MILAN — The year 2026 is one of big milestones for Blauer, which is marking its 90th anniversary and its 25th year as part of the Italian outerwear specialist FGF Industry.
The latter achievement is being celebrated during Milan Fashion Week with an event at the Triennale Milano Museum, intended to spotlight the family values that have guided the brand for the past quarter of a century.
“The celebrations will revolve around the concept of family,” said Enzo Fusco, founder and chief executive officer of FGF Industry. “There are clients we’ve been working with for a long time, employees that feel like family, agents working with us for over 20 years. We are a family business after all,” he said.
Fusco originally sealed a deal with Blauer’s founding family to introduce it to the fashion market in 2001. Through FGF Industry, the entrepreneur has breathed new life into the brand, heightened its fashion credentials and turned it into an appealing outerwear brand. In 2017 Fusco snapped up a 50 percent stake in the company from the descendants of founder Louis Blauer.
Blauer was founded in Boston in 1936 as a workwear brand aimed at law enforcement and military personnel.
The celebratory event is complemented by an exhibition titled “Family Grammar” conceived by Italian artist and curator Felice Limosani, which traces back Blauer’s 25 years with FGF Industry through the ad campaigns developed by master photographers including Bruce Weber; James Mollison; David Drebin; Marco Glaviano; Stefano Babic; Richard Phibbs; Peter Heck; Branislav Simoncik; Carlo Miari Fulcis; Rosi Di Stefano, and Riccardo Vimercati.
A Blauer ad campaign by Bruce Weber.
Bruce Weber/Courtesy of Blauer
Images are arranged on music stands inside Triennale Milano’s Salone d’Onore room accompanied by a dedicated soundtrack. The exhibit will be on display and open to the public on Friday.
“Family Grammar came about from my belief that family is also an art form, perhaps the first. The Fusco family inspired me to create a grammar made of bonds, gestures and memories that span generations,” Limosani said.
“The sensitivity of the 11 photographers shaped this visual narrative, which I transformed into a symbolic orchestra where affection becomes notes and experience becomes rhythm,” he added.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, Blauer is dropping a capsule collection developed by British Italian artist and designer Chiara Perano in collaboration with Francine, the upcycling brand established by stylist and eBay’s pre-loved style director Amy Bannerman. The capsule comprises four vintage leather jackets for men and women drawn from Fusco’s archive and reworked by the two talents. Two jackets will be donated to the Libellule Insieme ETS Onlus Foundation for a charity auction.
Chiara Perano and Amy Bannerman wearing Blauer’s 25th anniversary capsule collection.
Courtesy of Blauer
While celebrating the past 25 years, Fusco was looking ahead, committing to further nurture the brand’s growth and international expansion, even amid a downturn in luxury spending that has yet to reverse its course.
“Despite the complex context, which is denting consumer confidence, we are enjoying a favorable moment, with a consistent 10 to 12 percent growth year-on-year,” the entrepreneur said.
To wit, between April and May, FGF Industry will unveil a new state-of-the-art, 48,437-square-foot complex in Montegalda, Italy, a town outside Vicenza in the Veneto region. The complex will flank the existing manufacturing plant and house offices and a showroom.
In 2025 FGF Industry — which also comprises the premium outerwear brand Ten C which it acquired in 2020 — logged sales of 80 million euros, in addition to 14 million euros from the accessories business — an overall growth of 5 million euros compared to 2024.
Forecasting a 10 percent uptick in revenues in 2026, Fusco said retail is among the pivotal avenues for growth. The Blauer brand currently operates nine stores, all in Italy, with recent openings in Bari, Brescia and Trieste. It boasts four additional franchised boutiques.
“We want to convey our brand image effectively and this is only doable through monobrand boutiques, especially as we offer a total look,” Fusco said.
A Blauer ad campaign by Richard Phibbs.
Richard Phibbs/Courtesy of Blauer
Although the brand is significantly dependent on the Italian market, the entrepreneur has worked to expand its European footprint in recent years. Exports currently account for 40 percent of sales, up from 30 percent a year ago, driven by Blauer’s recent foray into Turkey, Denmark and Sweden. He expects that figure to reach 45 to 50 percent by the second half of 2026.
“We focused on consolidating Europe, and I believe this will define our strategy in the next year or so. The next steps are the non-European regions, but you need to find the right partners to address markets such as Asia or the U.S,” Fusco said.
Asked about the latter, Fusco said tariffs have dented the appeal of the country for Blauer, although he said that finding the right partner would help overcome hesitation.
The Fusco family, owners of FGF Industry, parent to Blauer.
Courtesy of Blauer
Now a stronghold of outerwear, FGF Industry is not actively looking at acquisitions, Fusco said.
“Our focus is on growing the company and its brands on an international scale. We are a solid and serious company, and we’ve been in the market for a long time, so we often get offered labels to acquire. However, we want to do few things and better and we’ve got amazing brands to nurture,” Fusco concluded.
