“Post-pandemic September is a bit like the first day of school for the district’s businesses.” In the words of Maurizio Sarti, president of the Fashion System section of Confindustria Toscana Nord, “we need to learn again how to move in the market revolutionized by the global pandemic”. Companies have turned their machinery back on after the summer break, which was longer than usual, a three-week break which in some cases became four. The orders are not those of 2022, the year of the great recovery which offset all the usual parameters. Entrepreneurs have to deal with a profoundly transformed market that has defeated the usual standards. What does it mean? “It means trying to understand this new way of working – explains Sarti -. The market is not at a standstill, but is moving at different regimes from those we have been accustomed to for decades. Generally speaking, September has never been a great month from the point of view of in view of the orders, it is a month of transition in which the fashion shows are expected to dictate the lines of fashion”. Businesses therefore travel, but at a reduced speed while waiting to adapt to market demands. In this new situation the sector is also asking itself about the opportunities of trade fairs: “There is no major trade fair event in September – adds Sarti -. But the same thing that applies to productions applies to trade fairs. Customers move around a lot autonomy, fairs are showcases that today I don’t know if they have the same usefulness as they once did. Milano Unica went very well in July, but for example some of the main American customers were missing. I mean that brands have no shortage of opportunities to see the fabrics we produce. We are living in a particular moment with the market moving at different speeds, we need to understand how purchasing habits and the budget allocated for clothing have changed. It’s a push and pull, the entrepreneurs’ task is to learn to extricate themselves in a market completely revolutionized by Covid, which we still have to fully understand.”
On the incentives and tenders dedicated to innovation, Sarti, however, has a very clear idea: “Brands are always asking for more, so incentives are welcome – he says – Every measure is useful and should be constant, not a one-off because sustainability costs and adapting the standards of companies, especially the smaller ones, it is an onerous commitment, so anything that can help the supply chain from this point of view is welcome.”
Silvia Bini
