Preserving Italian Craftsmanship in the Digital Age: A Conversation with Matteo Giacomozzi

Matteo Giacomozzi, General Manager of Matia, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing luxury knitwear manufacturing in Italy, from protecting traditional craftsmanship to embracing sustainable innovation.

Introducing Matia

Sofia: It’s a pleasure to be with you here today and as part of our Buyer community here at Future Fashion Assembly, Matteo. Tell us about your background and your role at Matia.

Matteo: I've been working in fashion for over 15 years across different segments, from luxury to mass market. After spending a decade abroad, primarily in Asia, I returned to Italy and joined Matia as General Manager. We're a luxury knitwear manufacturer based in Italy with 100% Italian production, serving major groups like LVMH and Kering, among others.

My role is to support the owner and drive innovation while preserving our traditional heritage and craftsmanship. This balance is crucial - without our Italian heritage and expertise, we lose our competitive edge in the luxury market.

Sofia: What drew you to join our Future Fashion Assembly platform?

Matteo: After being abroad for 10 years, I recognized the need to rebuild my network in Italy and connect with new players in the market. The fashion landscape here is different from Asia - different customer targets, technologies, and production methods.

This platform provides an opportunity to connect with other industry professionals and participate in events where we can learn about the latest technologies and processes. It's essential to stay updated with market developments and innovation, not just focus on what we're doing internally.

Industry Challenges, Perspectives, and Opportunities

Sofia: You mentioned the importance of balancing heritage with innovation. What are the main challenges you face in protecting Italian craftsmanship?

Matteo: The biggest challenge is protecting our know-how and the skilled artisans who do the manual work. When these experienced craftspeople retire, it's increasingly difficult to replace them. The new generation often doesn't want to pursue these types of jobs. Finding people who are not only skilled but also passionate about their craft is rare.

The second challenge involves digitalization and modernization. While this isn't as critical for our internal operations, it's essential for interacting with our clients - large corporations and conglomerates operating across multiple countries with different brands.

Sofia: How does Matia's structure support your luxury clients?

Matteo: We have about 100 people supplying eight to nine major luxury brands with countless prototypes and production runs in very short timeframes. We also externalize part of our production when needed.

Our substantial workforce helps compensate for the operational challenges our clients face. As these luxury conglomerates have grown, they've become more structured but sometimes struggle to solve certain problems internally. They need not just our expertise, but our craftsmanship and flexibility - including on-site sampling and prototyping capabilities.

Sofia: Speaking of prototyping and sampling, this is often cited as a major challenge in fashion. How do you view technology's role in addressing development time, costs, and potential waste?

Matteo: I've observed technologies like 3D sampling being promoted over the last decade, and they can be helpful - but not at our level of luxury product. For brands like Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, or Calvin Klein, which operate at high-volume, affordable luxury with e-commerce and global distribution, 3D technology makes sense. I've seen firsthand how it can improve product development flow and reduce CO2 emissions from shipping samples back and forth.

However, for us, the products we develop must be felt, touched, and even worn. This tactile experience cannot be replicated through 3D or other technologies. The type of luxury knitwear we produce demands physical interaction for proper evaluation.

In production, we can be more accurate with material consumption and reduce wastage through technology. But when you're working with expensive yarns, you're naturally precise with purchasing and vigilant about defects during knitting, stitching, and all production phases. This accuracy is sustainability in action - therefore sustainability is naturally built into our process - there's minimal waste because every material is valuable.

Innovation, Technology, and Sustainability

Sofia: That's an interesting perspective on true luxury being naturally sustainable through its exclusivity and quality. Can you tell us more about Matia's approach to sustainability?

Matteo: Since we don't have our own brand and produce for third-party luxury brands, we follow their sustainability requirements. I should note that the impact of high-end luxury within the entire fashion industry is like a drop in the ocean compared to mass market.

Our clients are beginning to request certified yarns and monitor chemical content in garments, though much of this is already regulated by European standards like REACH. I see sustainability awareness in mass market production because those companies recognize their greater environmental impact.

Sofia: How do you see technology and innovation supporting Matia's growth strategy?

Matteo: We're investing around half a million euros this year in new machinery - more efficient machines that not only produce better garments but work faster and use less energy. This serves both quality and environmental goals.

We're also connecting our production equipment - knitting, sewing, and linking machines to our systems to monitor the time required for each garment. This helps us provide accurate costings and plan production more effectively.

I'd cluster our technology approach into two areas: first, helping us be more efficient and create better products; second, helping us track what's happening within the company.

Sofia: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the luxury manufacturing sector?

Matteo: There's a fundamental philosophical challenge around ESG and sustainability. It's relatively straightforward to say products shouldn't impact the environment or that we should produce less to save the environment. But what about the social aspect? If we produce less, companies shut down, people lose jobs and salaries, negatively impacting lifestyles. Balancing the environmental and social elements of ESG is a major challenge.

The other significant challenge is the speed of the industry. Everything is moving incredibly fast - if you're not online 24/7, you miss critical information that can become huge parts of running your business. This didn't happen in the past when communication was limited to fax or phone calls. The pace is becoming unsustainable, but we can't slow down due to production demands and investment requirements.

Sofia: How do you view AI's role in your business?

Matteo: We use AI for email processing and document handling, which helps with the bureaucratic side - removing headaches for our customers. But AI cannot help with making garments at our level. Creating luxury knitwear and reaching agreements with production partners still requires human interaction.

AI will significantly impact mass market brands and could easily be implemented in companies like Primark or H&M, potentially eliminating buyer, designer and merchandising positions. But for us, skilled and passionate human labour force remains the most critical resource - it's not accessible to AI.

Sofia: So technology serves as a support tool rather than a replacement?

Matteo: Exactly. We use technology to create better products, improve craftsmanship, and support operational efficiencies on the factory floor, plus some back-office process improvements. But the human element - the skilled craftsmanship and passion - remains central to everything we do.

Sofia: Have you considered robotics to support your skilled workers?

Matteo: I'm not familiar with robotic applications in our specific context. If a robot needs a garment prepared on a table for examination, it might not be more efficient than having an experienced operator do the evaluation. But I'm always interested in learning about new technologies that could potentially benefit our operations.

This goes back to why platforms like this are valuable - there are technologies I'm not aware of that could be interesting to explore further.

Matteo Giacomozzi is General Manager of Matia, a luxury knitwear manufacturer based in Italy serving major luxury fashion houses including brands from LVMH and Kering groups.