After France, Italy squares up to Shein

The director of the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store Karl-Stephane Cottendin cuts the ribbon at the opening Shein's first physical store in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. ( Dimitar Dilkoff, Pool via AP)

After its troubles in France, Shein faces more opposition in Italy, where the e-commerce giant is wooing shoppers in fashion capital Milan -- but where the government and industry are mobilizing.

“The textile sector is under attack,” Luca Sburlati, head of Italian fashion trade body Confindustria Moda, told AFP.

“Hundreds of thousands of packages arrive in our homes every day. We must react.”

Italy is known for its high-end fashion, the home of global brands including Gucci and Prada, and the industry makes up around five percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

But cheap and cheerful clothes are as popular in Italy as the rest of Europe, including bought through Shein’s ultra-competitive platform.

Founded in China and now based in Singapore, Shein last month staged its first Italian catwalk show in Milan.

The same week, the government hosted urgent talks on the impact of “ultra-fast fashion”.

Adolfo Urso, the minister for the “Made in Italy” brand, warned of “an “invasion of low-cost foreign products that harm our producers and put consumers at risk”.

The clothes industry is expected to present a new strategic plan for Italian fashion next week.

At the European Union level, the industry wants an end to the exemption from customs duties for packages worth under 150 euros (US$173), following a similar charge in the United States.

‘Really cheap’

Critics warn of the environmental impact of clothes so cheap they can be worn once and thrown away, while Shein has also come under scrutiny for conditions at its textile factories.

This week, Italy’s government brought into law a European Union directive that seeks to improve transparency in sales, particularly on the environmental impact of products.

Shein has already been sanctioned in this area in Italy and France.

The French government has said it was suspending the platform after outrage over its sale of childlike sex dolls.

At the same time, nearly 8,000 people queued for the opening of Shein’s first permanent store, located in Paris’s BHV department store.

In style-conscious Milan, the platform is also hugely popular.

“In Milan, you can’t go out if you’re not stylish,” Mattia Trebino told AFP at Shein’s fashion show last month.

The 24-year-old, who wore a faux-crocodile skin jacket, said he receives about four Shein packages every month.

“These clothes, you can only wear them once or twice at most. But they’re really cheap,” he said.

Find their style

Shein’s autumn/winter collection was inspired in part by 1980s Milan, featuring three-piece-suits and faux fur coats.

“The idea was to show that everyone can find their style at Shein -- and to respond to our critics,” Luca Raveillon, the show’s French artistic director, told AFP.

Gesturing to the collections, he said: “Look, it’s beautiful. It’s good quality, it fits perfectly.”

“We look great in it, and we can express ourselves with what we wear” -- while keeping costs low, as “life is getting expensive.”

Alessia Tresoldi, a 27-year-old Italian influencer sat in the front row, shared images of the show with her one million Instagram followers.

Shein “looks at what’s happening on the street,” she told AFP, and described the show as “amazing,”

The website offers a 100 per cent polyester “fur” coat from the show in 15 different colours, starting at 28 euros with free shipping.

Boosted by such low prices, European consumers buy 60 per cent more clothing than they did in 2000, and keep it for half as long, according to an October report by consultants The European House-Ambrosetti.

The study’s author, Carlo Cici, said the European fashion industry must innovate more to stand out.

“Consumers are very interested in sustainability but aren’t willing to pay for it,” he wrote.