Italian fashion is ready to shift up a gear with Pitti Uomo. The fair that opens the menswear season is spearheading the sector’s recovery, as it seeks to put behind it a 2025 marked by conflict and trade wars. So says politician Adolfo Urso at the opening of the 109th edition of the Florentine trade show at the Fortezza da Basso (running from January 13 to 16). “Pitti is the event that opens the year of Made in Italy, a showcase for Italian style and manufacturing. Today, as it was 70 years ago, we must be the country of the industrial renaissance in the West,” says the minister.
The inauguration of Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
“Last year we faced a stormy sea. We resisted better than others and better than we could have imagined,” continues Urso, who, among the government’s measures, recalls work on introducing anti-ultra-fast-fashion regulations and a three-year hyper-amortisation scheme. Also in the pipeline is the SME bill, currently before the Chamber of Deputies, which contains several tools to support businesses, including the transfer of skills between generations, with the possibility of using retiring workers to train those under 35. “Beauty and the well-made must also go hand in hand with respect for sustainability and legality,” Urso stressed.
“2026 will also be the year of new markets,” continues the minister, who welcomes the EU-Mercosur agreement being finalised next week. “Other free-trade agreements are in the pipeline, with the United Arab Emirates, India, all the way to South-East Asia and Oceania. Finally, starting with Pitti and at major Italian events, we will, for the first time, open the House of Made in Italy: a Ministry office that will help companies with investment (Transition 5.0 or tax credits) and internationalisation,” Urso reveals.
“In the past two years the fashion system has lost 13-15 billion in turnover. 2025 was a complex year, but we have hit rock bottom. Now we can see clearer skies ahead and we have to push small and large companies together to recreate a new ecosystem starting from Pitti, from Tuscany,” echoes Luca Sburlati, president of Confindustria Moda.
Among the issues brought to the table by the head of the federation is the mobilisation of private savings. “It would give a boost to the listing of small businesses.” There are also high expectations for the 10-year strategic plan, “which we will present to the government in the coming weeks. The goal is to take the unique strengths of our country abroad as well. We hope to extend the agreement with Mercosur to countries such as Mexico, known for cotton sourcing,” Sburlati explains.
“Pitti is the only truly global fair for menswear and the only one that has evolved in recent years,” argues Antonio De Matteis, president of Pitti Immagine. “We must also protect the distribution chain, which is suffering today. We need to find a new generation of retailers and restore safety to the streets of our historic centres,” says De Matteis, who reveals he is studying the first overseas editions of Pitti Uomo. “We are evaluating opportunities to take the event beyond national borders and stage one-off editions to make our brands known in new, expanding markets.”
“Fashion is in crisis and is split between those who are slowing down and those who are flying. But there is also strong momentum at a national level in the interest of the industrial fabric,” says Matteo Zoppas, president of ICE. “At Pitti this year we are bringing 350 buyers, almost half of those present at the fair. They are strategically important. Pitti as a brand attracts global excellence and we are considering possible international expansion. From the government we have more and more resources and they need to be invested in this direction. There is also a spotlight on second-hand, which will reach 250 billion in turnover in the short term,” Zoppas notes.
At the end of the conference, Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, presented the Pitti Immagine 2026 award to UniCredit, the fair’s main partner since 2020. “Giorgio Armani said that fashion is the strongest cultural expression because it tells us where we are and where we want to go. Our fashion-bank partnership started during Covid. We want to lay the foundations for a collaboration that truly adds value to Made in Italy. In Italy we have 50,000 companies linked to fashion manufacturing (in France there are 35,000). The Italian fashion system is too fragmented. It needs support to grow,” Areni concludes.
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UK shoppers continue to warm to artificial intelligence (AI) in their decision-making, according to new research. AI’s increasingly shaping how consumers plan and buy goods as they look for savvier ways to manage spending in 2026, says American Express.
American Express
Its latest Spending Spotlight research shows 29% of UK adults either plan to, or will consider using, AI assistants and tools when they shop this year, rising to 37% for consumers aged 18-34.
Indeed, those younger consumers are using bots to compare prices (31%) and track deals (25%), along with boosting their research confidence by surfacing reviews and key product details (31%) and uncovering new brands and alternatives (27%).
Also, 20% of consumers say AI’s helpful when looking for inspiration for new experiences, from activities and events to travel ideas – “highlighting its growing role in shaping how people plan and spend their downtime”.
More broadly, the Spending Spotlight also shows 46% of Britons are entering 2026 with a New Year’s spending resolution, such as shopping around for deals, tracking their spending more closely and buying from eco-friendly brands.
The research also suggests competition for consumer loyalty is set to intensify among retailers, with savvy shoppers increasingly looking to rewards and incentives when deciding where to spend. Two-thirds (66%) of respondents say they have used loyalty or rewards points to get a better deal in the past year and plan to continue doing so through 2026.
This reward-seeking focus is also influencing where people choose to shop as 61% say they have intentionally chosen to spend with businesses with loyalty programmes and plan to continue spending with them, “reinforcing the importance of rewards to driving repeat custom”, the report said.
Dan Edelman, UK general manager, Merchant Services, American Express, added: “We’re seeing AI progressing at pace into a valuable companion for shoppers to help them plan and feel confident in their spending decisions.
“What’s also clear is that as people continue to look at savvier ways to spend, being rewarded for their loyalty remains highly important to shoppers. For retailers, that means competing not just on price, but on the quality of information, experience and incentives they provide.”
Barcelona-based fashion brand Mango has arrived in Iceland. As part of its ambitious international expansion, Mango has opened its first store in the Nordic nation, located in the Smáralind shopping centre, the largest retail complex in Reykjavik.
Exterior of the Barcelona-based brand’s new store in the Icelandic capital. – Mango
The new store spans 450 square metres and is dedicated exclusively to the brand’s womenswear line. Conceived in line with Mango’s signature New Med concept, inspired by the Mediterranean, its design reflects the brand’s identity and places sustainability and architecture at its core, using traditional, artisanal, sustainable and natural materials.
This opening in the Icelandic capital forms part of the 4E 2024–2026 Strategic Plan, which seeks to strengthen the company’s distinctive value proposition, reinforce its commitment to innovation and sustainability, expand its retail network domestically and internationally, and continue to drive growth across all its lines and channels. In this context, Mango is currently pursuing various growth drivers, including the expansion of its Teen category, consolidating its presence in markets such as Italy and the US, and opening stores dedicated to its Home category.
Founded by Isak Andic in 1984, the Catalan company currently operates in more than 120 markets through a network of over 2,900 points of sale. According to the latest available data, Mango posted revenue of €1.728 billion in the first half of the 2025 financial year, up 12% on the same period a year earlier, and expects to end 2026 with sales of €4 billion and 500 additional stores.
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Adidas is to launch a footwear collaboration with British celebrity fashion/beauty influencer Molly-Mae Hague.
Image: Molly-Mae Hauge/Adidas
The collab has seen Hague work with Adidas on a limited footwear collection, with the sportswear brand confirming the partnering on an upcoming SS26 campaign and product launch. Further details have yet to be announced.
Posing by an Adidas-themed vehicle surrounded by the brand’s distinctive shoe boxes, Hague has just shared the news with her 8.5 million Instagram followers: “Three stripes. One vision. Curated by Molly-Mae. Coming soon…”, adding: “ADI X MM… what started as a dream years ago is now becoming reality. My own footwear collection with Adidas.”
Hague has her own fashion label, Maebe, launched in late 2024, positioned as ‘accessible luxury’, featured minimalist wardrobe staples including denim, tailored outerwear, shirts and vests, in a neutral colour palette.
She was also formerly a creative director for Prettylittlething brand in 2022 and retains her position as a brand ambassador for the label after first finding fame as a contestant on TV show Love Island in 2019.
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