Carlo Capasa: Italian Fashion Faces Sustainability, Geopolitical Challenges

Carlo Capasa, president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), outlines the key challenges for Italian fashion, the country's second-largest industry. Sustainability and new EU regulations on ecodesign and digital passports require adaptation across a supply chain of 60,000 firms, including 40,000 artisans and 600,000 workers. CNMI has proposed seven measures to the government, including tax breaks for pensioners training young workers, enhanced unemployment benefits for small firms, and a moratorium on Covid fund repayments. A certification system for supply chain transparency is also advocated. Geopolitical pressures include contraction in the Chinese market and potential US tariffs under the Trump administration; diversification toward Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, the Middle East, and South America is urged. The exhibition 'Memorabile. Ipermoda' at the Maxxi in Rome, curated by Maria Luisa Frisa in collaboration with CNMI and Fondazione Bulgari, aims to narrate Italian fashion's evolution from craftsmanship to innovation. Capasa stresses balancing tradition with innovation, warning against over-reliance on marketing that could make the sector replicable.