MILANO UNICA – WHY ITALIAN FABRICS?
With trade show season in full swing, Italian fabric fair Milano Unica hosted a panel discussion titled “Why Italian Fabrics?” While most people in the industry already know why, they might not be able to articulate it as well as the panel assembled to discuss, which included Italo Zucchelli, creative director of men’s at Calvin Klein Collection, Katharine Zarrella, founder and editor in chief of Fashion Unfiltered, Josh Peskowitz, founder of Magasin, and Joseph Abboud, chief creative director of Men’s Wearhouse, and moderated by Burak Cakmak, Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design.
“On one of my first days with Calvin Klein, I walked into a meeting with Calvin, looked down at the table and all the fabrics were Italian. I’m from Italy, and we get spoiled there, but to walk into an American company and see that really made me realize how important that label, Made In Italy is,” said Zucchelli, “and it is the fabrics that are the soul of the clothes, one of the most important elements.”
“Craftsmanship and textiles are the most important part of any collection,” agreed Zarrella. “One observation is, whenever a new designer gets funding, the first thing they do is elevate their fabrics, more often than not Italian, and that honestly enriches everything they do.”
“Italian mills have always been at the forefront of fabric and innovation,” said Peskowitz. “Those are the things that attract a consumer. When you’re investing in clothing there a few marks that convey quality: made in Japan, made in USA, but Made In Italy is the most synonymous with that quality. Many of the major French fashion houses produce their collections in Italy, and with the ever-increasing access to information, men are able to discover and educate themselves, which is hugely important not just to Italian fabrics, but men’s fashion in general.” He continues, “As a buyer when you go into a showroom, after you’ve seen the fashion show, you might touch something that looked heavy on the runway, but feels so much lighter to the touch, or looks stiff, but then it’s soft: that’s one of the biggest delights.”
“For as long as i can remember, there has been an inherent understanding that Made In Italy means quality and style,” says Abboud. “We always love to say to our Italian mills, show us something we don’t know: the Italian mills never fail to surprise us. We count on them. There’s a romance and mystery to Italian fabrics, and we’re very texile driven. We start fabrics first, so it’s so important to get to the mills as often as possible to discover the wonderful options that astonish us season after season.”
Following the discussion, Stephen Kolb also announced a partnership between the CFDA and Milano Unica called “The Fabric Program”, to give three designers access to Italian mills, difficult for many young designers starting out in the industry.
