MILAN — All eyes are on Milan.
“This is the place to be right now,” boasted Camera Nazionale della Moda’s president Carlo Capasa on Thursday.
Presenting the schedule for the city’s fall fashion week on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Capasa stressed how Milan is about to enter a key month in its history and international appeal.
Running from Feb. 24 to March 2, the shows will be sandwiched between the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The former opens on Friday and will run through Feb. 22, while the latter will run March 6 to 15.
“The fashion week is taking place in a moment of extraordinary visibility for Milan,” said the city’s Mayor Giuseppe Sala in a video message. “We will capitalize on this proximity with the Olympics and Paralympics.”
The ad campaign for the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week.
Filippo Tarentini/Courtesy of CNMI
Supported by data provided by Confcommercio, the local municipality estimates that the Winter Games will generate around 320 million euros in revenues across stores, restaurants, transportation, hotels and other services. The overlap of the events makes it harder to have specific estimates for the fashion week only, but institutions highlighted that last year’s edition generated 200 million euros on average.
The combination of sports and fashion is therefore expected to have a beneficial ripple effect across different industries.
Capasa highlighted how this will have an impact for the next 12 to 36 months, recalling the success of Milan’s Expo in 2015, and underscored the ongoing fascination between fashion and sports, pointing to the example of EA7 Emporio Armani outfitting the Italian team.
The ad campaign for the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week.
Filippo Tarentini/Courtesy of CNMI
He additionally pointed to the exciting moment in fashion, with creative direction changes and new talents trying to carve out a space in the evolving landscape. The upcoming fashion week will further build on these aspects, as the hottest tickets will include the debuts of Maria Grazia Chiuri at Fendi on Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. CET and Meryll Rogge at Marni the following day at 6 p.m. CET.
In between, Demna will stage his first runway show at Gucci, scheduled for Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. CET. That night, a private event featuring still undisclosed live performances will be also held at the Palazzo delle Scintille show venue.
The sophomore runway shows of Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander and Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta will add to the buzz, taking place on Feb. 25 and Feb. 28, respectively.
The ad campaign for the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week.
Filippo Tarentini/Courtesy of CNMI
Tweaking its strategy, Emporio Armani will embrace the coed format in its two shows on Feb. 26, to be followed by an event that night to mark the launch of the brand’s new “Power of You” fragrance. While the Giorgio Armani fall 2026 women’s collection will be unveiled on March 1, the company will also host a dinner on Feb. 24 to celebrate its recent collaboration with the Alanui brand, which is turning 10 this year.
Ditto for GCDS, which will mark the milestone with a return to the official schedule and to the catwalk on Feb. 27.
While Versace will skip the season as newly appointed chief creative officer Pieter Mulier will start his tenure on July 1, Alberta Ferretti confirmed its presence despite having already unveiled the fall 2026 collection with a show as part of Dubai Fashion Week. The brand designed by Lorenzo Serafini will stage a presentation on the opening day of Milan Fashion Week at its headquarters.
The ad campaign for the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week.
Filippo Tarentini/Courtesy of CNMI
Stalwart names confirming their presence will include the week’s opener Diesel; Missoni and Etro on Feb. 25; Max Mara, Boss, Prada and Roberto Cavalli on Feb. 26; Tod’s and Moschino on Feb. 27, and Ferrari, Ferragamo, Laura Biagiotti and MSGM on Feb. 28. These add to the likes of Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, Kiton, Bulgari and Giuseppe Zanotti that will hold presentations.
Key events will include the store opening of Ann Demeulemeester on Feb. 26 — the first outside the brand’s flagship in Antwerp — and the screening of “Paving The Way — Franca’s Legacy,” a documentary about the late Vogue Italia editor in chief Franca Sozzani. Held at Fondazione Sozzani, the premiere on fashion week’s opening day will be followed by three days of public screenings open upon registration.
The 161 appointments among physical and digital shows, presentations and events will also spotlight emerging brands, ranging from Florania to Cavia and Lessico Familiare. Camera della Moda’s Fashion Hub and a tie-up with Rinascente will give visibility to these projects and prove “there’s a new generation of Italian fashion talents out there,” said Capasa.
The ad campaign for the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week.
Filippo Tarentini/Courtesy of CNMI
His positive mood was influenced by the industry’s slight recovery, which was seen especially in the third quarter of 2025. According to preliminary figures, 2025 sales of the fashion and related industries (including textiles, clothing, leather goods, footwear, jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics) were down 2.6 percent to 93.3 billion euros compared to 2024. Previous projections estimated a 3.6 percent decrease in 2025 versus 2024.
As for exports, although they continue to be a key driver of the Italian fashion industry, they decreased 3.6 percent to 87.9 billion euros versus 2024, with those of the “core” categories — textiles, clothing, leather goods and footwear — to China falling 16.7 percent in the first 10 months of last year compared to same period in 2024, for example. Exports of companies in jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics were also significantly affected, especially those toward the U.S., which was down 12.5 percent versus 2024.
Conversely, imports were up 5.1 percent to 49.3 billion euros, with China, France and Spain being the top three markets for imports to Italy.
The ad campaign for the upcoming Milan Women’s Fashion Week.
Filippo Tarentini/Courtesy of CNMI
First projections for 2026 forecast total sales for the industry growing 1 percent to 94.2 billion euros, and exports and imports up 2.5 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.
“It’s good to forecast an increase, even such a slight one, again. But we’re still cautious, there are still a lot of issues in our industry, from problems along the supply chain and challenges especially for small and middle-sized companies to the retail crisis undergoing not only in Italy but globally, as the case of Saks [Global] recently showed us,” said Capasa.
