FROM THE FEBRUARY ISSUE: NEW OPPORTUNITIES

The entire MR team proudly presents our February 2025 issue. If you haven’t received a hard copy, please page through  our digital version, and we’ll continue to post individual stories here on  MR-mag.com. If you haven’t been getting MR in print, be sure that you are on our mailing list for future issues by completing  this form.

Erica Di Giovancarlo, ITA Trade Commissioner, talks partnerships.

As always, the Chicago Collective is a perfect venue for viewing the best of Italian menswear. Here we catch up with ITA Trade Commissioner Erica Di Giovancarlo to get her take on new opportunities.

What can retailers expect from the ITA at the upcoming Chicago men’s show?

There’s going to be a lot of “new” to discover! Of the 62+ sponsored brands, there are 14 new to the show. Of course, the ITA will continue to host its trademark lounge in the center of the Italian Pavilion, featuring a complimentary espresso bar in the mornings, and an aperitivo with Italian-curated cocktails and bites in the afternoons.

This season’s special theme is “cinema”, celebrating imagery in motion, amplified by attendance at the show of key menswear content creators. ITA will also sponsor a very special post-show networking event for sponsored brands and their American retail partners.

Also, the ITA has invested more deeply in influencer marketing and multi-channel opportunities to communicate our brands. We’ll have some top menswear creative voices circulating the show, bringing their own spin on American-meets-Italian style. This will be fun to see in person and on social media. Retailers can follow our coverage at @extraitastyle on Instagram.

 We’re also excited to announce a new class of Made in Italy fashion and accessories brands for ITA’s proprietary B2B platform, extraitastyle.com. More than 130+ brands will debut collections on-site for retail buyers next month; the response from retailers to this free tool has been fantastic.

How would you define “luxury” in 2025?

To me, luxury in 2025 means knowing the story behind a brand. It’s the opposite of mindless, mass-produced fast-fashion.

It’s understanding the provenance of the materials used, the “why” behind design choices and craft techniques, and the story of a brand’s vision. Real luxury is a deeply personal engagement with the products you choose to bring into your life, products you select to be a part of your life for many, many years. It’s real people, real artisans, real passion, world-class materials and lifetimes dedicated to honing special skills. The best part is when these “real” stories can be communicated and shared as a part of the human experience.

“Many of our sponsored Italian brands are ready to collaborate on private label.”

 

What have you learned from this past year living and working in NYC?

Living in NYC is, of course, a unique experience. The pace of both life and business seems to run faster here, for better or for worse. There’s continuous energy and noise, and that accelerated pace often dictates how we communicate and how we spend our time. But it also provides endless opportunities and that’s what makes the U.S. market so attractive to people and businesses overseas.

In Italy, the pace of life and business is a bit slower, but intentionally so; there’s a greater emphasis on slowing down to ensure quality, independent of outside influences. It’s fascinating to juxtapose these cultural differences to better understand each other and learn how to strike a balance, which is everyone’s goal in the realm of true global commerce.

Have you had any time to fit in opera, museums or Broadway shows since we last spoke six months ago?

Every now and then, when work allows me to attend cultural events, I really enjoy going to the theater. The offer here in New York is huge! Lately, I saw some lovely ballet performances at Joyce Theater and Lincoln Center that truly refreshed my creative soul!

Any other messages you’d like to give U.S. retailers before the show?

I hope they realize the proclivity of many of our sponsored Italian brands to collaborate on private label. Many of our brands are open to lending their world-class Made in Italy production capabilities to retailers for capsule collections. Retailers are invited to visit the ITA booth on the show floor for suggestions re: which brands could be beneficial to meet with for private label inquiries. The creative opportunities are endless.