Men's ready-to-wear collections for spring/summer 2011 will hit the catwalks of Milan on Saturday as the fashion industry struggles to survive the global economic downturn. © 2010 AFP

Prada - SS 2010

Italian stalwarts like Gucci, Prada and Armani will rub shoulders with perennial tourists from Britain -- Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, John Richmond and Alexander McQueen -- at the four-day event featuring around 10 shows a day.

Time constraints or strained ties with organisers have once again prompted some fashion houses, notably Dolce & Gabbana and Marni, to schedule their shows outside of the official period.

The gloomy economic climate depressed the men's fashion industry in 2009 when turnover shrank 11.3 percent to eight billion euros (9.8 billion dollars), with exports down 16.5 percent, according to fashion research centre Sistema Moda Italiana.

The centre published a study on Monday in which it concluded that business "risks and doubts" persisted "in the context of a market that has not yet fully returned to normal."

But it noted signs of revival in two traditionally strong markets for Italian-made goods such as the United States, where retail sales were up eight percent in March, and France where sales of ready-to-wear men's clothes were up 1.8 percent in April. MILAN, June 16, 2010 (AFP)