The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) will extend its sponsorship of a curated selection of some of Italy’s very best menswear and men’s accessories designers at the semi-annual Chicago Collective trade show, February 5-7 at The Merchandise Mart. This industry event is one of the pillars on which ITA has built a successful strategy to promote menswear, increasing steadily over the years.

Thanks to the great collaboration provided by the show organizer, ITA has taken a stronghold position at the center of the action. The ‘Italian Pavilion’ gathers the best ‘Made in Italy’ artisanal brands together for the ease of retailer discovery. There, sartorial tradition and the world’s most sophisticated manufacturing techniques combine to lead US retailers on an experiential journey into Italian quality. 

This season ITA will host its trademark lounge in the center of the Italian Pavilion which in the mornings will host a complimentary espresso bar, and in the afternoons an aperitivo with Italian-curated cocktails and bites. ITA will also sponsor a very special post-show networking event for its sponsored brands and their American retail partners at Chicago’s famed Adler Planetarium.

The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) is now hosting more trade shows, networking events, and consumer-facing events than ever before to support Italian brands as they recovered post-pandemic and look to the future – in more regional American markets than ever before as well. Simultaneously, it has been able to provide proprietarily designed digital solutions to enable Italian brands to do business more easily and effectively with American wholesaler/retailer partners. Its presence and impact in the American fashion market has grown exponentially, as have the successes of the best ‘Made in Italy’ brands they are honored to support.

Following Chicago Collective, ITA showcase another 70+ womenswear brands at the Coterie show in NYC, and then will debut its first-ever fashion “roadshow” starting in March in LA. The roadshow will then move to Dallas, Miami and Atlanta, bringing new Italian brands to regional US markets via B2B appointments with retailers and buyers. This spring ITA will unveil a new site refresh for EXTRAITASTYLE, ITA’s exclusive digital platform with wholesale tools designed to make it easier for American retailers to discover 100+ Italian brands online. ITA has a busy summer ahead partnering with the Cosmoprof North America Beauty show in Las Vegas, the Feel the Yarn show in NYC featuring world-class Italian yards, and the National Bridal Show in Chicago. Then it will move directly into supporting the next round of US fashion tradeshows in the fall previewing Spring/Summer 2024 collections, followed by the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland highlighting Italian technical fabrics… plus a few more surprises yet-to-be-announced.

Overall, 2022 saw a continued post-pandemic comeback for Italian brands. Thanks to the resilience and the spirit of the Italian entrepreneurs - and certainly thanks to the measures adopted by the Italian government - ITA has seen a growth of the Italian export in the US in many sectors, and fashion has been among the best performers. Italy  is the fourth  largest supplier  for US import  in the Fashion  sector, USA  imports  $12.23 billion worth of products from Italy in 2022, up +12,5 % over 2021, exceeding the value imported in 2019 pre-pandemic ($9 billion) by more than 30%. Italy, with a market share of nearly 5%, has recovered 4 positions over 2020, moving from eighth performance among the major supplier countries to the US, to fourth position after China (17.8%), Vietnam (13.4%), India (69.6%). In 2022, the following 5 products accounted for 85% of Italian Fashion exports to the U.S.: footwear (17.5% of the total), apparel (14%), goldsmithing/jewelry (25%) and leather goods (18%) and eyewear (12.2%). The main products of our export in 2022 are confirmed to be growing, with double-digit values, with some products in a leading position: Italy ranks, as a supplier, in the first 11 months of 2022 leather and furs (1), eyewear and leather goods (2), footwear (4) and cosmetics (5).

Mr. Antonino Laspina, Italian Trade Commissioner, comments: “We’ve amassed some impactful ‘proof of concept’ for Italian brands that proves that relationship building and consistency in marketing messaging and content creation can absolutely result in the international expansion every entrepreneur dreams of.”

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About ITA - Italian Trade Agency

ITA - Italian Trade Agency is the Governmental agency that supports the business development of Italian companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in Italy. With a motivated and modern organization and a widespread network of overseas offices, ITA provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to Italian small and medium-sized businesses. Using the most modern multi-channel communication tools, it acts to assert the excellence of Made in Italy in the world. ITA is based in Rome with 70 offices around the world, including New York City. IG: @extraitastyle