News

Fashion in Emilia-Romagna is synonymous with quality

fashionBologna, 11th April, 2007 – Some of the brands representing ‘Made in Italy’ fashion throughout the world start life in Emilia-Romagna: Max Mara, Mariella Burani, Blumarine, Sergio Rossi. From clothing to fashion accessories to footwear, the fashion industry in Emilia-Romagna is characterised on one hand by the presence of some first-rate and very attractive companies and on the other by a wide range of small enterprises - dealing in third-party labour subcontracting, supply subcontracting and niche product manufacturing – with high-quality technical and manual skills. In some cases, these two aspects can be found in the same area, with the industry’s very own districts being set up, as in the case of Carpi (Modena).

The study carried out by Ervet“The top-class features of the fashion sector in Emilia-Romagna” identifies three main sub-groups: textiles and clothing (fabric, knitwear and clothing manufacture), footwear (footwear in leather and other materials), fashion accessories (accessories in leather and other materials).

In 2001 (latest census) there were 14,209 local units with a total of 75,476 employees. In terms of local units and employees, the largest concentration is in Modena, where the town of Carpi is situated. Carpi has the highest number of employees in the region, 9,200 (2001 Census), followed by Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Forlì-Cesena.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, turnover in the sector rose by 3.9% compared with the same quarter in 2005, and exports went up by 3.8% (source: Unioncamere Emilia- Romagna Study Centre). According to Ervet data, from 2000 to 2005 regional fashion exports rose by 15.8%, while exports nationally went down 4 per cent in the five-year period. Thus, Emilia-Romagna has gone from fourth to third region in position of importance in national exports: 9.2% of Italian exports (2003 figure), while in 1991 the figure was steady at 7 per cent.

This good performance shows how the region has remained competitive despite the crisis in the sector due mainly to the increase in international competition, with new competitors, especially those from Asia.

In particular, after years of crisis due to competition, in 2006 the district of Carpi recorded an increase in turnover of8.8% compared with 2005.

The subsector of textiles and clothing is the core business of the whole industry (it comprises 65% of all local units) and is concentrated in particular in the district of Carpi with companies such as Blufin, that combines the brands of Blumarine, Anna Molinari and Bluegirl Blumarine, as well as Liu. Jo and Avirex. There are other clothing giants in Reggio Emilia, such as Mariella Burani, Max Mara and Marina Rinaldi, while in Bologna there is the La Perla Group, Bruno Magli and Les Copains.

The footwear and leather goods subsector (including the wholesale trade of footwear and leather goods) represents 5.4% of all local units and is concentrated mainly in Romagna in the district of Rubicone, in the towns of San Mauro Pascoli, Savignano and Gatteo. In this area there are renowned brands, such as Sergio Rossi, Pollini, Casadei and Baldinini.