The Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles hosts its first speaker in the Industry Seminar Series: Federico Marchetti, who is the technology entrepreneur and creator of YOOX Net-a-Porter Group, which transformed global e-commerce, and who currently chairs King Charles III’s Sustainable Markets Initiatives (SMI) Fashion Task Force.  

Marchetti will share how the world’s most prestigious brands can play a leading role in advancing a more sustainable fashion system. By convening industry leaders such as Armani, Prada, and Stella McCartney, Marchetti is fostering collaborative initiatives that position high-value fashion as a potential driver of environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

The talk will examine key strategies reshaping the sector, including:

• Digital Product Passports as infrastructures for transparency and traceability
• Regenerative agriculture as a framework for ecological restoration
• Technology-enabled innovation to support long-term industry transformation

The session will consider how digital leadership and cross-sector collaboration are contributing to emerging models of accountability, governance, and sustainability within the global high-value fashion industry.

The Maria Manetti Shrem Institute of Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles drives interdisciplinary research and design innovation at the intersection of critical materiality, responsible technology, and social and cultural inclusivity to advance sustainable practices in design, fashion and textiles for regenerative futures.

The Department of Design’s Maria Manetti Shrem Institute of Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles is part of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis.