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Guess co-founder Paul Marciano: 'In fashion, every day is a challenge'
Published
June 18, 2025
At its opening ceremony on Tuesday, June 17, the Florentine men's fashion trade show awarded the "Pitti Immagine Uomo 2025 Prize" to Guess, in the presence of Paul Marciano, who co-founded the American jeans brand with his brothers in 1981, and his son Nicolai, representing the new generation within the explained how the brand got off the ground with the opening of a boutique in Florence. This was the brand's first location in Europe, enabling it to draw inspiration from Italian style and, above all, to accelerate its expansion to reach sales of $3 billion (just over 2.7 billion euros).
On the sidelines of the press conference, the entrepreneur spoke to about the keys to his success and his vision of today's fashion market. Paul Marciano at the Pitti Uomo award ceremony - ph DM
What's it like running a fashion company?
Paul Marciano: Every day is a challenge, but every day is exciting, in the sense that you always find a solution. In fact, there are challenges in everything, with customs duties, with international conflicts, and so on. What's new today? There's nothing new! It's always been that way since the company's inception. One day there's a crisis with the banks, another with the market, another with a war. We adapt. We always say 'we adapt and we manage'. That's what the fashion business is all about. But it's not easy every day. You have to be careful and well aware of all the daily challenges.
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FNW: What's the most important thing to keep going?
PM: The most important thing for me is always to maintain and protect the people who work around you. Human capital is the real value of a company. The product is important, but for me, the people who run the company are the most important element because they are the soul, the heart of the business. Without that soul, you get nowhere.
FNW: How do you see the fashion market at the moment?
PM: The context is still complicated. There's still a new war that exploded three days ago. But in the end, it's like this every day. When one crisis ends, another begins. I think that despite everything, fashion will keep its place. People will continue to be interested in fashion if you remain loyal and faithful to your brand. You mustn't think you can do everything for everyone. You can't. It doesn't exist. We have to stay close to our consumers, ask ourselves why they come to buy our brand, stay true to our principles, and keep the momentum going.
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