The Innovation Director of Framis Italia explains how adhesives, materials, and testing make change verifiable in technical and sports fashion.

In the professional path of Matthew Foglietta, today Innovation Director di Framis ItaliaInnovation doesn't mean introducing a new product, but rather the ability to bring together different skills within a verifiable industrial process. A mechanical engineer with over twenty years of experience in design, quality, environmental certifications, technical training, product management, and business development, Foglietta works in a cutting-edge field for technical fashion: thermo-adhesive solutions, tapes, films, applications and machines that allow for the construction of more functional, clean-designed and customizable garments.

Framis Italia operates in a part of the supply chain that's rarely visible in consumer narratives, yet directly impacts the actual performance of a garment. Behind a protected seam, a finished edge, an applied decoration, a reinforced area, or an elastic element that maintains recovery and comfort, lies a complex set of materials, adhesives, application technologies, and production parameters. This is where the company, based in Vigano di Gaggiano, in the Milan metropolitan area, has consolidated its specialization, developing solutions for fashion, sportswear, and technical apparel, with a growing focus on process sustainability and the reduction of critical substances.

Matteo's perspective starts from a very concrete point: in fashion, sustainability becomes an industrial transformation when it affects materials, formulations, production lines, and validation criteria. It's not enough to describe a product as sustainable; it's necessary to demonstrate that a problematic substance has been eliminated, that an alternative technology maintains the required performance, that the process can be controlled, and that the solution works not only in the lab, but also in production and in the daily use of the garment.

The work of fits into this framework Framis Italia on technologies water-based and on the reduction of the a DMF, a passage that demonstrates how complex upstream sustainability is to manage. Replacing a consolidated technology doesn't simply mean changing a raw material: it involves redefining process conditions, quality standards, operator skills, laboratory testing, and collaboration methods with customers, suppliers, and technical partners. Innovation, in other words, only becomes true when it is measurable, repeatable, and transferable throughout the supply chain.

It is from this experience that the Lombard manager intervened at “Lifestyle Innovation Day” 2026 from Lugano, in the panel “Stories of Sustainability: Just Stories?”, dedicated to the intersection between sustainable storytelling and industrial responsibility. His contribution draws attention to an often overlooked dimension of change in fashion: the one that precedes the finished product and involves treatments, adhesives, materials, machinery, testing protocols, staff training, and the supply chain's willingness to adopt new standards.

In dialogue with Innovating.News, Matthew Foglietta thus addresses some of the most concrete issues of innovation in contemporary clothing: the integration between mechanics, physics e chemistry, the value of open innovation, the need to validate performance with rigorous testing, and the role of suppliers in transforming a good technical solution into a market standard. In the background, a vision of fashion emerges that is geared not only toward producing more sustainable garments, but also toward making them more durable, disassembled, reconfigurable, and capable of conveying information about their technical, functional, and narrative history.

At Lifestyle Innovation Day 2026, you spoke on the panel "Stories of Sustainability: Just Stories?" In the fashion industry, where does sustainability as a story end and sustainability as a verifiable industrial transformation begin?

“Sustainability begins when we eliminate substances defined as toxic from the process and the product.”

Framis Italia develops heat-sealed solutions, applications, tapes, films, and machinery for the apparel industry. Why are these components, often invisible to the end consumer, strategically important for garment innovation?

“They are strategic because they allow us to make garments more comfortable, with a clean design and above all personalized.”

You have a mechanical engineering background and a career path that spans 3D CAD design, quality, environmental certifications, technical training, product management, and business development. How does this cross-disciplinary experience influence your work as Innovation Director today?

"My experience is similar to that of many others who have taken on a challenge in a niche sector where they can bring something new. Innovation is tied to technological and meaningful aspects that can bring incremental or disruptive contributions. The most important thing is to empower people to experiment and, at the same time, to listen."

In your role, you coordinate areas involving product design, machine development, and chemical performance. How important is integrating mechanics, materials, and chemistry when you want to truly innovate in technical fashion and sportswear?

“The integration of mechanics, physics, and chemistry is what allows us to deliver functional, applicable, and sustainable solutions today.”

Fashion often talks about downstream sustainability, that is, in the finished product or in customer communication. How important is upstream innovation, in processes, treatments, adhesives, materials, and production technologies?

"Upstream innovation is essential to protect not only the environment but also the people who work in the supply chain. It's a commitment to others."

Framis has also worked on water-based solutions and DMF reduction, while maintaining performance and customization options. What are the biggest challenges when trying to replace a consolidated technology with a more sustainable one without sacrificing industrial quality?

“The difficulties lie above all in the process, which becomes much more delicate, requiring a higher degree of control and greater training of the production staff.”

In fashion and sportswear, performance isn't an abstract concept: it involves elasticity, recovery, waterproofness, resistance, comfort, lightness, and durability. How do you measure innovation when it has to work in the lab, in production, and in actual use?

"Innovation becomes a reality when we can validate the results obtained with rigorous and certified tests. In our laboratory, we can understand in advance which direction we're moving, and this is fundamental."

Many brands demand innovation, sustainability, and speed from their suppliers, but they aren't always ready to change processes and specifications. What does it take, from a supply chain perspective, to transform a good technical solution into a market-adoptable standard?

“We need to be able to offer a validation process managed in collaboration with all stakeholders in the supply chain.”

Industrial sustainability often requires collaboration with external partners, suppliers, customers, and centers of expertise. How important is open innovation in an industry like yours, where the final solution arises from the interaction between materials, machines, and applications?

"Open innovation and guided workshops are now an important tool for companies to break away from the daily grind and engage with others. It's a cultural process that often yields unexpected results."

Looking to the future, what will be the priorities for apparel innovation: eliminating critical substances, reducing process impact, improving garment durability, increasing customization, or increasingly integrating technology and design?

"I believe the key words in our industry today are reuse, secondhand, regeneration, and reworking. Garments must be able to be disassembled and reassembled, reconfigured and customized, and convey information about their technical and storytelling history."

“Lifestyle Innovation Day”: Innovation and lifestyle at the LAC in Lugano, Switzerland

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