Arya News - The American designer is to stage a menswear runway show in Milan more than 20 years after his first show in the city.
MILAN — Ralph Lauren is back on the Milan catwalk after more than two decades, headlining Milan Men’s Fashion Week, which will run Jan. 16 to 20.
As many European fashion brands flock to the U.S. with runway presentations, the American designer is making the opposite trip, bringing the Purple Label and Polo Ralph Lauren menswear collections to the runway after years of hosting presentations in town. His last menswear show in Milan was held for fall 2002.
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The fall 2026 show is scheduled for 5 p.m. CET on Jan. 16 at the brand’s headquarters in the city on Via San Barnaba.
Ralph Lauren shares the first day of shows with Zegna, which is back in Milan after exceptionally decamping to Dubai last season, and Dsquared2. The latter has usually unveiled coed collections during the men’s season, except for last February when it marked its 30th anniversary during the women’s calendar.
Come January, there will be 18 physical runway shows including those from Prada, Saul Nash and Qasimi. Paul Smith is also returning to Milan Fashion Week after his debut last season, as is Dunhill, which has been part of the city’s showcase since June 2024 but is now switching to a presentation format.
Giorgio Armani, as reported, will cap off the week with a double show on Jan. 19 at Via Borgonuovo 21, while the Emporio Armani brand revealed earlier this month it plans to tweak its strategy.
Starting with the fall 2026 season, the label will hold coed shows during Milan women’s fashion weeks.
However, Emporio Armani’s sportswear extension EA7 will host a special event on Jan. 17 at the brand’s store on Via Manzoni, celebrating the label’s role as partner and official outfitter of the Italian team at the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which run from Feb. 6 to 22 and March 6 to 15, respectively.
It is not the only brand capitalizing on the Games, as K-Way is forgoing its usual runway show and hosting “Montagna Milano,” a two-day activation featuring panels, workshops and après-ski experiences at its BasicVillage headquarters.
As Milan Fashion Week is officially part of the Cultural Olympiad, the series of multidisciplinary cultural initiatives planned throughout this and next year to promote Olympic values, its seasonal ad campaign nods to the Winter Olympics with memorabilia loaned from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
The ad campaign for Milan Men"s Fashion Week in January 2026.
Additions to the runway calendar include Domenico Orefice and Victor Hart, while up-and-coming designer labels such as Plās Collective and Bottega Bernard will be on the calendar for the first time with presentations.
Despite the few runway shows, Milan Fashion Week will comprise 76 events overall including presentations, parties and activations.
Among the presentations, tailoring brands are sure to keep buyers and attendees busy across the four days, with events for the likes of Brunello Cucinelli, Brioni, Kiton, Canali and Pal Zileri, among others, while Bikkembergs is decamping from Pitti Uomo to Milan for the first time since January 2019.
Etro and Tod’s will both stage menswear presentations on Jan. 18, while Ferragamo has earmarked a three-hour slot that day to spotlight its signature Tramezza men’s shoes. Separately on Wednesday, the luxury house unveiled a long-term collaboration with Italian ski legend Alberto Tomba.
The last day of Milan Fashion Week is entirely dedicated to digital runway shows from up-and-coming names.
The release of the calendar comes as the Italian fashion industry looks at a 2026 rebound after a year marked by a significant downturn in luxury spending — and contraction in revenues and exports.
According to preliminary figures shared by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, revenues of the fashion sector inched down 3 percent in 2025 to 92.9 billion euros.
“It’s slightly better than earlier estimates that pointed to a 5 percent decrease. After a negative first quarter, the overall performance has improved with an acceleration in the third and fourth quarters,” said Carlo Capasa, president of Camera della Moda.
“There are several businesses [that] are driving growth, but a lot of companies are struggling and our objective is to avoid we leave anyone behind,” he said, noting how the sector has lost about 3,000 companies between 2022 and the end of 2024.
Exports in 2025 are expected to report a decline of 4 percent to 87.4 billion euros, with the strongest contraction coming from China. Exports of Italian fashion to the country plunged 19.8 percent in the first eight months of the year, Camera della Moda said. Meanwhile, exports to France were flat and those to the U.S. grew 2.3 percent.
“Fashion companies have somewhat shouldered the impact of American tariffs and the depreciation of the dollar,” Capasa said. “Although the last few months have shown an improvement in the performance, we need to keep supporting companies in that market because they were nonetheless impacted by recent volatility.
“We’re hoping 2026 to be at least flat versus this year because we’ve ultimately lost 10 billion euros in sales over the past two years,” Capasa concluded.
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