A product can be appealing yet have no reason to be stocked in a store. It is in this gap between desire and relevance that a decisive part of the fashion business is played out. The professional buyer must now answer a question less sensational than identifying the next trend: What is worth offering here, to this clientele, in this specific market? In Milan, the event “The Buyer Journey,” organized by Fashion Link Milano at the ADI Design Museum, shed light on this responsibility. Behind the evolution of trade shows lies a more demanding challenge: giving meaning to the selection, when there is no shortage of products or information.
The Store as the Starting Point
The reasoning starts with the store, not with the supplier’s catalog. Discussions in Milan highlighted the growing importance of private labels, product assortments tailored to specific audiences, and products developed for particular locations. These practices reflect a retail philosophy in which every choice contributes to the identity of the point of sale. The right product is therefore not necessarily the one that attracts the most attention, but the one that fits into the overall picture.
This approach shifts the buyer’s role. The buyer must evaluate a product for its qualities, then assess how it fits with the customer base and the commercial reality. A selection reflects an understanding of the market as much as an aesthetic sensibility. It must also take margins into account. Taste remains essential; it is not enough on its own to make a decision.
The value of this approach lies in its refusal to separate a store’s identity from its merchandise. Building a distinct brand or developing an offering tailored to a specific location is not merely a matter of sourcing. It involves choosing what the store wishes to represent. The buyer thus plays a role in defining the store’s identity, rather than merely stepping in when it’s time to stock the shelves.
A curator who must also be a strategic thinker
This role of the buyer—both curator and entrepreneur—runs through the research presented by Orietta Pelizzari, an international specialist in trends and creative concepts. Her work is part of the “Curator Buyer” approach, informed by observations gathered directly from purchasing teams. The term “curator” is meaningful here only if it describes a specific skill: transforming a mass of information into coherent decisions.
The parallel with the curatorial role is illuminating. Selecting involves making trade-offs, establishing connections, and advocating for a particular direction. But the buyer is not curating an exhibition. They shape a retail outlet’s identity and its profitability. Their interpretation of trends must remain tied to consumers, markets, and the economic conditions in which the products will be sold.
Alongside Pelizzari, who moderated the session, independent buyer Chiara Allegra Moretti and storyteller Federico Galli participated in the discussion on this transformation. The issue goes beyond simply expanding a job description. It concerns how a product offering takes shape: through a series of trade-offs, not merely by accumulating new items deemed promising.
Age alone is no longer enough to define a customer base
One must still know who one is buying for. A figure presented in Milan calls for a shift in perspective: according to 2025 data from Niq / World Data Lab cited by Orietta Pelizzari, Generation X accounts for $15,200 billion in global spending, or approximately 13,220 billion euros. This amount exceeds that of Generation Z by 40 percent. These are global spending figures, not a metric limited to fashion or luxury goods.
The data highlights Generation X’s economic clout, without, however, granting it a monopoly on influence. This was precisely one of the nuances of the debate: the ability to spend and the ability to shape tastes are not one and the same. Preferences are shaped through interactions between consumers, brands, communities, and purchasing professionals. They also flow from one generation to another, in both directions.
For a retailer, replacing one generational obsession with another would therefore be too simplistic a solution. Values and behaviors can bring customers of different ages closer together. Conversely, a single age group does not necessarily constitute a homogeneous audience. The challenge lies in developing offerings capable of transcending these categories without losing their specificity. A store benefits from understanding the reasons behind a purchase, not just the year of birth of the person making it.
The showroom comes into the picture midway through the journey
This need for discernment begins well before entering a trade show. Researching brands, making comparisons, and narrowing down options: according to insights shared during “The Buyer Journey,” part of the journey has already begun by the time the buyer arrives on site. The event is no longer automatically the place where the first discovery takes place. It has become a stage for deepening or revising a judgment formed beforehand.
Sources are multiplying and intersecting. In addition to trade shows and showrooms, there are digital platforms, social media, and sales data, while direct interactions with companies continue. The product search process thus becomes a long-term endeavor. This abundance provides access to more signals; it also increases the effort required to distinguish useful information from leads that are irrelevant to the store.
However, digital technology does not make the in-person visit superfluous. Seeing the product, evaluating it, and speaking directly with a business owner or supplier retains a specific value. Face-to-face contact allows the preliminary selection to be compared with what is actually on offer. The relationship then continues after the event. In this context, the trade show is less of a one-off event on the calendar and more of an opportunity for verification and dialogue.
Five sectors, interconnected decisions
Fashion Link Milano brings together Micam Milano, Milano Fashion&Jewels, Mipel, TheOneMilano, and Simac Tanning Tech under a single strategic framework. These five events collectively feature 1,848 brands, along with industry professionals. Bringing them together allows for a multifaceted approach to purchasing decisions across different sectors, without suggesting they are interchangeable.
Micam Milano has provided the footwear perspective, where networking tools and trend analysis offer buyers greater support. Milano Fashion&Jewels has emphasized the identification and curation of offerings that bridge fashion, accessories, and jewelry. These approaches align with that of Mipel, which focuses on the connections between leather goods, their distribution, and the point of sale. In each case, a product’s value also depends on the commercial context for which it is intended.
TheOneMilano shifts the focus to supplier sourcing, production capabilities, and private labels. Simac Tanning Tech extends this focus to technologies and industrial processes. This latter perspective serves as a reminder that a selection sometimes involves much more than just an assortment: the partners and equipment chosen can impact a company’s future competitiveness.
The organizers thus champion a trade show whose value is measured by the quality of the relationships established between supply and demand. This promise must be realized through the work of buyers: finding the right contact, verifying manufacturing capacity, and moving forward with a product development project for a store. For a private label, in particular, identifying the right product is only the beginning. The next step is to identify who can produce it.