MILAN — “We feel his presence in this room,” said Camera della Moda’s president Carlo Capasa on Thursday about Giorgio Armani, who died last week at 91. 

“This Milan Fashion Week will be celebrated in memory of one of its founders,” he added in his opening remarks at the organization’s press conference, which presented the final schedule of the fashion event running Sept. 23 to 29. “His creative, entrepreneurial and human lessons are invaluable in the times of transformation fashion is experiencing, where vision, quality and consistency are essential values.”

While Capasa was inviting the audience to observe a moment of silence, Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala was busy attending a 9/11 commemoration but took a moment to confirm that the Armani family approved his offer to have the designer’s name included in the city’s historic Monumentale cementery — namely at the large Famedio building, next to the country’s most honored citizens such as novelist Alessandro Manzoni. The likes of Franco Moschino, architect Gae Aulenti, ballet dancer Carla Fracci and Italian singer and Armani’s childhood friend Enzo Jannacci are also among the ones commemorated at the cemetery. 

Capasa teased that Camera della Moda and its associates will soon disclose an initiative dedicated to the designer, too. He was mum about the details of the project, but he expressed how “we learned with joy the news that the celebrations for his brand’s 50th anniversary were all confirmed. Knowing Mr. Armani, we didn’t expect anything different.” 

As reported, on Wednesday the fashion company said both the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani spring 2026 shows were confirmed. The exhibition of 150 archival looks at the Pinacoteca di Brera museum will also go ahead as planned and will be unveiled on Sept. 24.

The following day, Emporio Armani’s two shows will be staged in Via Bergognone, at the Armani Teatro at 3 and 4 p.m. CET.

The Giorgio Armani show is slated at 7 p.m. CET on Sept. 28, instead. It will be exceptionally staged at the Brera Pinacoteca, in the storied courtyard of honor of Palazzo Brera, the 17th-century landmark home to the Pinacoteca, the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense library and the Brera Academy.

The Giorgio Armani show will cap off a packed schedule of physical appointments, across 54 runway shows, 85 presentations and 30 events. There were no major surprises on the show front compared to the provisional calendar released over the summer.

As reported, the hot tickets this season are for the much-anticipated debuts, such as Demna for Gucci and Dario Vitale for Versace. Both brands will hold intimate showings in lieu of traditional runway formats.

In particular, Gucci has earmarked Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. CET to unveil the Georgian’s first designs. As reported, Demna’s first show for the Italian brand will be next March, with his upcoming presentation more of a reminder of Gucci’s foundations. 

Vitale’s first collection for Versace will be an intimate affair, too, with a presentation on Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. CET and, according to sources, a video component is involved.

Simone Bellotti’s debut at Jil Sander and Louise Trotter’s first collection for Bottega Veneta will be unveiled via runway shows, instead. They are scheduled on Sept. 24 and Sept. 27, respectively.

Still missing from the calendar is Marni, now under the lead of Meryll Rogge, as the brand’s spring 2026 collection conceived by the in-house design studio will be presented to buyers through private showroom appointments, while Rogge’s runway debut is planned for February’s Milan Fashion Week. Other M.I.A. brands this edition comprise Philipp Plein, GCDS and Del Core.

Newcomers include London-based Knwls, which will stage an 8 p.m. show on Sept. 24. Italian brand Sa Su Phi will hold its first runway show on Sept. 26, switching from its traditional presentation format. A few looks by the brand have been spotted on Meryl Streep while filming “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” upping the visibility of label.

Indian designer Dhruv Kapoor, who has presented his collections in Milan for the past few years as part of the June and January men’s showcases is now moving to the women’s calendar and will stage its first runway show. Pierre-Louis Mascia also moved to the women’s schedule and will hold a show on Sept. 28.

Aligned with their strategy of staging a single show per year, Boss and The Attico are back on the calendar on Sept. 25 and 26, respectively. Stella Jean and Calcaterra are also back on the calendar.

Other shows include Diesel and Alberta Ferretti on Sept. 23; Antonio Marras, Fendi — once again mounting a coed show designed by artistic director of accessories and menswear collections Silvia Venturini Fendi to continue celebrating its centennial — Missoni and Etro on Sept. 24; Max Mara, Prada, Moschino and Roberto Cavalli on Sept. 25. 

On Sept. 26 David Koma will stage his sophomore runway show for Blumarine, to be followed by the likes of Tod’s, Elisabetta Franchi and Sunnei, and over the weekend, Ferrari, Ferragamo and MSGM.

On the presentation front, newcomers such as Forte_Forte, Vespa and Moja Rowa will add to the established brands including Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, La DoubleJ and Ports 1961. Also back on the calendar are Agnona; Pucci, which will present its fall 2025 collection with the immersive experience “Pucciverse” at Palazzo Clerici on Sept. 24, as well as JW Anderson, presenting its resort 2026 collection on Sept. 27, to be followed by a private cocktail at Casa Cipriani.

Trussardi will unveil its new chapter with “Gentle Society,” a short film starring Eva Herzigova and Fernando Lindez to be screened at the Anteo Palazzo del Cinema movie theater on Sept. 28.

Max&Co. will also unveil a collaboration with Sami Mirò, while Moschino’s former creative director Rossella Jardini will make a comeback with a tie-up with Italian designer Alessandro Enriquez.

Paciotti is among the accessories brands returning to the calendar and joining a crowded pack comprising MCM, Santoni, Giuseppe Zanotti, Gianvito Rossi, Serapian, Sergio Rossi, Stuart Weitzman and Casadei, to name a few.

As for the events, Camera della Moda moved the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards up one day to Saturday night from its usual Sunday spot in light of Giorgio Armani’s show and celebration, while the third edition of the Black Carpet Awards will be held on Sept. 24.

Capasa also shared economic projections that forecast 2025 sales of the fashion and connected industries (including textiles, clothing, leather goods, footwear, jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics) down 3.6 percent to 92.4 billion euros compared to 2024.

Capasa attributed the projection to the negative trend reported in the first half of the year, across all categories. While last year the poor performance of the “core” categories — textiles, clothing, leather goods and footwear — was offset an uptick in jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics, in the first half of 2025 sales of the core cluster and of the one comprising jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics decreased by 4.5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Tariffs threats added to geopolitical instability and weak internal demand in impacting the performance, Capasa said.

Ditto for exports, which in the first five months of the year decreased 5.5 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Still a key driver for the Italian fashion industry, this year they are expected to decrease 3 percent to 88.4 billion euros versus 2024, while imports are projected to grow 4.3 percent to roughly 49 billion euros.