This article will probably attract a lot of criticism. But, in the end, that is also the essence of the internet. If you say something that everyone agrees with, very often it simply means you are not saying anything truly interesting.
There was a very specific moment, a few years ago, when I started realizing that the problem of contemporary Made in Italy was far deeper than most Italians were willing to admit.
It happened in Singapore, during our first event dedicated to Italian brands. After entire days spent presenting companies, products and collections to local buyers and retailers, one of them told me a sentence that has stayed in my head ever since.
“Ramon, if I have to buy these classic and not very innovative products, I can buy them directly from China. They are almost the same, maybe slightly lower in quality, but my margins are much higher.”
I remember perfectly the discomfort I felt in that moment. Not because someone was criticizing Italian products, but because inside that sentence there was an uncomfortable truth that nobody in the industry really had the courage to openly face.
The problem of Made in Italy today is not quality.
Italian quality still exists and is often extremely high. The problem is that the global market no longer reasons only around quality, and continuing to pretend otherwise is probably one of the biggest mistakes our fashion system keeps making.
For decades, Made in Italy dominated the world thanks to an almost unrepeatable combination of:
And for a very long time, this was enough. Simply writing “Made in Italy” on a label immediately created a perception of superior value.
Today, however, the world has changed radically.
Countries such as China, Vietnam, Turkey, Portugal and Spain have massively improved their manufacturing capabilities. And we need to be very honest here: we are no longer talking about the low-quality products of twenty years ago. In many cases, the quality achieved today is absolutely competitive, especially in the mid-range segment of the market, which once represented the real backbone of the Italian fashion industry.
And this is exactly where the biggest problem begins.
When people talk about the crisis of Made in Italy, they often confuse luxury with mid-range fashion. They are two completely different worlds.
True luxury will probably continue surviving very well. There will always be clients willing to pay for:
But the mid-range segment? The one that supported thousands of Italian companies for years?
That is where the situation becomes much more complicated.
Because today that segment is trapped in an almost impossible position: too expensive to compete with Asia on price, but not exclusive enough to justify certain price differences compared to international competition.
And this is where another topic enters the conversation, one that people still discuss far too little: the Italian industrial system itself.
When a company constantly lives under pressure, crushed between:
it inevitably enters survival mode. And when a company stops feeling economically secure, the first thing it loses is not its margins.
It loses courage.
In my opinion, this is one of the biggest problems of contemporary European fashion.
Many brands have stopped taking risks. They continue repeating the same models, the same carry-overs, the same reassuring silhouettes seen over and over for years, not necessarily because creativity is missing, but because today making a mistake with a collection can seriously compromise the stability of an entire company.
Meanwhile, however, the global market keeps moving forward. And those who stay still for too long inevitably get overtaken:
And this is exactly the point that many people in Italy still struggle to accept.
Outside Europe, the average consumer no longer buys products exclusively based on concepts such as:
If that were still the case, companies such as:
would never have reached the level of success they have today.
We can be outraged by this reality as much as we want, but ignoring it will not change the market.
In fact, perhaps the biggest problem in our industry is exactly this: we often continue telling ourselves stories about how we wish the world worked, instead of observing what the world has actually become.
And it is no coincidence that many European brands that once produced entirely in Italy have progressively moved part of their production toward:
And we also need to be very honest about this point.
Countries like Portugal and Spain have developed extremely strong manufacturing sectors today, especially in footwear and premium apparel. Meanwhile, Asia continues to have an enormous manufacturing force, both in terms of scale and economic competitiveness.
Many Italian entrepreneurs understood this a long time ago. In fact, there are now numerous European groups maintaining a strongly Italian brand identity while producing almost entirely abroad, often through offices in:
And honestly? From an entrepreneurial perspective, it is difficult even to blame them.
Because the market itself is pushing in that direction.
The real problem is that public debate often reduces everything to an overly simplistic, almost childish narrative. People say many Italian companies no longer innovate because entrepreneurs lack vision or because the sector is too conservative.
In some cases, that is certainly true.
But thinking that this is the entire problem means failing to understand the depth of the economic transformation that global fashion is currently experiencing.
Innovation requires investment.
Investment requires margins.
Margins require competitiveness.
And when an industrial ecosystem loses competitiveness, it slowly also loses:
At the same time, Europe completely opened its markets to products manufactured in countries with dramatically lower production costs. And here we need to be extremely honest again: it was inevitable that consumer behavior would change.
When one pair of shoes costs:
most people will inevitably choose the lower price, especially during a historical period where purchasing power has progressively declined.
And this transformation has had enormous consequences:
The paradox is that this no longer concerns only Italy.
Today we are talking about Made in Italy because it is the reality I know best, but no country is truly immune from globalization.
Part of this already happened in France.
It is happening in Italy.
And tomorrow it could happen even in:
Because globalization does not care about flags.
It looks at:
And perhaps this is the most uncomfortable truth to accept.
Maybe Made in Italy is not dead.
But a huge part of the industrial model that made it great is clearly going through a very deep crisis. And continuing to believe that simply writing “Made in Italy” on a label is enough to remain competitive in the global market is probably one of the most dangerous illusions the industry can continue telling itself.