Celebrating top visionaries at 'Changemakers in Luxury Fashion' event in Italy

Earlier this year, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Zalando, in collaboration with Highsnobiety, brought together some of the leading thinkers and their inspiring stories of innovation and positive transformation in the luxury fashion.

Titled “Changemakers in Luxury Fashion”, the event took place at Milan’s prestigious Palazzo Citterio and was hosted by CNMI’s Chairman Carlo Capasa, Zalando’s Co-CEO David Schneider and Founder and CEO of Highsnobiety David Fischer. Digital Creative and Founder Tamu McPherson moderated and interviewed exciting protagonists who shared their stories:

Moncler, with the forward-thinking vision of its CEO and Chairman Remo Ruffini, was chosen as an example of championing disruptive communication, as demonstrated by the brand’s highly engaging and innovative strategy, from the Genius project to the epic event held in Milan’s iconic Piazza del Duomo to celebrate its 70th anniversary.

Celebrating authenticity and high-end ‘Made in Italy’ craftsmanship, the leading role of Bottega Veneta and its CEO Leo Rongone in the industry was highlighted by showcasing the company’s recent launch of the “Certificate of Craft”, a program guaranteeing lifelong repairs to the brand’s most iconic bags.

Considered a changemaker thanks to the great level of innovation he introduced with his signature take on tailoring, ZEGNA Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori took the stage to talk about this work, focused on innovation in men's tailored silhouettes, and his genuine commitment to experimenting with high-quality materials.

Vogue Italia’s Francesca Ragazzi has been identified as a changemaker for her leading role in promoting change, as well for her contributions to advancing diversity and inclusion within the fashion publishing industry. Under her guidance, Vogue Italia was the first magazine to dedicate the cover to a paralympic athlete, Veronica Yoko Plebani, with whom she had an inspiring conversation on stage.

“We are very proud to host this event dedicated to transformation in collaboration with Zalando, a global player that greatly contributed to the digital evolution of fashion e-commerce,” commented CNMI’s Chairman Carlo Capasa. “Tonight, we celebrate two of the key values that are certainly guiding the work of CNMI: positive change and disruption. We are treading uncertain times, but the Italian industry is certainly playing a leading role in shaping a better future for global fashion.”

“The one change that we at Zalando witness every day is the evolution of our customers and how they transform the future of e-commerce. More than ever, new generations of customers look for inspiration, engagement and emotions when shopping for fashion online,” highlighted David Schneider, Co-CEO of Zalando. “Luxury players will especially benefit from this shift as they have built invaluable expertise in crafting aspirational product and brand experiences in the offline world. I’m excited to explore the new opportunities that the future holds for all of us together online and build the next generation of fashion e-commerce.”

From Millennials to GenZ and Gen Alpha, younger generations are increasingly becoming the driving force of luxury consumption: according to Bain & Company, spending by Gen Z and Millennials already accounted for all of the luxury sector's growth last year, while spending by Gen Z and the even younger Gen Alpha is projected to make up a third of the market by 2030.

Zalando, with its online fashion expertise and insights from over 51 million active customers in 25 European markets, and CNMI as a key institution connecting the Italian and international luxury industry, partnered up to foster a timely conversation: how to inspire and capture the attention of this new generation of luxury consumers and what role do innovation, experiences and new technologies play in it.