After France, Italy squares up to Shein

After its troubles in France, Shein faces extra opposition in Italy, the place the e-commerce large is wooing consumers in vogue capital Milan- however the place the federal government and trade are mobilising.

“The textile sector is under attack,” Luca Sburlati, head of Italian vogue commerce physique Confindustria Moda, informed AFP. “Hundreds of thousands of packages arrive in our homes every day. We must react.”

Italy is understood for its high-end vogue, the house of world manufacturers together with Gucci and Prada, and the trade makes up round 5 p.c of gross home product (GDP).

But low cost and cheerful garments are as fashionable in Italy as the remainder of Europe, together with purchased via Shein’s ultra-competitive platform.

Founded in China and now primarily based in Singapore, Shein final month staged its first Italian catwalk present in Milan. The identical week, the federal government hosted pressing talks on the influence of “ultra-fast fashion”.

Adolfo Urso, the minister for the “Made in Italy” model, warned of “an “invasion of low-cost overseas merchandise that hurt our producers and put customers in danger.”

The clothes industry is expected to present a new strategic plan for Italian fashion next week.

At the European Union level, the industry wants an end to the exemption from customs duties for packages worth under 150 euros ($173), following a similar charge in the US.

Critics warn of the environmental impact of clothes so cheap they can be worn once and thrown away, while Shein has also come under scrutiny for conditions at its textile factories.

This week, Italy’s government brought into law a European Union directive that seeks to improve transparency in sales, particularly on the environmental impact of products. Shein has already been sanctioned in this area in Italy and France.

The French government has said it was suspending the platform after outrage over its sale of childlike sex dolls. At the same time, nearly 8,000 people queued for the opening of Shein’s first permanent store, located in Paris’s BHV department store.

In style-conscious Milan, the platform is also hugely popular. “In Milan, you possibly can’t exit in case you’re not trendy,” Mattia Trebino told AFP at Shein’s fashion show last month.

The 24-year-old, who wore a faux-crocodile skin jacket, said he receives about four Shein packages every month. “These garments, you possibly can solely put on them a couple of times at most. But they’re actually low cost,” he said.

Shein’s autumn/winter collection was inspired in part by 1980s Milan, featuring three-piece-suits and faux fur coats.

“The concept was to present that everybody can discover their fashion at Shein- and to reply to our critics,” Luca Raveillon, the show’s French artistic director, told AFP. Gesturing to the collections, he said: “Look, it is lovely. It’s good high quality, it suits completely. “We look great in it, and we can express ourselves with what we wear”- whereas holding prices low, as “life is getting expensive”.

Alessia Tresoldi, a 27-year-old Italian influencer sat within the entrance row, shared photos of the present along with her a million Instagram followers. Shein “looks at what’s happening on the street”, she informed AFP, and described the present as “amazing”.

The web site presents a 100% polyester ‘fur’ coat from the present in 15 totally different colors, beginning at 28 euros with free transport. Boosted by such low costs, European customers purchase 60% extra clothes than they did in 2000, and hold it for half as lengthy, in accordance to an October report by consultants The European House-Ambrosetti.

The research’s writer, Carlo Cici, stated the European vogue trade should innovate extra to stand out. “Consumers are very interested in sustainability but aren’t willing to pay for it,” he wrote.