Italian Prime Minister Renzi opens Milano Fashion Week: “Fashion? Passion and Courage”

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi opened (25 February) the Milano Fashion Week with a happening in Milano Royal Palace where he stressed on the importance for Italian Economy of the Fashion/Textile/ shoes sector.

The fashion sector, according to the latest statistics, was worth 62 billion euro in 2015 (41% of all the European sector, compared to Germany 11% and France 9%) and employed around 600 thousand people, it is one of the driving sectors of Italian economy.
  
At the opening ceremony in Milan Royal Palace Mr Renzi said “Fashion is made up by women and men who work with passion and entrepreneurs who have the courage to believe even if it’s not easy”. And “Fashion does not live upon remember of the past but on curiosity and innovation”.
 
And Milan is indeed an innovation laboratory for new stylists. New York Times wrote that in the last five years the most important rising stars of global fashion began in Milan. Among them Alessandro Michele (creative director of Gucci), Rodolfo Paglialunga (Jil Sander) and Alessandra Facchinetti (Tod’s).

In the picture: The PM with Giorgio Armani, Renzo Rosso and Alberta Ferretti

(Summary from ilsole24ore and Il Giorno articles dedicated to this news)
26 February