Until a few decades ago Carpi was just
one of the many country towns surrounding Modena, its only industry
of any importance the processing of shavings to produce the braids
used for the manufacture of hats and bags. Then, in the 1950s,
came the knitwear boom, which transformed Carpi's economy with
the foundation of a myriad of small and medium-sized family firms.
Now Carpi, with its population of 60,000, can be considered the
knitwear capital of Europe, with its 200 industrial concerns and
its small production workshops, 746 of these producing directly
for the market and 1884 on a subcontract basis (weaving fabrics,
making-up garments, adding embroidery or laundering and pressing
finished products). 35% of turnover, worth about 2000 billion
lire, is from exports. Competition from the Far East has led
Carpi to increase the design input of its products and focus on
the top end of the fashion market; between 1979 and 1980 this
brought about a real revolution, as instead of turning out huge
quantities of knitwear and other garments of medium and medium-fine
quality, the town turned its attention to medium-fine and fine-boutique
products of high fashion. During the '90s, the industry has concentrated
on reducing times to market, to meet demand for the latest fashions
virtually at once.
|