MILAN — Italy’s fashion governing body Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana has renewed its board for the 2026 to 2028 period, unanimously confirming chairman Carlo Capasa in his role. He was first elected in 2015.
The association marked the kickoff to the next two-year period by unveiling a new study on Made in Italy fashion developed in collaboration with consultancy McKinsey & Company and IntelliSurvey.
Titled “Il Bello della Moda,” or “The Beauty of Fashion” in English, the study aims to shed light on the upsides of the industry, providing data and factual evidence of its contribution to the country’s prestige, appeal, social cohesion and economic growth.
“Italian fashion takes a dream and gives it a form. The real value of fashion lies in shaping a culture of beauty. The sector speaks a universal language, is a place where people recognize one another and become a community. The true singularity of Italian fashion lies in the ecosystem it has built over time — a system the rest of the world envies,” Capasa contended.
“Too often, the story told about fashion obsesses on the shadows, on the issues, forgetting the value the sector generates for the country. Italian fashion is Italy. ‘Il Bello della Moda’ is a study dedicated to telling the story of fashion’s systemic value and contribution to the economy, to training and education, to social cohesion, to labor, and to culture,” he said.
Newcomers to the association’s board include Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s head of CSR and executive chairman of Versace; Luca Lisandroni, co-chief executive officer of Brunello Cucinelli, a role he shares with Riccardo Stefanelli, and Giorgio Armani’s CEO Giuseppe Marsocci.
The other confirmed members for the upcoming two years are Gucci CEO Francesca Bellettini; Riccardo Bellini, CEO at Valentino; Roberta Benaglia, CEO at Style Capital; Alfonso Dolce, co-CEO at Dolce & Gabbana, a role he now shares with Stefano Cantino; Leonardo Ferragamo, executive chairman of Salvatore Ferragamo; Luigi Maramotti, chairman of the Max Mara Fashion Group; Ramon Ros, CEO at Fendi; Renzo Rosso founder and chairman of the OTB Group; Moncler’s executive chairman Remo Ruffini; Fondazione Sozzani’s Carla Sozzani, as well as Gildo Zegna, Ermenegildo Zegna Group’s executive chairman. The board also includes honorary president Mario Boselli.
Capasa is tasked with leading Camera della Moda until 2028, on the heels of a few years of disruption for the fashion sector. He touted the many goals achieved over the past 10 years of his chairmanship, including storytelling about the sector, training and education, promotion of new brands and emerging creative talents, environmental and social sustainability, institutional and international relations and the continued development of Milan Fashion Week. The latter is estimated to have brought about 420,000 visitors to the city in 2025.
According to the McKinsey & Company-led report, presented by Gemma D’Auria, senior partner and global lead of the apparel, fashion and luxury practice at the consultancy, fashion represents 5 percent of overall Italian industrial production, equaling automotive and outweighing pharmaceutical. Leather goods alone, one third of total fashion production, generate 17 billion euros, just below the 18 million euros netted by big pharma.
“To recognize fashion means to recognize its value to Italy’s competitiveness. Fashion is not just a symbol of Made in Italy,” D’Auria said.
The study — currently in its kickoff phase — is intended as a permanent, real-time assessment of the state of Italian fashion, subject to ongoing updates via contributions from universities, research centers, including Open Impact, and Italian and international institutions.
Camera della Moda and McKinsey & Company plan to publish periodic white papers centered on different fashion industry topics.
In touting the sector’s contribution to overall Italian growth and wealth, D’Auria highlighted that each million units of fashion production is directly linked to about 19 jobs, five-fold the average quota needed by other key industries in the country. Fashion employs 1 million people when taking into account the entire supply chain.
Fashion is also the most international sector, with 25 percent of its companies’ board members having an international background, compared with the average 12 percent at the top 100 Italian firms across sectors. Its appeal on foreign markets is a strong driver for tourist flows, D’Auria added, mentioning a survey conducted with U.K., U.S., Chinese and French tourists on the top reasons for the country’s attractiveness. It also produces dynamic M&A activities, bigger in size compared to the country’s average.
On the heels of geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic headwinds, which have resulted in dented consumer confidence and sluggish sales, the fashion sector is now faced with another seismic shift. The advent of AI is poised to reconfigure business and operational flows and creativity, as well as the acquisition and retention of customers.
According to D’Auria, global commerce across sectors mediated by AI will represent a $3 trillion to $5 trillion business by 2030 as consumers are increasingly trustful of that technology.
Rosso enthused about his personal and business use of it. One of the most recent developments was OTB’s linkup with Google Cloud to enhance the shopping experience via an AI-backed virtual try-on solution. It kicked off in May for Diesel and Jil Sander across the U.S. and European markets.
Technology-mediated clienteling is certainly one of the applications where AI comes in handy, especially as the appeal of fashion wanes, Rosso contended.
“The luxury world, beyond the drop in foot traffic, also has a problem of a waning consumer following, as shoppers today are diversifying their spending across other categories. Within this landscape, fashion is flattening out, and merchandising and [financial] markets rule,” he said.
Dolce contended that “in its storytelling, [Dolce & Gabbana] inherently embraces artisanal culture… [that’s why] alongside artificial intelligence, I would emphasize the importance of emotional intelligence… every human being is a unique code and the interaction among one another and with the territory has shaped Made in Italy as a system rooted in the tradition of craftsmanship.”
According to Sven Smit, senior partner emeritus and special adviser at McKinsey & Company, fashion’s ability to defy the downturn is ultimately linked to “inspiring the optimism the world needs.”
In his philosophical assumption, rooted in the observation of historical growth trends, the current century could be billed as one of “plenty.”
Countering mainstream forecasts that point to a threefold growth in the global economy in the 21st century, Smit argued that the world could easily aim for growth of about 850 percent until 2100, which correlates with improved life expectancy, schooling, literacy, democracy, access to clean water, the internet, electricity — and happiness. It also directly links to better chances to reduce carbon emissions, as richer economies tend to crowd out fossil fuels, Smit observed.
“Growth produces more money to solve problems than it creates additional problems,” Smit said. But it takes an optimistic mindset to pursue this belief and turn it into business action, he acknowledged. “And what’s the role of fashion in this?” he asked. “Fashion [should] lift humanity to think about plenty, that’s a better future than everything else that’s currently being discussed.”