Caught between the pandemic and war in Europe, Milan luxury fashion designers on Friday open four days of mostly menswear previews for next spring and summer in a challenging economic climate.
By COLLEEN BARRY, AP Fashion Writer
MILAN (AP) — Caught between the pandemic and war in Europe, Milan luxury fashion designers on Friday open four days of mostly menswear previews for next spring and summer in a challenging economic climate
Runway shows have mostly returned to live format with pre-pandemic tight seating, but a longed-for return to normal has once again been delayed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed up energy and raw materials prices, threatening a growth trajectory that saw revenues top pre-COVID levels in the first half of this year. Despite the uncertain outlook, the industry is forecasting sales of 92 billion euros, a 2% increase over pre-pandemic levels posted in 2019 and 10% higher than 2021.



