Italian luxury fashion house Prada S.p.A. reported a 21% rise in net revenues to €4.2bn for the year ending 31 December 2022, driven by strong growth in retail sales which increased by 24 per cent to €3.7bn.

The company saw strong performance across all product categories, with leather goods up 18 per cent, ready-to-wear up 27 per cent, and footwear up 29 per cent. Gross margin was 78.8 per cent of revenues, equivalent to €3.3bn, while adjusted EBIT margin was 20.1% of revenues, or €845m.

Despite weakness in China due to Covid-19, Prada reported an overall growth of 25 per cent and Miu Miu saw revenues increase by 20 per cent, with a sharp acceleration in H2 due to successful products, fashion shows and events. The company’s online sales also saw double-digit growth, while penetration remained stable at 7 per cent of retail sales.

Among geographies, Asia Pacific declined by 2 per cent to €1.23bn, offset by strong performance in Korea and Southeast Asia. Europe saw growth of 63 per cent, the Americas generated growth of 22 per cent, Japan grew 31 per cent and the Middle East increased 23 per cent in total.

In January 2023, a survey conducted by American luxury fashion digital platform Saks revealed that 62 per cent of US-based consumers plan to spend the same or more on luxury items in the upcoming months.

Respondents with an income of over $200K indicated a preference for spending on clothing after travel, events, and activities. Among those surveyed, 60 per cent said they plan to purchase clothing, and 36 per cent will spend on shoes for their upcoming trips.

Women respondents expressed a desire to embrace spring fashion, with colourful styles and statement tops being a popular choice for the next three months. Meanwhile, men are expected to go for clean sneakers, loafers, and tailored suits, as per the Saks Luxury Pulse survey.

Social media platforms are proving to be an excellent source of fashion inspiration, with Instagram being the most popular platform among 55 per cent of those surveyed. 45 per cent of respondents indicated that they frequently use social media to read reviews, while 33 per cent use the medium to get inspiration for outfits.

The Saks Luxury Pulse survey is conducted periodically to gauge luxury consumers’ attitudes towards shopping, spending, and fashion trends. The survey is based on responses from 2,832 US-based respondents over the age of 18 and was conducted between January 13-17, 2023.

MAGIC New York, the premier wholesale fashion event for Modern Sportswear, Young Contemporary and Trend-driven fashion, successfully concluded on February 23.

Organized by Informa Markets Fashion, the event provided a 360-degree fashion experience for domestic and international retailers to discover new and established brands, build connections, and network with industry experts, further growing the east-coast MAGIC community.

The New York edition of MAGIC hosted over 80 exclusive brands, offering a more expansive modern sportswear footprint than the Las Vegas and Nashville events. Brands such as Gretty Zeuger, M Rena, Petit Pois, Angela Mara, Julian Chang, and Namsar showcased upcoming Fall and Winter 23/24 trends, including sheer tops, choker necklaces, animal prints, tulle, feathers, and denim on denim.

Jordan Rudow, Vice President of MAGIC, emphasized that brands, business owners, and retailers come to MAGIC New York to connect with other members in the industry and converge with national and international industry representatives. He added that the fashion community came to MAGIC New York with strong enthusiasm off of the successful Las Vegas event to discover new brands and build those important industry connections that further support and grow their businesses.

The next stop for MAGIC is in Nashville at the Music City Center, highlighting the latest trends in southern fashion on April 27-28. Informa Markets Fashion connects and inspires the global fashion community through online experiences, industry insights, and worldwide fashion trade events.

Indonesia's Fashion Chamber, the Central Bank of Indonesia, and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Dubai are presenting the Indonesia International Modest Fashion Festival (IN2MOTIONFEST) in Dubai.

The event, which is being held as part of the Indonesian Investment Forum in Dubai, is showcasing the beauty of Indonesian Heritage Textiles (WASTRA) to an international audience. The event is featuring three prominent Indonesian designers collaborating with Wastra SMEs under the Bank of Indonesia's SME development program.

IN2MOTIONFEST aims to become a world-renowned modest fashion event that supports Indonesian designers and brands to compete in a global landscape. The event seeks to enhance the capacity and linkage among domestic and global industry players.

The global Muslim fashion market is currently around US$313 billion and is expected to reach US$375 billion by 2025. With Indonesia's current trajectory, they are poised to capture a significant share of the global modest fashion market in the coming years.

The Middle East is an important market for the Indonesian modest fashion industry to harness, and events like IN2MOTIONFEST help promote the best of Indonesian modest fashion products to the world.

The Dubai Design District (d3) and the Arab Fashion Council (AFC) have joined forces to create the inaugural Dubai Fashion Week (DFW), set to begin on March 10th and run until March 15th, 2023. The event marks a new chapter in the region's fashion journey and will become the definitive fashion fixture in the region.

DFW will feature catwalk shows across new venues and locations in Dubai, as well as city-wide events showcasing both global brands and regional talents, cementing Dubai's position as a global fashion hub. The event is expected to draw international collaborators, designers, visitors, and media, along with an extensive gathering of buyers arriving in Dubai following Paris Fashion Week, to view the Autumn Winter 2023/24 collections.

The event is a testament to the TECOM Group's commitment to establishing Dubai as a global creative capital and enhancing the Emirate's status as a global hub for business growth and investment.

To commemorate the first official Dubai Fashion Week and further grow Dubai's status as a global fashion capital, a number of exciting initiatives will be launched during the week. These include the unveiling of a steering committee for Dubai Fashion Week, a buyers committee, and a permanent designers committee, working under the AFC's supervision to ensure the event's goals and vision are met in a dynamic and sustainable way.

Cambodia's Ministry of Labor has unveiled a new programme to aid workers who have been suspended by factories during the economic downturn. Considering the impact of the global economic crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a decline in orders, an increase in the suspension of employment contracts, and other production-related costs that have not yet reduced.

Under the new programme, which will be implemented from April 2023, the government will contribute $40 and the factory will contribute $30 towards cash interventions for suspended workers during the period of contract suspension.

Earlier this year, the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) approved three investment projects for the apparel sector that will create up to 5,000 jobs.

However, Cambodian footwear exports to the EU and US may continue to decline for the first half of 2023, with footwear orders falling by potentially as much as 30 per cent.

The global home textile products market is expected to reach a valuation of US$140 billion by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5 per cent during the forecast period from 2019 to 2027, according to a new study by Transparency Market Research.

The study presents a detailed assessment of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors that have shaped the industry dynamics. An in-depth focus on the industry value chain helps companies to identify effective and pertinent trends that define customer value creation in the market. The analysis also provides data-driven and industry-validated frameworks for understanding the role of government regulations and financial and monetary policies, and how these factors will shape the value delivery network for companies operating in the market.

In January 2023, Germany's real new orders in manufacturing increased by 1.0 per cent on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis, with a larger increase of 2.9 per cent when excluding large-scale orders.

However, compared to the previous year, new orders decreased by 10.9 per cent on a calendar-adjusted basis. Domestic orders decreased by 5.3 per cent compared to the previous month, while foreign orders increased by 5.5 per cent, with orders from the euro area decreasing by 2.9 per cent and orders from the rest of the world increasing by 11.2 per cent.

The intermediate goods sector saw a significant decrease in orders by 8.9 per cent compared to the previous month, while new orders in the consumer goods sector declined by 5.5 per cent. Revised provisional figures showed that new orders were 3.4 per cent higher in December 2022 than in November 2022.

Real turnover in manufacturing increased by 0.2 per cent in January 2023 compared to December 2022, after seasonal and calendar adjustment. However, a revision of provisional figures revealed a decrease of 1.5 per cent in December 2022 compared to November 2022. In January 2023, the calendar-adjusted turnover was 0.4 per cent lower than in January 2022.

Overall, the figures suggest mixed trends for the manufacturing sector in Germany, with some sectors and foreign orders showing growth while others experienced declines.

Bangladeshi garment and textile manufacturers are facing the threat of climate change to its business, as a heat wave dented productivity last year, factories faced increasing flooding risks. Climate change is a growing threat that cannot be ignored.

Despite some efforts to alleviate the impact of extreme heat on garment workers, across the industry, measures to address climate change remain inadequate, said a climate expert at Bangladesh's Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS). Heat stress exacerbated by climate change can cause an average loss of 2%-2.5% in daily work hours. The Griffith University study suggests better ventilation and cooling on the factory floor and making water available to workers as solutions.

The pressure on clothing factories to adopt greener production methods and to protect their workers and operations from the negative effects of climate change is coming largely from global brands, as well as regulation in key export markets.

The European Union is the largest destination for Bangladesh's apparel exports, importing $13.73 billion worth of clothing from July 2022 to January 2023. The EU is increasing climate action, requiring companies to report on carbon emissions caused by their supply chains, known as "scope 3" emissions.

The World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation (IFC) runs a programme that supports factories in Bangladesh to take measures to curb their environmental and climate impacts. More than 180 garment factories in Bangladesh have received LEED certification, an international standard for green buildings, the highest for any country's garment industry.

The traditional classic readymade men’s suit will always stay relevant in the premium formal wear retail segment, even if its popularity has slightly waned in post-Covd dress-down times. With an USP of making the wearer stand out whenever and wherever, this is a forever style even when bespoke or made-to-measure suits that create a new model for each customer are now competing neck-to-neck in premium outlets.

Growing love for tailored suits

The global market for tailored suits is rapidly growing with increasing number of luxury brands tailoring made-to measure suits while displaying a versatile portfolio of readymade suits. The post-Covid global formal wear market is highly dynamic with a growth projected CAGR of 4.1 per cent between 2020 and 2026. Within this, the sub-segment of tailored suits is expected to grow rapidly geographically with Europe being the main consumption region followed by North America.

As Jatin Malik, well-known fashion designer for men’s party and wedding wear explains, a global shutdown for two years, and a remarkable shift towards casual, streetwear and unstructured silhouettes, year 2023 saw the return of tailored fits, like three-piece or double-breasted suits. Malik says, the change is happening not just in India but around the world, as people are beginning to choose comfort over fashion on many occasions. However, one always chooses the classics for special occasions, regardless their current fashion choices.

The transformation of classic suits

However, the traditional men’s classic suit as the seasonless attire is now also making way for innovative styling and rule-breakers that include anti-fit silhouettes, unexpected sporty layering and broken tailoring. These suits that need tailoring and eliminate large costs have been a strong trend season after season and mainly appeal to the younger generation.

The recent edition of Pitti Uomo, a bi-annual Italian menswear trade show hosted in Florence in January 2023, showcased a selection of made-to-measure double-breasted suits crafted in heritage fabrics. And there were many other innovative designs.

Many Indian menswear designers displayed their innovative portfolios at the trade fair. They point out, this new popularity of bespoke tailored suits with new iterations will be the way forward for men’s formal dressing in India and around the globe.

Designer Raghavendra Rathore known for his famous bandhgalas opines, on one side, it will be the coterie that understands and imbibes the values of classic culture and on the other side, a more sustainable and post-covid lobby that will push for ease through cut, style and fit across products in one’s wardrobe. Rathore believes, fast fashion brands make more profits in non-structured clothing. They have, therefore, speeded up the process of emulating brands like Zegna, to offer non-fitted ready-to-wear formal looks.

E-commerce push up sales

Though these tailored suits are a cut above when it comes to fitting and style, there are disadvantages such as the long waiting time and frequent visits to tailor's shop for trials before the final outcome. However, now many e-commerce stores are offering tailored suits from the fashion capitals of Italy to receive them directly at home. There are apps that give the effects of being in a trial room as the suit can be seen from each and every angle with its detailing. Despite this, the physical store is still the distribution channel preferred for bespoke tailored suits while online purchase continues to affect the ready-to-wear segment.

Bespoke suits are a luxurious experience that balances tailoring and craftsmanship making the wearer feel like a king. Three-piece double-breasted suits may be taking on a whole new look as the only thing constant in life is change. But it’s a forever style that has been and will be handed down for generations of men for all formal occasions around the globe.