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Milano Unica about to start new, earlier session
Tuesday 11th July will mark a radical change for the Milano Unica textile trade show. On that date, the benchmark event for Italian fabric manufacturers will kick off its new edition at the Milan exhibition centre in Rho, on the city's outskirts. It will end on 13th July, two months before its traditional September session for the autumn/winter collections, much earlier in the season and well ahead of other textile shows.
"The gauntlet thrown down by Milano Unica with the earlier date was taken up by the industry," wrote the show's President, Ercole Botto Poala, in a press release. The decision was backed by the Italian Fashion Chamber (CNMI) and by the Italian fashion industry's confederation, SMI.
The organisers chose to go for an earlier date to "address the market's new needs, and respond to the constant change taking place in the fashion world," though this put a good deal of pressure on textile manufacturers, who need to have their new collections ready by July, and not September as before.
The industry has responded favourably though, judging by the number of exhibitors registered for the show's 25th edition. Their total has in fact grown by 20%, with 77 new entries added to the 382 exhibitors in September 2016, for a total of 459.
"In addition to new exhibitors, there will also be 5 textile designers," noted the organisers, who also highlighted the 29% rise in exhibitors in the womenswear sector, while those for accessories grew by 19%.
Not to mention, as in previous editions, the presence of some sixty Japanese and South Korean companies in their dedicated sections of the event.
In order to better promote the expertise of Italian textile manufacturers around the world, Milano Unica has also appointed Maurizio Ribotti, a journalist and consultant, as head of "marketing and strategic communications."
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