MILAN - Amid an uncertain macroeconomic climate, trade show organizer White Milano is turning the focus away from traditional retail and on to the hospitality and resort market.

In Milan's Tortona District, the business-to-business event firm last week unfurled  On the Beach, Powered by White Resort,  a new format targeting hospitality and resort retailers. The event debuted with 100 brands in the resortwear segment, emerging as a unique platform for fashion buyers and luxury hospitality operators.

Resort Focus

In an interview, Massimiliano Bizzi, president and cofounder of White Milano and its owner M.Seventy, said the plan is to poise  On the Beach  as an itinerant event in resort hot spots to target international hospitality operators. Market observers see the value of the worldwide luxury hospitality and resort market rising from $115 billion to more than $150 billion in 2026. Hospitality and resort retail teams continue to look for rare, artisanal and wanderlust fashions that stand out from mainstream fashion, Bizzi explained.

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 They see us as a way to bring fashion to their guests. Big luxury brands feel too mass-market now because customers can find them everywhere, even in airports. Resort clients want more niche, exclusive products,  he told WWD.

Brenda Bellei, chief executive officer and cofounder of White Milano and M.Seventy, said the umbrella project will always be  Powered by White Resort,  but the firm's idea is expand it to new terrains with On the Mountain, On the Desert or On the Lake themes.

Some destinations already being discussed include Northern Europe, Brazil, India, Porto Cervo in Sardinia and eventually Saudi Arabia s resort destinations when tensions in the region die down.

According to analysts, fashion's future hinges in part on the hospitality boom currently underway. The recent  Future of Luxury Marketing  report by Deloitte said the future of luxury commerce is expected to unfold at the intersection of hospitality, retail and service.  The new retail is not a place - it's a fluid experience that travels with the customer and markets

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