contemporary culture

Facing the collapse: Culture, identity and language as acts of resistance

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How cultural resilience and linguistic diversity can challenge societal apathy


These days, it truly feels like we’re facing the collapse.
What do we learn from the appalling reality of our time? A time of endless war. First, Russia invaded Ukraine. Then, Israel razed Gaza to the ground, killing thousands of innocent people. And now — as if that weren’t enough — Israel, in what feels like a calculated move to shift global attention away from Gaza, has started a new war with Iran.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., we witness the mass deportation of immigrants. Innocent people, once again, becoming targets of Trump’s regressive politics. A president who promised to “make America great again,” and who claimed he would end wars, continues to fuel hatred, division, and instability.

The truth is: our world is collapsing under the weight of violence, injustice, and, above all, rising indifference. Each catastrophe piles onto an already fragile and unstable reality.

This is not the world we want.

We’re facing the collapse. And yet — in how we show up, there is a form of resistance.
We show up to connect with others like us, those who imagine a different world — one rooted in mutual respect, inclusivity, and care.

In our small activity, here at suite123, we choose to work with independent brands and artisanal realities. Behind each of them, behind every garment, there are real people — not machines, not systems. Just humans.
We honour the work of small, independent makers — those navigating a world of sharks in turbulent waters. Those who bring skill, passion, and ethics to an industry that often feels hollow.

And we choose to bring genuine connection.

Because this is our culture.
This is our identity.
This is our language.
And yes — this is our act of resistance.

🖤 If this resonates with you, share your thoughts with us—we’re listening.

Leave a comment below and let’s talk about it — (you’ll need to register first). Or DM @suite123 | WhatsApp | e.mail

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Women in fashion industry: 1.2% drop in board presence proves systemic exclusion 

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Fashion isn’t a job for women: Italy’s fashion industry is losing female leaders


The women in the fashion industry narrative has always been a paradox: an industry run by women, but led by men. New data reveals a 1.2% drop in female board representation in Italy’s fashion sector. This isn’t just a statistic—it’s proof that fashion isn’t a job for women at the decision-making table.

Women remain marginalised not only in creative director roles—where they’re still a stark minority—but across all decision-making positions. The gender inequality is undeniable.

The big picture: Women’s shrinking leadership


Despite five years of progress, female representation in top corporate roles has declined. The Women and Fashion: The 2024 Barometer (an observatory promoted by PwC Italia in collaboration with Il Foglio della Moda) shows that fewer than one in three leadership positions in Italian fashion are held by women. (Source: Pambianco).

The fifth edition of this study examined female presence across the entire fashion supply chain, quantitatively and qualitatively, using a sample of 106 companies associated with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion (CNMI). In 2024, women held 30.6% of governing roles, down from 30.9% in 2023.

The workforce paradox: Women at the bottom, men at the top


The numbers grow more concerning at board level, where the figure drops further: just 25.8% female representation in 2024, down from 27%—a 1.2 percentage point decline.  Looking at the transition from 2023 to 2024, the data highlights a troubling trend.

Yet moving down the industry pyramid to the broader workforce, female representation is far more prominent. In 2023, women accounted for 59.3% of total employment in the textile and clothing sectors.

In terms of job roles, the highest concentration of women is found in clerical positions, where they represent 59.1% of employees. In the clothing sector alone, this number rises to 73.8%. Women also make up 45.7% of workers in textiles and 64.3% in clothing. 

However, female representation declines sharply in executive and management positions.

In the tanning and accessories sector, women make up 49.6% of employees. Of these, 70.5% are in operational roles, 27.5% hold administrative positions, and a mere 2% are in managerial roles.

The exception (SMEs) vs. the rule (big brands)


There are, however, some encouraging signs from the SME sector. In small and medium-sized enterprises—often family-run—nearly three out of four CEOs are women. Family-run businesses buck the trend, but in major fashion houses, male leadership remains the norm.

As for the areas of focus, women in management roles are primarily found in production (19%), administration and accounting (16%), design (12%), and sales (10%).

Women in the fashion industry: Creative director gap


Even in creative roles—where women’s influence is assumed—men dominate the spotlight. A study conducted by the British Fashion Council (BFC) found that only 14% of creative directors across luxury brands in Europe and North America are held by women. Only 1% of these positions are held by individuals from minority backgrounds. Specifically, Black women in these roles lack representation, highlighting a need for further diversification. 

This means that despite women being significant luxury fashion consumers, their voices are underrepresented at the creative leadership level. 

Final thoughts: Fashion isn’t a job for women


The numbers don’t lie—fashion isn’t a job for women. At least, not at the top.

Italy’s fashion gender gap isn’t just persisting—it’s widening. A 1.2% drop in female board representation may seem small, but it’s symptomatic of a deeper problem: An industry built on women’s labour still refuses to give them power.

Why?

  • At the grassroots level, women dominate the workforce (59.3%).
  • In the boardroom, they’re reduced to a shrinking minority (25.8%).

The result? Fashion’s leadership remains a man’s world—even as women work behind every stitch.

Should quotas be enforced? And why do so many brands still equate creative genius or managerial ability with masculinity? Does the industry have a real cultural problem?

These numbers call for more than just discussion—they demand accountability. Will the industry finally listen?

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Tamborini (Confindustria Moda) at Luxury Summit: “Italy lacks an industrial policy”

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Confindustria Moda and trade unions unite to support the fashion industry


Sergio Tamborini, president of Confindustria Moda Federazione Tessile e Moda, spoke at Il Sole 24 Ore’s Luxury Summit following the signing of the 2024–2027 National Collective Labour Agreement, on May 6. His remarks were an admission of systemic failure—and a call to arms.

The crisis: “We are in the fourth negative semester”


“We are in the fourth consecutive negative semester—not just in textiles and apparel, but across the fashion sector, including leather goods, which are under intense pressure.”

Tamborini didn’t mince words: The textile, apparel, and leather goods sectors are under severe pressure, with no relief in sight. Yet the real issue isn’t just cyclical decline—it’s structural neglect.

The missing player: Politics


Tamborini emphasised that the agreement wasn’t an adversarial negotiation: “We did not sign this contract from opposite sides of the table. For the first time, employers and unions stood together, because a fundamental player is missing — it is politics.”

Tamborini added: “The country lacks an industrial policy, and not only for this sector, there are also transversal issues such as energy.”

“We have fully realised that politics is not able to manage this thing because it has not understood this sector, perhaps because it has spoken too softly for too long, due to its fragmented structure, given that it did not have leading companies that spoke for the entire sector like Fiat for the automotive sector.”

Italy’s fashion sector has no Fiat-like champion to demand attention. The result? A government that has not understood this sector, leaving it vulnerable to energy crises, supply chain collapses, and global competition.

The warning: “We risk total darkness”


Tamborini referenced a recent blackout in Spain as a metaphor for systemic collapse. When critical links fail, the entire system goes dark. Italian fashion supply chain—fragmented and undervalued—faces the same fate.

“As we saw with the blackout in Spain, with these interconnected networks, when moments of connection are lost then there is total darkness and we are risking a similar condition because if we lose pieces of the supply chain, then we risk losing the entire supply chain.”

The plan: Unions as unlikely allies


With politics absent, Tamborini announced an unprecedented alliance: Confindustria Moda and unions will draft their own industrial policy to “present to the government.” A strategic rebellion—or simply filling a political void?

Final thoughts: The irony of “Made in Italy”


Tamborini expressed palpable frustration that while Italy’s leaders applaud fashion weeks, they ignore the industry’s backbone. The irony? A sector that fuels national pride survives despite politics, not because of it.

“It is nice to go to the fashion shows. But then you have to realise that 600,000 people are employed in a sector that is the country’s second-largest manufacturing base. It generates 60% of exports and €30 billion in trade balance. We haven’t been able to say this—but they haven’t understood it either.”

Indeed. When the lights go out on manufacturing, even the brightest catwalks fade to black.

Question for readers: Can Italian fashion outlast its government’s indifference? Or will it take a total collapse to force change?

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Tailoring Black Style: The Met Gala stands against Trump’s anti-DEI agenda

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Fashion fights back: Resisting the erosion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion


Superfine: Tailoring Black Style is the theme of the 2025 Met Gala. A direct response to the growing threat to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) under Trump’s influence. As the Trumpization of politics fuels division across American culture and beyond, the global fashion industry is pushing back. So, this year’s Met Gala deliberately centres Black creativity. In fact, the event caught our attention because we see fashion as culture. Specifically, we’re interested in unpacking the concepts and messages woven into the clothes.

The Met Gala: Beyond celebrity spectacle


We’ve never been ardent admirers of the Met Gala. Ostensibly a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, the event has devolved into a display of celebrity excess, far removed from true elegance. As Tom Ford once remarked, “The event turned into a costume party.”

But this year, something different happened.

Tailoring Black Style: Fashion as identity and resistance


The 2025 exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, focuses on cultural significance, not just celebrity theatrics. Divided into 12 sections, it draws inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, exploring how African American designers have shaped global fashion.

The dress code, Tailored for You, was more than an aesthetic choice—it was a declaration of identity. As Anna Wintour stated, “In this political moment, this exhibition and gala stand in solidarity with the Black community.”

A defiant statement against Trump’s anti-DEI policies


However, the timing is no coincidence. Within Trump’s first 100 days in office, DEI initiatives faced aggressive dismantling, including attempts to erase Black history from cultural institutions. Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter voiced a shared frustration: “They’re taking everything away from us.”

So, this year’s Met Gala was a direct challenge to that erasure. By celebrating Black contributions to fashion, it resisted the administration’s regressive policies.

Final thoughts


With Tailoring Black Style, the Met Gala not only celebrated the Black community’s contribution to fashion but also reinforced fashion’s role as a cultural and political statement.

As DEI principles come under attack, events like this matter. They are acts of defiance—reminders that culture cannot be whitewashed. In this spirt, we stand with every individual, brand, and institution that rejects the Trumpization of society and upholds the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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Reclaiming European culture: casualties of casual

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How Europe surrendered its cultural identity to American homogenisation


Reclaiming European culture is the natural response to the cultural shift America took under Trump—marked by vulgarity, populism, and nationalism. It’s the kind of reaction we expect from Europe. Over time, we’ve lost our cultural identity—and even our sense of style—in the name of a so-called “freedom” that the U.S. packaged and sold to the world.

In fact, over the past few decades, Europe has undergone a profound cultural shift—one not solely driven by immigration or progressive ideologies, as many claim. A subtler yet deeper transformation lies in our surrender to American cultural homogenisation: extreme consumerism, disposability, the cult of convenience, and the rise of performative informality. It’s not just about fashion. It’s about values. Capitalism, disguised as freedom, seduced us—all in the name of profit.

The loss of form, the loss of meaning


Historically, European culture cherished the idea of form—an appreciation of ritual, aesthetics, and context. Manners were never submission—they were shared codes of respect. Dressing appropriately wasn’t about elitism but about showing care. As much as it may seem trivial, style has always reflected specific values. The values of our culture. But now, everything must be fast, loud, and easy. Formality is mocked as outdated; effort is dismissed as snobbery.
What we’re witnessing is the slow erasure of nuance, the death of “how” in favour of “whatever works.”

The American dream, exported


We adopted the language of freedom but hollowed out meaning. In the name of so-called democratisation, we’ve embraced casualness not as an option—but as the rule. And with it, came a flattening of taste, language, even thought. European distinctiveness—rich with contradictions, elegance, and complexity—is being reduced to a homogenised mass. We’ve confused informality with progress. Pasolini, ever prophetic, warned against consumerism: “and above all, its wild, almost cosmic drive to produce and consume: the false god of ‘Development’ — the new power that deceives the people.”

Values and elegance as resistance: defending diversity


To reclaim European culture is not to exclude or regress—it is to resist erasure. True diversity, after all, flourishes only when roots are intact. Values, elegance, manners, codes—these are not colonial relics, but tools of human connection, developed over centuries. Their abandonment doesn’t make us freer—it makes us formless.

Final thoughts


If Europe is to resist cultural erasure, it must reject this hollow mimicry of Americanisation. Therefore, in the face of America’s cultural drift, reclaiming European culture isn’t nostalgia—it’s survival.

The next time we applaud someone showing up in sweatpants or pyjamas in places that require appropriate clothing, let’s ask: are we truly celebrating freedom? Or simply bowing to a new kind of conformity, sold to us as liberation?
Europe’s future may well depend on rediscovering the value of form—not as stiffness, but as intention. A culture that knows its depth doesn’t need to imitate anyone. It simply needs to remember itself.

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