<span>It is a pleasant</span><span> </span><span>summer</span><span> evening in Milan. Along the Navigli, the artificial flatboat-canal designed by Leonardo da Vinci </span><span>during the Renaissance</span><span>, </span><span>people are gathered at the small entrance of a grey </span><span>building.</span> <span>This is not the glamorous Navigli neighbourhood</span><span> where locals and visitors flock. This is outskirts of Milan</span><span>, usually </span><span>of little interest to tourists and the reason is obvious: the place is </span><span>dull and unattractive. But gentrification goes on. A once rundown, former wood factory, has been transformed into a casual dining place by the superstar chef Carlo Cracco.</span> <span>The Segheria, or Saw-Mill, has been chosen by the Dondup fashion brand to host a sophisticated dinner party including a DJ set of 80s music </span><span>as the Milanese upper class </span><span>sit</span><span> outside in a courtyard chatting, attended by a host of </span><span>waiting staff.</span> <span>Matteo Marzotto – impeccably dressed in a double-breasted blue suit with an immaculate white shirt</span><span> and tanned leather loafers – smiles and shakes hands with everyone. Tonight, the scion of one of the prominent families in the fashion industry </span><span>is celebrating the 20th birthday of Dondup. He has been collaborating with the brand over the past few years.</span> The Marzotto family, which sold the <a href="https://luxurydecember.thenational.ae/">Valentino luxury brand</a> in 2006, <span>have</span><span> been in the textile and fashion business since the end of the 19th century, </span><span>starting out in the Veneto region.</span> <span>After mouth-watering Piedmont beef tartare canapés and cooked-to-perfection risotto</span><span>, the party goes on until 1am. </span> <span>Six months after the </span><span>party, Mr Marzotto welcomes </span><span><em>The National</em></span><span> to his </span><span>very Milanese nest. He is again </span><span>dressed in a double-breasted suit</span><span> and </span><span>has </span><span>just concluded a deal to invest in an Italian manufacturer of vending machines. </span> <span>He grabs a glass of water, complaining of a headache and then discusses a more global problem, which he believes Dondup is working to resolve.</span> <span>"Denim is all about the washing and </span><span>dyeing process. Italy has a worldwide tradition of colouring denim. In Dondup, we have invented a new system and it is eco-friendly too."</span> <span>The fashion industry is very much in focus at the moment for its negative impact on the environment. Cotton is a</span> <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/want-to-be-an-eco-friendly-shopper-here-are-7-ethical-fashion-brands-to-try-1.894004" target="_blank">water-intensive crop</a> <span>, needing 1,000 litres to grow </span><span>only </span><span>a kilogram. </span><span>Dyeing it indigo blue is also thirsty work</span><span> requiring a single cloth to be </span><span>dyed multiple times.</span> <span>Dondup uses lasers instead of the old-fashioned stonewashed system – reducing water consumption by 20 per cent, </span><span>he says.</span> <span>“Climate change and global sustainability for the planet: these are the main concerns for human beings which will require all our strong capacity, culture, patience and diplomacy to deal with,” Mr Marzotto says. </span> <span>The Dondup venture began in the autumn of 2016 for Mr Marzotto – his biggest since the gargantuan Valentino deal with its portfolio spanning luxury brands such as Missoni and Gianfranco Ferre, Hugo Boss and Marlboro Classics. </span> <span>The Marzotto family bought the haute couture house founded by Valentino Garavani in 2002 for €240 million (Dh967m) and sold it at the peak of the financial bubble, in a deal which valued the company at almost €3 billion, to the global private equity company Permira. </span> <span>The deal was a monster, the biggest fashion </span><span>merger and acquisition </span><span>in the world at the time. The gain was equally epic: almost a 15 times return in four years. The Venetian dynasty split over it, though; part of the family wanted to exit and cash-in, while others opposed. </span> <span>“I did not want to sell Valentino, if it were up to me, I would have kept the brand,” Mr Marzotto says. </span> <span>Now Mr Marzotto, who is in his early fifties, has a significant stake in Dondup and is </span><span>the chairman. </span><span>The company was born in 1999 in Fossombrone, a small village in the Marche region</span><span>, whose origins date back to the Roman Empire. It was an outpost along the military road from Rome to Rimini: Mr Marzotto calls it the "Denim Valley". Italian fashion manufacturing follows a long held formula.</span> <span>Luxury is a global industry, but Italian brands rely on a regional, even provincial, backbone of individuals and local know-how. </span> <span>Much of the fashionable items sold in big malls are created in some home’s garage in a secluded town in the Italian countryside, far away from the glamour of international cities such as Milan.</span> <span>"Behind Dondup there is a network of small companies, high-skilled suppliers, craftsmanship, even local traditions," he says</span><span>. </span> <span>“I’ve been in this industry for 25 years, my family comes from textile and manufacturing. I personally invested in Dondup: skin in the game, as they say.” </span> <span>Dondup has now established itself as a luxury jeans brand: with an average price of €250 to €300 a pair in </span><span>boutiques. The company has about €60m in revenue with an ebitda of 25 per cent.</span> <span>“So far, we have focused on strengthening our market position in Europe and the US. But I know the UAE very well, from my former businesses, he says.</span> <span>“We have to expand our presence. I would like to have one or two flagship stores in Dubai, which is a global destination, attracting million of tourists. The malls in the UAE are definitely a goal,” he says. </span> <span>Mr Marzotto knows Dubai well as he was the chairman of Vicenza Oro, the Italian gold fair, which has </span><span>been held for 60 years. "We struck the first international joint venture ever with the Dubai World Trade Centre to launch the first B2B jewellery fair [there]," he says.</span> <span>The present is intriguing but the past is where the Marzotto heritage was born. They are another dynasty – such as the Agnellis – of Italy, even though Matteo is not as famous as the </span><span>Gianni Agnelli of Fiat. But he has the same global network, as well as some of the glamour of the </span><span>past Italian business king. It runs in the family: Mr Matteo's great grandfather was the first industrial tycoon in Italy. </span> <span>Gaetano was already the fourth generation of a textile dynasty, established in 1836. He opened the first hotel chain in Italy, guessing the country had the potential for a modern tourist industry. </span><span>He also built entire villages with schools and hospitals for his workers and employees, in order to improve the poor living conditions among the urbanised working-class. </span><span>Until today, the Villaggio Marzotto on the Adriatic coast serves as a resort </span><span>for people with disabilities.</span> <span>“My family was the incarnation of the true capitalism’s animal spirits,” Mr Marzotto says. They continue to endorse the social side of the economy. He has a seat on the board of Brunello Cucinelli, the super-upscale cashmere brand, with strong values based on the “fair wages, fair profit” philosophy.</span> <span>This leads the conversation to arguably the biggest problem facing Italy today; the migrant crisis and the thousands of people still attempting to cross the Mediterranean from</span> <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/un-closes-migrant-centre-in-libya-over-safety-fears-1.972230">North Africa</a>. <span>“The migrant issue and climate change are linked: wars and famine from droughts force people to move,” Mr Marzotto says.</span> <span>The European Union “did not listen nor acted, leaving Italy alone to manage a global crisis. I can agree on stereotypes about Italy, but not on important matters: we are not racists nor closed”.</span> <span>"As a Catholic," he says, he recognises </span><span>there should be an "area of the world which is inclusive", but this needs to be done "under precise rules".</span> <span>“A billion people [moving] from the south to north makes no sense whatsoever.” Instead politicians and governments should work to “improve the quality of life and wealth in those countries”.</span> <span>There are also the long-running economic issues to contend with. </span> <span>“Italy has been living a crisis for 10 years now, so the word has lost its sense. It’s not an economic crisis, it’s a structural condition. We have an enormous public debt, but creditors are the citizens themselves so this is not an issue.” </span> <span>Mr Marzotto acknowledged that Italian politics can often seem “abnormal”.</span> <span>The current coalition government includes members of centre-left and populist parties.</span> <span>“Politics does not help: we need a government with a long term vision, as the UAE does, not someone looking for the short-term consensus. Still, this country is the second manufacturing economy in the EU; and the biggest luxury manufacturer in the world. The creativity and enthusiasm among the SMEs still make Italy a marvellous country,” says Mr Marzotto.</span>
