5 KEY MOMENTS FOR MEN’S FASHION IN EUROPE

1971, France — Jeanloup Sieff’s nude portrait of Yves Saint Laurent became the advertising campaign for the designer’s men’s fragrance, Pour Homme. The photo represented an expression of masculine l iberation.

1975, Italy — The first men’s collection for Armani redefined tailoring for a generation. Armani made the blazer relaxed, with a soft fit that accentuated the body.

1985, France — Jean Paul Gaultier introduced the “man skirt”. Men no longer only wear the trousers.

1994, Italy — Tom Ford was named creative director of Gucci, prompting men to dress l ike glamorous jet setters.

2018, France — Virgil Abloh presented his first Louis Vuitton men’s collection as the first AfricanAmerican creative director for the French brand.

National Costume

Surprisingly enough, Italy wins out in the EU for the highest average spending per capita at $290 per year in the purchase of men’s clothing. On a global scale, only Norwegians spend more, averaging $296 dollars per year. The British come in third, spending an average of $288, for Americans the bill comes to $268, while the Chinese on average do not exceed $55 dollars a year. Naturally, luxury consumers deal in very different shopping volumes. However, what is str iking in the data released by Statista is also the number of items purchased by individuals relative to their allocated budget. Italian shoppers do not exceed 5 pieces in a year, while Americans purchase an average of 13 pieces. In other words, there are countries in which quality matters more than quantity. And it is the emphasis on quality that applies to the vast majority of consumers in other EU countr ies. Specifically, Germans and the French buy an average of 5 items of clothing per year compared to a total annual expenditure of $189 and $142 respectively. Danes and Spaniards purchase an average of 6 pieces, totaling $232 for the former and $123 for the latter. In Europe, only the Dutch come close to equaling the Americans in terms of volume, purchasing an average of 12 new garments per year for a total of $221.

Quality over Quantity

Close to 3.6 billion pieces of menswear were sold throughout Europe in 2018. Comparing data between 2010 and today, it turns out that the figure has barely changed for years. Only between 2012 and 2013 was there a downward variation to 3.4 billion. And the projections for 2021 remain the same as those for 2018. The same is also true for the percentage of menswear items on the total apparel market. It is 10.1% and that share is destined to remain the same over the next three years. Extrapolate that data and we find that for every 100 pieces of clothing sold in Europe during 2018 just over 10 were for men. If that seems low, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Because in terms of business, value is arguably more important than volume. And those 10 or so pieces, representing 10% of items purchased, are worth 24.7% of the total revenues from the sales of clothing. In other words, the men’s fashion business, although smaller than women’s in terms of volume, has a consumer base that is used to paying more per garment: it’s a higher-value game. Men buy less but they buy better, opting for quality garments with a medium-long life cycle. And it is on this field that the battle is waged to determine who wins and who loses in the men’s fashion industry both in Europe and beyond. Because with a few exceptions, the world’s biggest names are all European. These encompass the giants of luxury goods, Kering and LVMH, as well as the titans of f ast fashion, Inditex and H&M. And of course there is the Made in Italy base, a source of hundreds of smaller- scale specialist brands and the manufacturing hub for any non-Italian brand that wants to produce at a true luxury level. “Today the winner is the one who knows how to combine the best of the past and the future,” says Emanuela Prandelli, Professor of the Fashion & Luxur y Management course at Bocconi University. She adds: “The celebration of the English brand Barbour marking 125 years of business with a special project created with film director and producer Ridley Scott, or even the Italian Moon Boot that belongs