World trade of Fashion Products: signs of moderate growth in the first half of 2025

Q2-2025 showed overall acceleration, though with marked sectoral differences

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Fashion Uncertainty Industries Conjuncture Global economic trends
Stampa

World trade flow data, updated to the second quarter of 2025 and available in the Quarterly World Trade Datamart, show a strengthening of international exports of Fashion Products1, measured at constant prices2: after a turbulent first quarter of the year (-0.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2024), in the April-June 2025 period, global exports in the sector recorded a Year-over-Year increase of 5.5 percentage points when measured at constant prices.
In the first half of the year, the profile of global exports of Fashion Products is moderately positive (+2.6% Y-o-Y at constant prices), although slowing compared to year 2024 (+4.9% Y-o-Y).

The international outlook is quite diverse
at the level of individual sectors of the Fashion Products industry

However, differences in global trade performance appear significant within the sector, at the individual sector level, as highlighted in the table below.

World Exports of Fashion Products:
% Year-over-Year changes at constant prices

% Y-o-Y changes at constant prices
Sector Y2024 Q1-2025 Q2-2025E H1-2025E
Outerwear + 7.1% + 1.4% + 2.6% + 2.0%
Jewellery and watches + 6.6% - 1.1% +25.9% +12.3%
Underwear and hosiery + 9.9% - 1.2% - 2.8% - 2.0%
Footwear + 3.6% - 2.0% - 0.7% - 1.4%
Perfumes and cosmetics - 1.0% + 4.7% + 3.3% + 4.0%
Leather goods + 1.0% - 5.9% - 1.8% - 3.8%
Sporting goods and musical instruments + 4.4% + 9.5% + 3.5% + 6.4%
Lenses and spectacles + 8.4% + 1.8% + 2.7% + 2.3%
Books and other products of creative activities -15.1% - 7.2% - 5.3% - 6.2%
Clothing Accessories + 5.3% - 0.4% - 3.9% - 2.2%
Small appliances for the person +12.7% - 2.6% - 6.3% - 4.5%
Bicycles, strollers and invalid carriages - 7.1% + 1.0% + 2.0% + 1.5%
Photo-Optical +16.2% + 5.7% + 1.3% + 3.3%
Other Personal items + 3.7% - 1.1% - 4.8% - 3.0%
TOTAL + 4.9% - 0.3% + 5.5% + 2.6%
Source: ExportPlanning - Data - Quarterly Trade Data, World Trade Datamart

In particular, analyzing global exports by Fashion Products sector, rather differentiated trends emerge in the first half of the year:

  • the following sectors showed (sometimes significantly) growth:
    • jewellery and watches3: in the first half of the year, global exports in this sector recorded a Year-over-Year growth (measured at constant prices) of +12.3% in the first half of 2025, accelerating sharply in the most recent quarter, confirming the positive phase seen in 2024 (+6.6% compared to the 2023 average);
    • sporting goods and musical instruments4: in the first half of the year, global exports in the sector, despite the recent slowdown (+3.5% Year-over-Year in Q2-2025, at constant prices, after +9.5% in Q1-2025), recorded a decidedly positive result (+6.4% Y-o-Y), even more favorable than the 2024 average (+4.4% compared to 2023);
    • perfumes and cosmetics5: the first six months of the year show an overall positive result for exports in the sector (+4% Year-over-Year, at constant prices) and more favorable than the 2024 average (-1% compared to 2023), despite a moderate deceleration in the most recent quarter;
    • photo-optical6: the recent quarter showed a weakening in global export growth in the sector (+1.3% Year-over-Year at constant prices), but the overall performance for the first half of the year is moderately positive (+3.3% Y-o-T), albeit significantly slowing compared to the 2024 average (+16.2% compared to 2023);
    • lenses and spectacles7: compared to the 2024 average (+8.4% Year-over-Year at constant prices), the first half of the year, while remaining in positive territory, showed a weakening in global export growth in the sector (+2.3% Y-o-Y);
    • outerwear8: in this case too, the first half of the year showed an overall weakening in global exports in the sector (+2% Year-over-Year at constant prices) compared to the 2024 average (+7.1% compared to 2023);
  • On the other hand, negative Year-over-Year performances were observed for the following sectors:
    • books and other products of creative activities9: the first half of the year, although improving compared to the strongly negative performance of 2024 (-15.1% compared to 2023), saw a Year-over-Year decline in global exports in the sector of more than 6 percentage points when measured at constant prices;
    • small appliances for the person10: after a largely positive 2024 (+12.7% compared to 2023), in the first half of 2025 global exports in the sector experienced a Year-over-Year decline of 4.5 percentage points, with a deterioration especially in the most recent quarter;
    • leather goods11: after a 2024 of weak overall growth (+1% compared to 2023), global exports in the sector recorded a Year-over-Year decline of close to 4 percentage points in the first half of 2025 when measured at constant prices;
    • clothing accessories12: in this case too, in the first half of 2025 global exports of the sector (-2.2% Year-over-Year at constant prices) showed a decline compared to the 2024 average (+5.3% compared to 2023);
    • underwear and hosiery13: in the first half of the year global exports of the sector showed a sharp decline (-2% Year-over-Year at constant prices) compared to the growth phase recorded in the 2024 average (+9.9% compared to 2023);
    • other personal items14: after a moderately expansionary 2024 (+3.7% compared to 2023), global exports of the sector showed a significant reduction in the first half of the year, with an overall decline of 3 percentage points compared to the corresponding period in 2024 when measured at constant prices.

The importance of monitoring market conditions
at a "product-specific" level

World trade data for the first half of the year point to moderately growing overall conditions for the Fashion Products industry, but with recent deterioration in performance.
The high degree of heterogeneity in results across sectors highlights, for an exporting company, the strategic utility of continuously monitoring market conditions, both in terms of demand and the dynamics of its main competitors for its product/strategic business area, in order to best support its international positioning.

With the aim of enabling constant monitoring of its foreign markets at a "product-specific" level, ExportPlanning provides Market Insights, a series of "on-demand" information services, specifically designed to support the market intelligence and budgeting processes of exporting companies.

1) See here the related description table.
2) The measure Quantities at constant prices (Q). This measure includes a deflation operation, in which the historical series of monetary values (V) has been transformed into an analogous series of values expressed at constant prices, with a reference to a given year, known as the base year. For a description of the methodology applied, please refer to Methodological Note on the Quarterly World Trade Datamart.
3) See here the related description table.
4) See here the related description table.
5) See here the related description table.
6) See here the related description table.
7) See here the related description table.
8) See here the related description table.
9) See here the related description table.
10) See here the related description table.
11) See here the related description table.
12) See here the related description table.
13) See here the related description table.
14) See here the related description table.