Fading glamour: are Italy's fashion exports in trouble?

Gloria Allione (), Marco Errico and Claire Giordano ()
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Gloria Allione: Bank of Italy
Marco Errico: Bank of Italy
Claire Giordano: Bank of Italy

No 971, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: Historically, Italy has been known for its successful fashion industry (textiles, wearing apparel and leather). This article analyses the drivers of the recent downturn in the country's fashion exports. Over the years 2019-24, Italy's fashion export share in world markets remained stable, as a result, however, of weakening exports matching sluggish global demand. In 2022-24, the volume of Italy's fashion exports declined significantly; the fall was broad-based across the three branches and particularly marked for leather goods. Foreign sales for Italy's top 1 per cent of fashion exporters contracted the most; luxury goods exporters fared worse than 'fast-fashion' firms, especially in the leather goods branch. In the short term, demand for Italy's fashion exports is not expected to strengthen; US tariffs and Chinese export diversion to third markets pose downward risks, despite a possible buffer stemming from the high-quality positioning of Italy's exports.

Keywords: goods exports; fashion; luxury goods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 L67 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10
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