MILAN — This was supposed to be the season of designer debuts and one filled with celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Giorgio Armani company. Instead, the death of the iconic designer on Sept. 4 at age 91 shook the fashion industry and the world at large and, after weeks of daily media coverage, eyes are on the Emporio and Giorgio Armani shows while some debuts have been postponed to next season.

The Giorgio Armani show on Sunday is slated to close fashion week, which kicks off Tuesday, and to be exceptionally staged at the Brera Pinacoteca, accommodating around 600 people, including several of the designer’s longtime loyal friends and A-listers from around the world. However, the party that was scheduled for after the show has been canceled out of respect.

The exhibition of 150 archival looks as part of the celebrations to mark Armani’s five decades in business will also go ahead as planned, to be unveiled to the public at the Pinacoteca on Wednesday. The “Giorgio Armani Privé 2005-2025, Twenty Years of Haute Couture” exhibit at his Silos space inaugurated in May and running until Dec. 28 has seen a significant spike in visitors since the designer’s death, registering more than 6,600 people over eight days from Sept. 5.

Armani’s storied billboard in Via Broletto in Milan’s Brera district features a collage of images dedicated to Armani’s 50th anniversary; images tied to the Pinacoteca exhibition are posted around the city, and all the windows of the Rinascente store near the city’s Duomo cathedral, where Armani began his journey in the fashion world, are dedicated to the designer’s archival looks and will stay in place until Sept. 29.

The archival looks will then travel to Paris and London, followed by Los Angeles, on the occasion of the Academy Museum Gala on Oct. 18; New York; Beijing, and Tokyo.

In addition, following a proposal by Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, ENAC, Italy’s Agency for Civil Aviation is considering naming the airport of Pantelleria after Armani, who long favored the Sicilian island for his vacations and owned a home there.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated debuts include Demna at Gucci and Dario Vitale at Versace, but both designers are foregoing traditional runway formats. As revealed in an exclusive interview with WWD, the Georgian designer issued a look book on Monday, which will be followed by a short film, “The Tiger,” that will be shown Tuesday evening in Milan, directed by Spike Jonze and Halina Reijn.

Observers are also waiting to see what’s in store for Versace, as the completion of the Prada Group’s acquisition of the Milan-based brand is expected by November.

In other debuts, the first collection by Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander and by Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta will be unveiled via runway shows, while Meryll Rogge’s debut at Marni is postponed to next season.

M&A: What Investors Are Eyeing

The Versace acquisition from Capri Holdings in April for an enterprise value of 1.25 billion euros is one of the main M&A operations of the year and Deloitte in its “Fashion & Luxury Private Equity and Investors Survey 2025” said the first half of 2025 confirmed a slowdown. The survey registered 162 deals globally, down 14 percent compared with the first half of 2024. However, 90 percent of investors are reported to continue to invest in the fashion and luxury sector, although eight out of 10 interviewees believe the Trump administration’s tariffs will have a negative impact on the market, with North America (35 percent), Europe (33 percent) and Asia (29 percent) the areas most exposed.

Elio Milantoni, senior partner M&A di Deloitte Advisory, said, “Ninety-two percent of funds are evaluating operations in the fashion and luxury segment, albeit with more caution compared with last year.” He said that the most interesting sectors are cosmetics and perfumes (25 percent), apparel and accessories production (24 percent), retail (14 percent) and furniture (11 percent). More than half of the investors turn their attention toward medium-sized companies, said Milantoni, “with the goal to encourage a consolidation process of the sector.” At the same time, he added, there is “a shift in the interest” as investors eye segments “that are complementary to the fashion and luxury world.”

The Mood

In general, the mood remains cautious, as the worsening macroeconomic scenario continues to cloud the outlook. Economic projections provided by Italy’s Camera della Moda forecast 2025 sales of the fashion and connected industries (including textiles, clothing, leather goods, footwear, jewelry, eyewear and cosmetics) to be down 3.6 percent to 92.4 billion euros compared with 2024. The industry has been impacted by the negative trend reported in the first half of the year, across all categories, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs’ threats, geopolitical instability and weak internal demand.

The Response

“How attractive and desirable we make our brands, and how we drive the desire to own our products are the main challenges,” said Diego Della Valle, chairman of the Tod’s Group. “The brands that have always been consistent will be more easily successful.”

He said the Middle East is the best-performing market for the group, but that positive signals are coming from Europe, the U.S. — where new regional group chief executive officer Marco Felci just joined — and Japan.

While staying true to the group’s “prudent” strategy of retail expansion, Della Valle highlighted the opening of the Roger Vivier Hotel Particulier in Paris, “the real soul of the brand.” The atelier and headquarters of the brand, in an 18th-century hôtel particulier in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, will be unveiled on Oct. 2 with a party during Paris Fashion Week, to be followed by the presentation of its spring 2026 collection designed by Gherardo Felloni the following day. Della Valle revived the brand in 2003, and it is now part of Tod’s Group with the Tod’s, Hogan and Fay labels.

Asked about the U.S. tariff plans, Della Valle pointed to a moment of uncertainty, “until we know for sure what will definitely happen.”

Thinking Long-term

Della Valle has for years voiced his belief in a long-term approach — heightened and reflected by his decision to delist the group last year.

As the revolving doors of C-suite executives and designers spin faster than ever, Patrizio Bertelli, Prada Group chairman and executive director, commenting on the 8 percent gain in first-half group revenues to 2.74 billion euros, said he believes “the structural growth opportunities remain unchanged, but we are conscious that in the short term we may continue to face a turbulent economic environment. We remain focused on the long term with an approach that is mindful of the context. As always, our efforts are centered on the product and the client experience, whilst we continue to strengthen our industrial capabilities and our organization.”

Andrea Guerra, the group’s CEO, defined the current moment as “the new world,” and stressed the company was ready for it, with “collections right for this new world, collections that have a soul, products that are able to give you emotions, that will satisfy aspiring consumers that today are a little bit weaker and very wealthy people that are looking for unique and personalized products.”

Like Bertelli, Brunello Cucinelli has been investing in the company’s manufacturing plants. Commenting on the 10.2 percent increase in first-half revenues to 684.1 million euros, Cucinelli said that the 2024-26 plan to double the Solomeo factory and to build a new menswear manufacturing site in Penne, in Italy’s central Abruzzo region, was completed one year in advance. This allows the company “to ensure operational serenity and solidity until 2035,” Cucinelli said.

The Penne site was inaugurated in early September, and Solomeo will be unveiled in November. As of June 30, total company investments amounted to 63.5 million euros, compared with 44.8 million euros in the same period in 2024.

Cucinelli has repeatedly said over the years that there are no shortcuts to achieving the highest quality possible, emphasizing the importance of Italian craftsmanship and aiming to support the pipeline, necessary to reach this level of exclusivity.

Markets, Retail Strategies

Fabrizio Cardinali, CEO of Etro, said that in this context, “it is crucial to rebuild a relationship of trust with the end consumer, who seems to have progressively distanced themselves from the world of fashion.”

Also, the main challenges now “are linked to the global geopolitical context, which has significant impacts on multiple fronts. Among these is the re-conquest of the Asian customer, especially the Chinese market, which has historically been a key driver of growth in our industry.” 

Cardinali said that, in light of a “further deteriorated” geopolitical context, he does not expect any significant changes from now until the end of the year.

“The issue of tariffs is absolutely not over. Let’s say that the effects and their real repercussions have not yet fully materialized.”

Similar to Della Valle, Cardinali said the Middle East, and Dubai in particular, has been performing well, together with Europe and Japan — “where Etro has historically demonstrated greater resilience compared to other brands.” He also singled out the e-commerce channel.

Etro has been expanding its accessories offer, particularly women’s leather goods, which “are experiencing global growth” in stores and “are playing a decisive role in the repositioning of Etro, as well as contributing to the acquisition of a new and significant female clientele.” Next month, Etro will launch the new Pony bag campaign, introduced for fall 2025 and which is “receiving excellent feedback. Given the encouraging performance of the accessories segment, we are very optimistic about its potential.”

Livio Proli, CEO of Missoni, also touted the brand’s performance in the first half. He said the brand has seen “excellent results” in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and in the U.S., adding that online sales rose 40 percent and retail was up 8 percent.

The industry is facing the same challenges across the board, said Proli, aiming to “adapt to the consequences from the many economic, financial, social and military changes that frequently impact consumer spending.”

The women’s daywear lineup “is starting to benefit from the new design course” by Alberto Caliri. Proli also sees growth potential in the menswear and home collections for the brand. Missoni opened a new boutique earlier this month at Riyadh’s Kingdom Center, marking the debut of the brand in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the women’s and men’s apparel collections, accessories, beach and kids lines, the store carries home pieces. The first Missoni Home store opened in April in Milan during Design Week.

Proli underscored the “excellent” results derived from the residential and interior design projects around the world, such as, for example, the residences in partnership with Turkey’s development company RMA Holding on the Montes and Missoni Sky, a luxurious residential tower being developed with Amexon Development Corp. in Toronto.

The company is gearing up to open stores by the end of the year in Verona, Munich, Miami and Sydney, and will relocate its Madison Avenue store in New York. In early 2026, Missoni will open a new boutique in Paris.

Proli said the company has decided to absorb most of the effect of the tariffs in the U.S. given the importance of that market for the brand, “our awareness and our solid reputation there. As usual, we must remain consistent and loyal toward our consumers who already must face a present and a future filled with uncertainties,” he said.

Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of Aeffe, is also banking on the U.S. for the brands the Italian group controls — Alberta Ferretti, Moschino and Pollini. “We believe that market will give us great satisfaction over the months to come,” he said.

“The emergency of the tariffs seems somehow over, yet we will be obliged to review our prices in the U.S. market, which has always been central for our brands,” Ferretti remarked.

Reporting in August that Aeffe revenues fell 27.8 percent to 100 million euros in the first half, in a surprising move the company appointed former Ferragamo CEO Marco Gobbetti to the board to help develop growth avenues, including through strategic partnerships, as Ferretti mapped out a cost-cutting and strategic 2026-28 plan. This includes initiatives to achieve “more efficient operations while maintaining our production and service to clients at a high level,” Ferretti said.

“In such a complicated moment for our sector there are many challenges to face,” Ferretti said. He cited the “significant” reduction of the number of wholesalers, but said Aeffe is “working carefully and accurately to understand and satisfy the needs of single markets with collections that are increasingly more studied at the merchandising level.”

The new Alberta Ferretti flagship that opened in Milan last week is a key milestone. Located on Via Spiga in the golden shopping district near Via Montenapoleone, it introduced the new concept by creative director Lorenzo Serafini, appointed last year to succeed the namesake founder of the brand. The flagship “represents the spirit of the brand now, balancing timeless elegance and modernity,” the executive said.