CNMI and Zalando recognize leading changemakers in the luxury fashion industry

For the second edition of ‘Changemakers in Luxury Fashion’, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) and Zalando created a unique stage for industry thought leaders to discuss what’s next in luxury fashion.

May 7, 2024
Brands & Retailers

Hosted by CNMI Chairman Carlo Capasa and Zalando Co-CEO David Schneider, the event took place on 20 March 2024 at the historic Biblioteca Braidense in Milan. Digital creative and founder of the style blog ‘All the Pretty Birds’, Tamu McPherson, moderated the evening with her charm and flair, creating an atmosphere of collaboration and inspiration.

“At Zalando, we strongly believe in meaningful brand partnerships. Only together with our partners, we can unlock unique opportunities in the quickly evolving luxury e-commerce landscape,” emphasised David Schneider, during his keynote speech sharing his vision for the future of ecommerce.

While the luxury industry has seen a wave of growth, the past years have created a new economic reality behind the scenes. Influenced by new technologies, consumer behaviour is shifting significantly. To address these evolving changes, we brought together key figures from the industry shining a spotlight on thought leaders such as Simon Porte Jacquemus, Founder and Creative Director at JACQUEMUS, Renzo Rosso, Founder and Chairman, OTB Group, Alfonso Dolce, CEO, Dolce & Gabbana, Simon Marchetti, Editorial Director, Vanity Fair Europe and Editor-in-chief, Vanity Fair Italia as well as author, journalist and producer, Marilena Delli.

As an independent designer, I was always keen on being innovative and creating experiences with our community in a unique way. JACQUEMUS has always been supported by Italy, and I am very excited to bring new projects here soon.

Simon Porte Jacquemus in conversation with Tamu McPherson

The evening was filled with inspiring talks by this year’s changemakers and our prominent guest speakers. McKinsey & Company unveiled their latest report, Beyond Boundaries: Redefining Aspirational Luxury Consumers, in collaboration with CNMI and Zalando. Gemma D’Auria, senior partner and global leader of McKinsey & Company’s Apparel, Fashion, and Luxury Practice, led the presentation, exploring the values, habits, and behaviours of aspirational luxury consumers in the luxury industry.

Building on these insights, Lena-Sophie Roeper, our General Manager for Designer at Zalando, took the stage with a keynote dedicated to the future of luxury fashion consumers, drawing upon key findings from the report. 'Zalando is currently working on leveraging new technologies such as AI to personalise customer experiences at scale,' Lena-Sophie emphasised.

The shift to a new e-commerce world is in full swing. We are moving away from one unified experience for its 50 million customers, to offering 50 million individual, tailored experiences.

Lena-Sophie Roeper General Manager Designer at Zalando

Closing the evening, David Fischer, the founder and CEO of Highsnobiety, brought some pop-culture-infused trends and updates with his presentation of the whitepaper, 'New Luxury, New Rules'. This insightful study delved into the evolution of New Luxury since the brand's initial exploration of the topic five years prior.

Get an in-depth view of the thoughts and insights shared by our leaders in our Changemakers in Luxury Fashion booklet.

Zalando SE Boiler Plate EN

About Zalando

Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is Europe’s leading online multi-brand fashion destination. We are building a pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce, along two growth vectors: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B). In B2C, we provide an inspiring, high-quality multi-brand shopping experience for fashion and lifestyle products to more than 50 million active customers across 25 markets. In B2B, we leverage our logistics infrastructure, software, and service capabilities to support brands and retailers in managing and scaling their entire e-commerce business, both on and off the Zalando platform. Through our ecosystem vision, Zalando aims to enable positive change in the fashion and lifestyle industry.

About CNMI

Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) is a non-profit association founded in 1958 to represent, promote and support the values and development of Italian fashion in Italy and worldwide. Based in world fashion capital Milan, the Association represents around 220 Italian brands. CNMI members include some of the biggest names in Italian fashion, such as Armani, Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Etro, Fendi, Ferragamo, Gucci, Max Mara, Missoni, Moncler, OTB, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Trussardi, Valentino, Versace and ZEGNA. Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana members enjoy numerous services, as well as being able to take part in all the Association’s events and activities. CNMI’s mission is to support the entire Italian fashion industry worldwide by maintaining institutional relationships and communicating our values and activities. One of the most important of our many initiatives is organizing the Milan Fashion Weeks. CNMI’s operating strategy and development are based on the following four pillars: Sustainability, Education and Young Designers, Digitalization and Internationalization.

Contact for press: beatrice.rossaro@cameramoda.it