The 36th edition of Milano Unica, opening today at Fiera Milano Rho (January 31 – February 2) showcases the most innovative proposals for the Spring/ Summer 2024 season, produced by the best Italian textile and accessory companies and a qualitative selection of the most highly rated European companies, presenting an increasingly enriched offering for both womenswear and menswear.
The exhibitors, prominent representatives of excellence, gathered in the dynamic and varied context of the trade show and distributed in four halls, are ready to welcome an important number of international customers, which has been growing steadily since the last edition.
Milano Unica, with 394 exhibitors, 328 Italian and 66 European, is once again the ideal hotspot to offer, view, touch and feel the best products available on the global market of high-end textiles and accessories, ready to be transformed into creations of the great maisons of fashion, style and trend for men and women. The trade show also presents numerous special and research areas that contribute to raising the total number of exhibitors at the 36th edition of Milano Unica to 475.
The Japan Observatory and Korea Observatory, the Innovation Area, the MU Info & Style and the MU Designers areas are confirmed. The Woolmark Company, Filo sustainability and Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp, tightly bonded to Milano Unica, will present their proposals of ultra-high quality sustainable materials.
Startup Textile Connection provides further research and insights by giving visibility to eight startups covering the areas of circular economy, traceability, quality control, waste management and digital solutions.
The Certification Institutes have also confirmed their participation. Sistema Moda Italia is ready to provide its support to industry operators with initiatives aimed at protecting, promoting and fostering international relations.
The trade show also includes areas dedicated to the education of the new generations: Spazio C.L.A.S.S., for young designers who need to learn more about the most innovative and responsible materials, and ITS TAM Biella, with the new MODULAR sustainability project, presented by students from the Biella and Verona campuses.
Last but not least, MU Trade Press, with desks dedicated to international trade publications, and the return of the MU Vintage area, with a sophisticated selection of items and accessories from the archives. This area provides an important research tool for design offices, but also reflects a commitment to sustainability by giving new life to the most fascinating pieces in the history of fashion.
Finally, Banca Sella and Lauretana have also confirmed their valuable support as Milano Unica’s partners.
The MU Tendenze & Sustainability area, resulting from Milano Unica’s long-lasting commitment to Sustainable Creativity, conveys a message of positivity through the MUSuperpower theme.
The trends for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2024 season celebrate the power of responsible creativity as a propitiatory ritual, one of Milano Unica’s core values. This value is shared by the entrepreneurs, who have shown an increasing propensity to offer certified products that respect the environment and its inhabitants.
This edition will again feature a focus dedicated to womenswear, expressed through three sub-themes. New concepts of lightness in the finest materials express a sophisticated world of transparencies and hyper-feminine finishes, such as organza and macramé. Accessories emphasize lace, mother-of-pearl buttons, oversize zippers with a brushed metal finish, and tulle ruffled trims.
Colors range from delicate pastels to shades, from Vichy and stripes to bright, shimmering tones.
The Opening Ceremony celebrated the value of increased responsibility by addressing the topic of traceability and blockchain along the supply chain, from the raw material to the finished product. A panel of speakers provided an in-depth and detailed analysis of the industry’s perspectives, including the consumer and brand viewpoints, with insights for the textile sector and theoretical elements that can provide new competitive advantages.
After the institutional greetings from Luca Palermo, CEO of Fiera Milano; Carlo Capasa, President of the Italian National Chamber of Fashion; Ercole Botto Poala, President of Confindustria Moda, and Maurizio Forte, Director of the Italian Trade Agency ICE Office of Made in Italy Coordination and Promotion, the Opening Ceremony opened and closed with the vision presented by Marco Montemagno, the well-known and histrionic digital anchorman and entrepreneur.
Montemagno reflected on how social media platforms can affect quality and the elements consumers care about most, and also addressed issues and projections regarding the main trends in the area of traceability, which are expected to become universal in the next two years. “What are the future trends of Made in Italy production?
There are two about to explode in the upcoming months: Artificial Intelligence and material traceability through the blockchain. A.I. will also become key in the luxury segment: from idea generation to design; from production processes to product and service customization. The Blockchain technology will ensure a product’s origin, authenticity and quality in a transparent manner,” said Marco Montemagno.
In the introduction, Alessandro Barberis Canonico, President of Milano Unica, conveyed a motivational message by expanding on the economic data published by the Confindustria Moda Research Center. The data confirms that Made-in-Italy textiles have recovered, with record figures exceeding all sales and export results recorded in the four years prior to the pandemic, closing 2022 with total sales of Euro 8.1 billion, up 32.4% on a year-on-year basis.
The President also explained the decision to discuss such a critical topic for the industry, which will have to face the new challenges posed by traceability, understood as transparency, authenticity, reliability and immutability, while continuing to uphold the values of social and environmental ethics and Made-in-Italy excellence.
“Definitely, traceability, enhanced by technical supports and IT, can transfer along the entire supply chain – from raw material to finished product – the concepts related to social and environmental sustainability and, above all, the quality contents related to raw materials and processes along the entire production chain. Traceability/ blockchain: will this be a future game changer for the textile-apparel industry?” The President of Milano Unica left the audience with this question.
After the opening speech by the President of Milano Unica, Emanuele Farneti, Editor in Chief of D La Repubblica, took the floor as moderator and introduced Maria Teresa Pisani, Acting Head, Sustainable Trade and Outreach Unit, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, who provided her insights on the connection between market and regulation. These aspects call for a cultural transformation and a new way of doing business, based on partnership and collaboration.
Paola Bertola, Full Professor at the Milan Polytechnic, analyzed the topic from a human and existential perspective, contextualizing it in the sociocultural landscape, as a starting point and driver for social innovation.
Gabriele Maggio, CEO of Stella McCartney, brought the listeners’ attention to traceability as an advantage for brands, addressing the topic from the perspective of consumers and communication.
Sergio Tamborini, President of Sistema Moda Italia, spoke about the need to implement traceability along the entire value chain and explained the Trick project, funded by the European Commission, to combat green washing in defense of Madein-Italy products.
“The new edition of Milano Unica coincides with a year of great expectations for textile and apparel companies. The challenges – although in a climate of recovery compared to the period of the pandemic – are linked to the issues of soaring energy prices, raw material trends and geopolitical tensions, on one hand, and, on the other, to the need to make the fashion system competitive in Europe, capable of interpreting the new market demands in terms of transparency, traceability and sustainability.
These moments are of the essence because of the opportunity to listen to the interpreters of change, namely the manufacturers, who represent the engine of Italian fashion,” commented Sergio Tamborini, President of Sistema Moda Italia.
Speaking at the beginning of the ceremony, Maurizio Forte, Director of the Italian Trade Agency ICE Office of Made in Italy Coordination and Promotion, sent a message that testified to the historic and consolidated alliance with Milano Unica: “The support of Maeci and of the Italian Trade Agency ICE to Milano Unica has been pursuing several strategic objectives.
First, the consolidation of the relationship between domestic exhibitors and qualified importers, distributors and journalists invited from the most promising markets for the success of Made-in-Italy products. Secondly, the ongoing promotion and reinforcement of the global leadership of Milano Unica. Last but not least, and in consideration of the current international context, the promotion of Milano Unica as an opportunity for the repositioning of Italian companies within global production chains. These are the reasons behind the strong and long-lasting collaboration between the Italian Trade Agency ICE and Milano Unica, which have also jointly carried out intense communication activities in foreign markets to consolidate the uniqueness and primacy of Italy in the manufacturing of high-end textiles and accessories.”
“In a time of profound change that is now showing a possible return to a situation of renewed stimuli and new paradigms, I can only be proud and thrilled in witnessing the dynamism conveyed by this edition. It is therefore my duty to thank all the people who have contributed to making this happen. My deep and special gratitude goes to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency ICE, who have been supporting Milano Unica since the first edition, seamlessly joining us in the ongoing effort to improve our activities,” concluded Massimo Mosiello, General Manager of Milano Unica.
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