director Alessandro Michele, has gone from 3 to more than 10 billion in sales and is on its way to 15 billion in revenues. This success is the result of a style that has kept up with the times thanks to its educational and contemporary aesthetic approach, as well as a winning communication strategy. Also present in the morning will be keynote speakers Alfonso Dolce and Fabrizio Cardinali, respectively ceos of Dolce&Gabbana and Etro, a historic brand that in September saw its first collection signed by Marco De Vincenzo as part of the project by new shareholder L Catterton.

Of great interest are undoubtedly the two round tables «Generations in comparison» with Renzo and Stefano Rosso of Otb and the one with Gildo and Edoardo Zegna. These will be dedicated to the prospects and winning characters of a family business capable of projecting itself on an international scale. A snapshot of the financial landscape will be taken in the panel dedicated to capital and luxury goods, where the speakers will be bankers and private equities such as Roberta Benaglia, ceo of Style capital, Roberto Costa, managing director and head of global luxury investment banking at Citi Group, Francesca Diviccaro, head of industry retail&luxury, division Imi corporate & investment banking at Intesa Sanpaolo, Alessandro Binello, ceo of Quadrivio group, Chiara Rotelli, executive director and senior equity analyst luxury goods at Mediobanca and GianErnesto Bernardi, Head of M&A at JP Morgan. Finally, closing the circle will be Francesco Pieri of Temera, a leader in IoT solutions.

Metadesign, the Technology Vision, on the other hand, is the title of day 2, where various reflections will take place both on the applications of new It systems capable of improving the digital experience inside and outside the company and on the new, alternative space of the Metaverse so loved by Gen Z. Within this framework, American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger will talk about his personal vision. He returned to the catwalk last September 12 during New York fashion week with a show event that not only immersed the audience in an experiential runway show in the multiverse but also merged the physical défilé and the virtual world in the livestream thanks to the avatars of the Superplastic stars. This will be followed by a panel with Livio Proli, ceo of Missoni, a brand that during Milan fashion week debuted with the new creative director Filippo Grazioli. The number one of the house, part of the Fsi fund by Mauricio Tamagnini, will review market challenges while maintaining a focus on craftsmanship.

Another protagonist of the market is Brunello Cucinelli, guest speaker at MFGS on October 26, who will be the testimony of an ethical capitalism with which to face the new economic paradigm. Also scheduled in the morning are in-depth discussions on topics such as the increasingly immersive and engaging new frontiers of online shopping, the value of handmade in the digital age, wearable technology, the definition of a good hi-tech governance or the advance of new luxury hubs that have come up in advanced countries such as China. In addition to Venini, these topics will be discussed by Valentina Corbetta of Veepee, Luca Tonello of Deda group, Francesco Passone of Klarna, Matteo Marzotto of Minerva hub and Luca Colombo of Meta.

The third day, Slowbalization & sustainable supply chain, will be under the name of green culture, and will look even further into the future, analyzing different innovative instruments and new ethical methods applied to the entire supply chain. Climate change, along with needs linked to the current socioeconomic situation, have led to an important discussion about respecting the environment, tracing the products and using high tech to improve the whole system, making it more responsible and up to date. The panel «Supporting the Italian supply chain» will open the day, with ceo of the Italian trade agency Carlo Ferro as the protagonist, followed by Luca Arnaboldi, ceo of AmCham Italy, and Claudio Marenzi, ceo of Herno, who will describe the rise to fame of urban and active sportswear and the consequent appreciation by the new generation of consumers.

The various discussions will also include Alessandro Giancane of Vesenda with Jacopo Thun Hohenstein of Tailoor and cio of Successori Reda, Domenico Zonin of Zonin1821, Alessandro Pescara of Borbonese, Giuseppe Santoni of Santoni, Jacopo Schettini Gherardini of Standard ethics and Giuseppe Donanzan of Prismatech. Finally, the day will end with a panel discussion dedicated to winning strategies for innovation, with Fabio Canali, president southern Europe & North Africa at Lectra, and Alfredo Zordan, ceo of Zordan.

Closing the circle will be a fourth appointment on October 28, followed by Class CNCB and Class Editori media, part of the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum, a project born from Ambrosetti, Smi, Cnmi and Confindustria Venezia. Every panel at MFGS will be broadcasted on Class Cnbc (channel 507 on Sky) and available in streaming on milanofinanza.it, salonedellostudente.it and on Zoom after registration on classagora.it.

From green to tech, every partner of the 2022 edition

After two years of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, the fashion-luxury pair finds itself to face a complicated period. Reflecting on this matter are the protagonists working in the sector, managers and entrepreneurs, who at the 2022 MFGS, starting today, will intervene in various panels, sharing their experience and opinions on several topics.

In addition to the opening panel by Carlo Capasa, President of CNMI, institutional partner of the event, Temera, Vesenda and Klarna will give an overview of the technological landscape while being the daily partners of the summit. Besides the hi-tech aspect, sustainability will be a key topic to better understand the costs and how much this value affects the supply chain for luxury brands, an issue that the main partner Intesa Sanpaolo has decided to analyze deeper with Stefania Trenti.

The event will feature several panel discussions including Deda group, Borbonese, Fsi, the Italian trade agency, Lectra, Quadrivio group, Style capital and Santoni, the latter ones are summit partners alongside Gama professional and Canepa. This evening the MF Supply Chain Awards will be presented at a gala dinner at the Milan philological circle (in the picture). The winners will receive a Venini sculpture, technical partner of the event, alongside Ruinart and T’a Milano. (All rights reserved)