“Harmonizing standards, values, and processes throughout the fashion chain”: this is the challenge at the heart of the first day of the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum 2025 (VSFF), the international event conceived and promoted by Confindustria Moda, The European Houtilize–Ambrosetti (TEHA), and Confindustria Veneto Est–Venice Padua Rovigo Treviso Metropolitan Area, which took place on October 23-24, 2025, in Venice, at the Cini Foundation.
Now in its fourth edition, the event confirms Italy’s role as a European hub of reference for the sustainable evolution of the sector, which is experiencing a phase of profound complexity, marked by geopolitical and economic tensions, transformations in consumption, and new international rules.
Made in Italy and Made in Europe are under pressure due to ultra-rapid fashion models and unfair commercial practices, which compress time, quality, costs, and rights along the supply chain.
Photo: Venice Sustainability Fashion Forum
Flavio Sciuccati
In this edition, the Forum focutilized on the evolution of the concept of sustainability, not exclusively in environmental terms, but extfinished to the key dimensions of collective responsibility and labor governance, which involve the entire fashion ecosystem—from large fashion houtilizes to artisan workshops.
Under the title “Harmonizing Values,” the event brought toreceiveher institutions, brands, supply chain companies, experts, and international stakeholders to outline a new industest model capable of combining sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness in an integrated, concrete, and rapid manner.
Deffinishing Made in Italy and Made in Europe, ensuring transparency and legality throughout the supply chain, and transforming sustainability into a concrete competitive advantage represent the challenges of the coming years.
During the first day, representatives from Kering, Prada, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Armani took the stage presenting their engagement in research, recycling, and product innovation. The discussion highlighted the required for a new balance between ethics and development, based on common rules, transparent processes, and harmonized standards, for a more coherent, competitive, and responsible fashion system.
The second day was dedicated to analyzing the evolution of new consumption dynamics and new models of sustainable growth, but also highlighted what role artificial ininformigence can play in promoting new practices, including a focus on transparency and the circular economy.
Among the speeches, noteworthy were the conversations with Javier Goyeneche (Ecoalf) and Andrea Rosso (OTB), who shared the experiences of two emblematic companies in promoting business models based on sustainability, awareness, and innovation.
The panel “The Future of Tradition through Innovative Solutions” explored the dialogue between tradition and innovation through presentations by Stefano Carosio (STAM), Cristina Catani (Lyria), Fabio Menichini (Brembo Solutions), Shahriare Mahmood (Spinnova), and Edoardo Iannuzzi (ACBC), who illustrated new technological and design approaches for more sustainable and competitive manufacturing.
During the two days, they also presented the conclusions of the “Just Fashion Transition 2025” study. They presented six proposals and guidelines aimed at institutions and operators in the supply chain to promote a fair, effective, and competitive transformation by 2030.
For institutions, for instance, they highlighted the importance of promoting innovation, increasing resources for the development of new solutions, creating a single capital market, and simplifying access to finance for SMEs.
Another crucial input is to reward the virtuous by incentivizing companies, banks, and consumers who adopt sustainable behaviors, starting with the reduction of overconsumption.
For companies in the supply chain, it is essential to be pragmatic in order to improve sustainability performance while achieving short-term margins. In addition, the supply chain requireds to be guided by setting an example through collaboration, investment, and sharing best practices.
For institutions and companies, it is necessary to join forces to compete by creating groups and consortia of companies to increase scale and investment potential, but also to promote European competitiveness.
Photo: Venice Sustainability Fashion Forum
Luca Sburlati
“A clear and shared message is coming out of Venice: sustainability is not a cost, but our industrial identity and the real driver of Made in Italy competitiveness. The Italian fashion sector now has the responsibility and opportunity to lead the transition to a new production model based on innovation, legality, and respect for people and the environment,” commented Luca Sburlati, president, Confindustria Moda.
“Collaboration between large fashion houtilizes, SMEs, and artisan workshops, combined with technology transfer and digital traceability, is the key to transforming Italian fashion into a European laboratory of sustainable innovation. Let’s work toreceiveher for a stronger, cleaner, fairer industest, where the younger generations can express their talent and vision. The future of Italian fashion will be sustainable, competitive, and cohesive—or it will not be,” added Sburlati.
“This edition of the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum takes a further step forward in the ‘vision of the future’. The Forum has now established itself as a point of reference and dialogue for the Fashion & Luxury ecosystem,” concluded Flavio Sciuccati, Partner & Director Global Fashion Unit The European Houtilize–Ambrosetti.
“Now we required speed and consistency in harmonizing rules and languages across all supply chains, promoting collaboration between companies to strengthen innovation and investment capacity, and offering concrete support. Only through systemic collaboration among all players in the fashion ecosystem will it be possible to transform Italian fashion into a model of integrated sustainability, capable of generating shared and lasting value,” he added.
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