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A fascinating look into the labor practices of high-end Italian craftsmanship revealed a revolutionary philosophy at the recent 'Italian Fashion Days in India': emotional well-being dictates product quality, and employers must pay a premium for it. While many global manufacturers focus on minimizing labor costs, a leader from the Neapolitan tailoring industry explained why their artisans are paid nearly double the national average—because a stitch done with anger will "suffer."
The philosophy of Capa Frisca
During the discussions, a leader from the Neapolitan tailoring industry, Antonio De Matteis, CEO of Kiton and President of Pitti Immagine offered a unique perspective on labor economics, arguing that for the highest level of artisanal work, the emotional state of the worker is the most critical input.
The philosophy centers on the Neapolitan term "capa frisca," which translates roughly to having "few thoughts" or a clear mind. The premise is that in highly detailed, handmade work—where the product is literally stitched with the hands and soul—any anxiety, tension, or anger from the artisan will compromise the final product. "If you want to be angry, you don't put the point where it should be, but you put it with anger. And if you put it on the table, it suffers," Antonio explained.
Investing in contentment
To achieve this state of contented focus, the company pursues a radical labor strategy: its artisans are very well paid, earning nearly double the average Italian wage. This high compensation is considered a necessary cost of quality, directly linked to achieving the "capa frisca."
This practice, initiated by the founder Fino Colone, is essential for maintaining the meticulous, highly artisanal nature of their product. It ensures that the people working around the table are happy and focused, allowing them to deliver the precision and "soul" that define true Neapolitan tailoring. Beyond wages, the company also incorporates measures like two coffee breaks to let the workers' eyes rest, demonstrating a holistic approach to employee welfare.
Beyond the economic count
Ultimately, this labor model reflects a core Italian characteristic that transcends simple market calculations. The true Italian ethos, according to the speaker, is a non-economic desire to "do the best in the world" and to "serve the neighbor"—a value that extends to their clients, whether Italian, European, or Indian.
This intrinsic pleasure in performing the highest quality work, even "before the economic count," is what has allowed Italian fashion, furnishing, and cuisine to make a difference globally. The Neapolitan model, therefore, represents a perfect fusion of cultural passion and sound business logic: investing in the happiness of the artisan is the highest form of quality control.
The insights shared by industry leaders, including the Neapolitan tailoring executive, were presented on Day 2 in Mumbai as part of the broader 'Italian Fashion Days in India' (Le Giornate della Moda Italiana nel Mondo). This three-city initiative (New Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad), held from October 28-30, marked a significant new step in the strategic partnership between Italy and India and was a key component of Italy's "Diplomacy and Growth Strategy."
The 'Italian Fashion Days in India' (Le Giornate della Moda Italiana nel Mondo), marking a significant new step in the strategic partnership between Italy and India, was held between Oct 28-30. This three-city (New Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad) initiative, being described as the first of its kind in India, is a key component of Italy's "Diplomacy and Growth Strategy."
A vital discussion during the summit centered not on Italian design, but on Italian business structure. The nation’s renowned fashion industry, historically built upon a network of highly specialized, small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), is now facing a difficult choice: consolidate or risk being marginalized by the global market.
The erosion of ‘Small and Beautiful’
Claudio Marenzi, CEO of Herno and Montura and an industry leader, addressed the challenge head-on. He noted that Italy has long prided itself on the "small and beautiful" model—specialized manufacturers focusing on niche, high-quality products.
However, Marenzi warned that this approach is becoming unsustainable. "The world is becoming more and more round-the-clock, not only global, and it's more and more difficult to stay with a small organization," he stated. While specialization still creates superior goods, the global logistics, digital demands, and continuous competition make it overly complicated for small entities to manage.
The mandate for aggregation
The solution for the future of "Made in Italy" is aggregation. For Italian fashion to scale successfully and compete with global conglomerates, SMEs must merge or form strategic alliances to create operational efficiencies.
Marenzi outlined the specific areas where consolidation is critical: Information Systems, involving the pooling of resources to create modern, shared IT infrastructures; Production Efficiency, focusing on gaining efficiencies through coordinated, larger-scale production strategies; and Global Distribution, which requires establishing common distribution channels and logistics networks to serve vast, complex markets like India and Asia without crippling internal costs.
This movement toward consolidation is seen as a strategic necessity, providing the necessary operational muscle to protect the country's creative heritage while securing a profitable future.
Building a foundation for India
The need for structural change is particularly acute when looking at a complex, high-potential market like India. The current SME model struggles with the scale and infrastructure required for successful expansion. By aggregating, Italian brands gain the stability and centralized resources needed to effectively understand and serve the massive new middle class emerging in India.
The consensus from the business side of the event was clear: the ingenuity and quality of Italian design remain peerless, but for the industry to endure, its back-end manufacturing and logistics must evolve from specialized islands of excellence into a unified, resilient global competitor.
As per discussions at the Board Meeting held on November 5, 2025, one of India’s leading vertically integrated textile company, TT Ltd announced a series of new initiatives aimed at further diversification and growth.
After consolidating its operations, reducing debt, enhancing its brand, and restructuring its plant locations over the past few years, the company has now decided to enter the following new fields that will help it leverage its strengths, optimize resources, and move into higher-margin businesses.
The company is entering into a high-margin and fast-growing business of manufacturing corrugated boxes to complement its existing textile operations. This new venture will be set up at the Avinashi plant, utilizing the available land and building infrastructure to ensure efficient deployment of resources. The corrugated box unit will cater to both in-house packaging requirements and external clients in the textile and FMCG sectors.
Recognizing the strategic importance of Southeast Asia in the global textile supply chain, TT Ltd plans to open a sourcing and marketing office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Vietnam’s central location offers access to two of the largest global markets - Europe and the US - and provides proximity to major raw material suppliers such as China. This move is aimed at strengthening the company’s export competitiveness and establishing a stronger international footprint in one of the world’s fastest-growing textile hubs.
In its core textile business, TT Limited continues to strengthen its product portfolio with the expansion of its ‘Hiflyer’ brand into premium outerwear and high-end innerwear. This strategic move is expected to further consolidate the Company’s position in the growing domestic apparel market and enhance brand visibility in both retail and export segments.
Sanjay Kumar Jain, Managing Director, TT Ltd, says these initiatives mark an important step forward in the company’s journey towards becoming a more diversified and future-ready organization. The firm leverages their existing strengths, while also tapping into high-potential areas that align with the evolving global market trends.
A leading integrated textiles company with a presence across the entire value chain — from yarn, fabrics, and garments to brand retail, TT Ltd markets its products under the well-known ‘TT’ brand, recognized by the Government of India as one of the few ‘Well-Known Marks’ in the country. TT Ltd exports to over 65 countries and operates through facilities and offices across Avinashi (Tamil Nadu), Gajroula (Uttar Pradesh), Surat (Gujarat), Kolkata/Howrah (West Bengal) and other key textile hubs.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Zalando, securing a new agreement that will see Zalando’s Business-to-Business (B2B) logistics arm, ZEOS, manage M&S’s entire online direct-to-consumer operations across continental Europe.
Set to launch in early 2026, the deal tasks ZEOS with fulfilling M&S online orders across 21 European markets. This strategic move will allow M&S to consolidate its inventory into a single system, streamlining operations. The retailer aims to significantly enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the overall customer experience by offering faster deliveries and better returns processing.
This development strengthens a relationship established in 2022, where M&S initially used Zalando Fulfilment Solutions (ZFS) to service European customers through major marketplaces like Zalando, About You, and Amazon.
Mark Lemming, Managing Director-International, M&S, states, the agreement reflects the retailer’s commitment to reshaping its international business for sustained global growth. He emphasizes, M&S is now prioritizing ‘bigger, better partnerships’ to leverage advanced infrastructure, like ZEOS’s, to scale its European online footprint. The move is central to M&S's long-term strategy of building a scalable international model through strong strategic alliances and omnichannel growth.
This announcement follows a challenging period for the British retailer, which is still recovering from a cyber attack in early 2025. The breach severely disrupted online operations, forcing M&S to suspend website orders for six weeks and leading to a drop of over 40 per cent in online home and fashion sales.
M&S’s underlying pre-tax profits for the H1, FY25 declined by 55.4 per cent to approximately $232 million. The estimated total cost of the cyber incident is around $172 million, which is lower than the initial fear of $380 million. Following the restoration of its delivery services, Stuart Machin, CEO expressed confidence that trading is expected to be ‘fully recovered by the end of the financial year.’
Arvind Limited registered a strong 70 per cent Y-o-Y growth in net profit during Q2, FY26. The company’s profit increased to Rs 106.74 crore from Rs 62.77 crore in the same period last year.
This profit growth was underpinned by an 8.4 per cent rise in Revenue from Operations, which reached Rs 2,371.14 crore, compared to Rs 2,188.31 crore in Q2 FY25. Furthermore, the company's operational efficiency improved, with EBITDA (Operating Profit) increasing by 13 per cent to Rs 262 crore. Consequently, the EBITDA Margin also saw an improvement of 41 basis points (bps), rising to 11.0 per cent from the previous year's 10.6 per cent
The company reported a full near-term order book and strong volume growth across its key divisions. Its order volume for the garmenting divison increased by 17 per cent Y-o-Y to 10.7 million pieces. This division achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue.
Order volumes for the denim fabric divison grew by 16 per cent to 15.2 million meters, supported by higher vertical integration. Similarly, volumes for the woven fabric division increased by 8 per cent to 35.1 million m with 100 per cent capacity utilisation.
The company’s revenue from the Advanced Materials Division (AMD) grew by nearly 15 per cent and the division's margin (excluding the tariff impact) was robust.
HanesBrands Inc successfully increased its profitability in Q3, FY25 despite facing a slight drop in sales. While the company’s net sales declined by 1 per cent Y-o-Y to $892 million, it achieved a significant rise in its bottom line due to cost control. HanesBrands’ profit surged by 14 per cent to $108 million during the quater, which allowed the operating margin to expand by 160 basis points (bps) to reach 12.1 per cent.
The company’s adjusted operating profit grew by 3 per cent to $116 million, with the Adjusted Operating Margin improving by 45 bps to 13.0 per cent. The reported Earnings Per Share (EPS) showed a massive 986 per cent surge to $0.76, though this substantial growth was primarily aided by a discrete tax benefit. The more representative Adjusted EPS still saw a strong 25 per cent rise to $0.15.
The 14 per cent rise in operating profit and the expansion of the operating margin were largely driven by lower Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses and the successful execution of cost-saving and productivity initiatives.
The 1 per cent decline in net sales was attributed to an ‘unanticipated late quarter shift in replenishment orders’ at one of its major US retail partners.
Despite the ordering issue, management noted that underlying business fundamentals were improving, with unit point-of-sale (POS) trends sequentially improving each month during the quarter.
The company’s net sales from the US dropped by 4.5 per cent, but the US segment's operating margin still improved by 20 basis points (bps) to 22.2 per cent, benefiting from cost-saving initiatives and market share gains for the Hanes brand during the back-to-school season.
The company’s international net sales fell by 8 per cent with sales improving in Japan but declining in the Americas and Australia. The international operating margin dropped 230 bps to 10.2 per cent.
The company continued to strengthen its balance sheet, with its leverage ratio decreasing to 3.3 times net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA, compared to 4.3 times a year ago.
The substantial 986 per cent rise in GAAP EPS was heavily influenced by a $0.64 per share discrete tax benefit related to a valuation allowance release. The more indicative Adjusted EPS rose 25 per cent due to the improved operational performance and lower interest expenses.
The company noted that it remains focused on the successful completion of the previously announced merger transaction with Gildan Activewear.
The Vietnamese clothing retail market demonstrated continued resilience and growth during the first ten months of 2025.
Retail sales of clothing increased by 8.6 per cent Y-o-Y during the January-October 2025 period. This growth rate is generally viewed positively, indicating stable consumer demand for apparel and textile products within the domestic Vietnamese market.
This apparel growth occurred within the context of the overall retail market performance. The total retail sales of goods and services in Vietnam for the same January-October 2025 period typically shows a higher growth figure, often in the double digits, suggesting that while clothing sales are robust, they are sometimes outpaced by other consumer goods sectors.
The consistent growth in clothing retail sales is usually supported by several factors including an expanding middle-income population with higher disposable income, increased concentration of consumers in major cities with access to diverse retail channels and international tourism, particularly in major hubs like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
While Vietnam is predominantly known as a global textile manufacturing and export hub, the growth in domestic retail sales is important because it helps diversify revenue streams for local producers, making them less reliant solely on international orders. It encourages the development of stronger local apparel brands and retail networks.
The 8.6 per cent growth confirms the domestic market remains a healthy and reliable source of demand for the nation's massive textile and garment industry.
Scheduled in Singapore from November 19-21, 2025, The Asia-Pacific Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Expo & Summit (APTEXPO 2025) will showcase solutions from over 100 exhibitors across seven countries in areas like sustainable materials, digitalization, and logistics.
Jointly organized by MP Singapore Pte Ltd and CCPIT TEX, and hosted by the Singapore Fashion Council (SFC), the event will focus on building resilient, adaptive, and sustainable supply chains.
The theme, ‘Re-engineering towards a Resilient, Adaptive and Sustainable Supply Chain,’ reflects the sector’s critical need to adopt digitalization, fair trade practices, circular economy models, and sustainable innovation. The event aims to be a vital hub where global stakeholders can share strategies, forge crucial partnerships, and collectively shape the future of textile manufacturing and trade. The event enjoys robust support from key associations across the ASEAN bloc, including groups from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
APTEXPO 2025 will directly address current challenges and emerging opportunities, emphasizing industrial upgrading and the evolving international trade landscape, including discussions on decentralized manufacturing to enhance security and efficiency.
The event will feature a dynamic line-up of activities including the APTEXPO Summit that will host over 300 senior delegates from leading global brands and retailers. Further enriching the experience are six specialized concurrent events. Highlights include the Asia-Pacific Sports & Outdoor Fashion Forum, focusing on performance textiles and functional apparel, and the 7th Belt and Road Textile Conference to advance regional cooperation. Curated business matching sessions will also connect suppliers, buyers, and innovators to facilitate cross-border collaboration and network expansion.
British lingerie and loungewear label, Peachaus has successfully secured investment from Paul Mason, Former CEO, Matalan. The funding is typically characterized as a private investment intended to support the brand's growth and expansion plans.
The primary value of this investment lies not just in the capital, but in the strategic retail expertise that Paul Mason brings. His background running large, successful national retail chains like Matalan will be invaluable as Peachaus seeks to scale its operations and potentially move beyond its current DTC model.
Peachaus is expected to use the funds to accelerate key areas of its business, which likely includes expanding its line of sustainable lingerie and loungewear, increasing brand awareness and customer acquisition, likely targeting wider global markets and improving supply chain and e-commerce infrastructure to handle higher volumes.
Peachaus is known for its focus on comfort, sustainability, and inclusivity, positioning it uniquely in the premium segment of the intimate apparel market. Mason's investment validates the brand's model and market potential.
Arvind Ltd’s performance in Q2, FY26 ended September 2025 showed positive growth across its key revenue metric.
The company successfully increased its consolidated revenue from operations by 8 per cent Y-o-Y to $267.4 million for the quarter. This growth signals continued strength and recovery in its core textile and apparel businesses, which include segments like denim, wovens, and garments.
The increase in revenue indicates that the company is effectively capturing market demand and benefiting from its operational strategies during the period.
