How Italian Fashion Brands Beat COVID-19: Manufacturing, Sustainability, and Digitalization

COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on the fashion industry. Fashion brands had to restructure their value chains and refine their strategies to overcome the negative consequences of the lockdown. An analysis of the Italian fashion industry is used to examine how companies responded to the challenges of the pandemic and how they were able to find competitive solutions. Qualitative analysis is used to discuss the case of Italy, a country that was particularly affected by COVID-19. The research shows that companies invested in three different directions to overcome the obstacles posed by the COVID-19 emergency: refocusing on manufacturing, investing in sustainability (especially social), and relying on digital technologies (e.g., e-commerce and videoconferencing) to interact with remote customers. The theoretical and practical contributions of this study are discussed.