As Ambrosetti Srl nears the half-century mark, the company continues to rack up accomplishments and embrace new challenges. This proactive spirit has been intrinsic to its DNA since 1977, when founder Carlo Ambrosetti established the family business in Varese, specializing in eyelets, rivets, and small metal hardware for the fashion industry. Today, the journey is led by the second generation: partners Davide Ambrosetti and Marco Mazzoleni, who steer the enterprise with vision and determination. We sat down with Davide Ambrosetti to discuss the company’s increasingly ambitious sustainability goals and the demanding new landscape of European regulatory compliance.
Let’s begin with the product: what is your specialization?
“Our core business revolves around eyelets for apparel, footwear, and accessories. We process a variety of materials – brass, steel, aluminum, stainless steel – because every client has unique requirements. Some prioritize resilience, others focus on aesthetics, and some need a specific material for a limited-edition collection. Production is executed entirely in-house, leveraging advanced machinery to ensure both high precision and significant volumes, though we never lose the attention to detail characteristic of artisanal craftsmanship. Every order is managed meticulously, particularly those involving customization: specific engravings, specialized finishes, and bespoke technical specifications for major fashion houses.”
You operate in two distinct markets: the more stable industrial sector and the highly dynamic, seasonal fashion industry. How do you manage this contrast?
“They are two different worlds, with varying timelines and operational logic. The fashion sector keeps us constantly on our toes, but it’s also our greatest source of stimulation. There’s also the question of perceived value. Many view an eyelet as merely a technical component, but it has a profound impact on the perceived quality of a luxury garment. A perfectly crafted eyelet, with the right finish, is a game-changer. Our clients are keenly aware of this. Over the years, the market has shifted; we’ve drastically reduced our stock of finished products and now focus primarily on producing client-specific items, complete with customized markings, engravings, and finishes tailored to their exact specifications.”
Your processes are subject to ever-stricter regulations concerning governance, and social and environmental sustainability. How are you adapting to this?
“Regulations are becoming increasingly rigorous, and we believe they offer essential guidance for the industry. We wholeheartedly welcome this evolution. Our strength lies in integrating the principles of sustainable and responsible governance that have always guided our operations, constantly aligning them with current laws. The ability to clearly communicate a process that is focused, organized, and compliant with robust standards has become non-negotiable. This goes beyond product quality; it’s about demonstrating transparency, supply chain traceability, and conformity to the standards that the market, especially the luxury sector and major brands, is demanding with growing intensity. We produce small metal hardware, accessories that are individually low-cost but are applied to extremely high-value items, underscoring their critical role in the fashion industry. A well-made eyelet with the correct finish significantly influences the perceived quality of a luxury item. Our most discerning clients know this, and it’s precisely what the major brands require of us. Today, however, in addition to product quality, we must meet demands that are invisible to the naked eye yet crucial: verifiable supply chain traceability, the use of sustainable materials, and adherence to strict ethical standards. For us, therefore, this isn’t a forced, reactive adjustment. It is ingrained in our corporate DNA. Being already structured in this manner certainly helps, though regulatory complexity is undoubtedly accelerating at an unprecedented pace. The risk is that the shift from operational best practice to a formal, hyper-regulated system could ultimately destabilize the market.”
There is a risk that this compliance work could become a separate function, parallel to production. Is this a trend you are already observing?
“Absolutely. The proliferation of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) requirements throughout the supply chain is reaching nearly unmanageable proportions. Contemporary fashion is grappling with a paradox: as brands consolidate and become more selective, the supply chain, which consists largely of small and medium-sized enterprises, must contend with an escalating load of requirements, portals, questionnaires, ESG standards, and certifications. Every client demands a different set of questionnaires – hundreds of questions that often share the same content but differ in format. The result is a multiplication of effort that weighs disproportionately on smaller companies. Meeting the same set of criteria can cost a ten- or twenty-person company nearly as much as it costs a hundred-person firm. This risks siphoning off energy that a supplier like us would prefer to focus entirely on product quality. It’s a cross-cutting problem that is being felt across the industry. This is why some fashion houses, including initiators such as Prada, Kering, and Zegna, are working to create a uniform data collection model designed to simplify and standardize sustainability information. This initiative is still in its infancy but is being welcomed by industry players as a potential paradigm shift. A single, standardized format would drastically cut down reporting time, allowing us to concentrate our resources on product quality instead of the endless repetition of compliance forms.”
While the regulatory landscape appears complex, the current market uncertainty. due to international conflicts and trade policies, doesn’t simplify the scenario either. How are you navigating this period?
“The luxury fashion sector is experiencing a downturn that is acutely felt by accessory manufacturers, who rely on volume to maintain the economic viability of their operations. The pressure to cut costs sometimes leads brands to consider cheaper alternatives, overlooking the fact that a lower-quality accessory can compromise a garment worth a thousand times more. We remain confident; our company champions material quality, processing precision, technical customer support, and timely deliveries as key differentiators against competition that may be cheaper but less structurally robust. Crucially, we also offer the comprehensive regulatory and governance compliance we’ve just discussed. This contraction is further compounded by a general climate of uncertainty that affects consumer spending, steering choices toward experiences and services rather than material goods. It is, undeniably, a challenging time. However, our faith in the future remains strong, supported by the conviction that specialization, technical expertise, and the ability to control every stage of the process are still the best guarantee of continuity for an Italian supplier.”
What are your next challenges?
“The primary challenge for the coming years will be finding the right balance between genuine sustainability and practical implementation, between transparency and industrial protection, and between regulatory efficiency and productive vitality. Otherwise, the sheer commitment demanded of suppliers risks exceeding the literal threshold of what is sustainable. We hope for a rationalization of procedures and a renewed vitality in the market. In the meantime, we will continue to do what we have done best for half a century: produce quality accessories, made entirely in Italy, with the certainty that the value of work well done will never go out of style.”
SUSTAINABILITY AND QUALITY: THE UNSEEN DETAILS OF FASHION EYELETS, ACCORDING TO AMBROSETTI SRL
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