It is time for revenge fair: fairs to reopen physically (as well)

On 18 June 2021, the Milan Fashion Week for men’s collections kicked off: ideally, a restarting point to drive the events that spotlight the fashion system. Subsequently, Pitti Immagine and Milano Unica are due to take place, gearing up for September highlights and a series of fashion exhibitions in a row: Lineapelle, Micam, Mipel, and TheOne. A real revenge fair

According to Carlo Capasa, president of CNMI (Camera Nazionale Moda Italiana, the National Chamber of Italian Fashion), the Milan Fashion Week for women’s collections, on next September edition, could “be the real restarting point. Personally, I believe that 80% of the events on the agenda will take place physically”. He made this announcement while presenting men’s fashion shows, which took place, in a phygital format, on June 18-22, 2021. Such event has driven the beginning of Italy’s revenge fair, so to speak: the long-awaited restart of fairs and trade shows, which are undoubtedly a landmark for the whole fashion & luxury supply industry. From Pitti, scheduled at the end of June, until Lineapelle, scheduled in September, here is a short and annotated travel guide to outline the main exhibition events which are due to kick off shortly: they will be physical events again, but they will also actively rely on a few consolidated digital sharing platforms.

It is time for revenge fair

The Milan Fashion Week for men’s collections necessarily opted for a hybrid dimension, in scrupulous line with the vaccine campaign progress. In Italy, with a progressive decrease in the number of pandemic infection cases. Focus on summer 2022 collections. On the agenda: 48 dates, 9 scheduled presentations and 6 events, arranged by 63 brands, in total, attending the show. Four physical fashion shows are due to take place: Dolce & Gabbana (19th June), Etro (20th June), and Giorgio Armani (two events scheduled on 21st June). The motto is: “Fashion stands up again – emphasized Capasa –. We are facing an epochal turning point as fashion is changing. We need to invest a lot in sustainability, digital experience, and professional training: a universe of new jobs is ahead of us. This is an authentic revolution”.

Waiting for September

The Milan men’s fashion shows turn out to be an ideal starting point for revenge fair, which gives its paramount importance from Italy off to all over the world. Due to a law decree, issued by Italy’s government, fairs have opened again since June 15, therefore facing restart-related instability, in Milan and Florence, where Pitti Uomo is due to run from June 30th until July 2nd. A few days later (Tuesday 6th July and Wednesday 7th July), another exhibition event is on the agenda: Milano Unica. The Florence trade show has chosen Thebe Magugu (a South African fashion designer, LVMH Award winner) as special guest star for its 100th edition.

“Since the government decided to reopen fairs and meetings – commented Raffaello Napoleone, Pitti Chief Executive Officer –, we were running pretty close as to organization. We can see that one of the most topical issues we have to deal with is safety, despite vaccine campaign progress”. It cannot be helped, considering what we have been suffering for more than a year. Pitti is going to play a lead-the-way role, as further highlighted by a peculiar installation placed inside the pavilion. In other words, a multi-media sculpture that is going to present Mipel Lab, a project we are about to talk about in the next paragraphs, which is a link between Pitti and the following Milan exhibitions, scheduled in September, whose common motive lies in #strongertogether.

All in Milan

Mipel Lab is a new annual fair event which is going to physically debut in Milan, for the very first time. Starting from September 2021, simultaneously and in partnership with Lineapelle: in the same exhibiting spaces. Just a little step back: Mipel, together with Micam and TheOne, will let the exhibition dance begin at Fieramilano Rho on September 19-21. Then, immediately after in terms of time and space, Lineapelle, scheduled on September 22-24 (simultaneously, on the same dates, Simac Tanning Tech will also take place). All these fairs will be running beside the women’s collections presented on the catwalk during the Milan Fashion Week (September 21-27) and forerun by the Salone del Mobile (September 5-10).

The essential importance of Lineapelle

“For the time being, around 600 exhibitors, coming from 18 countries, have signed up for the fair – pointed out Fulvia Bacchi, Lineapelle Chief Executive Officer –. We consider it as an important sign, especially because lots of players keep telling us they missed Lineapelle. They did miss it because our fair is essentially important as a physical tool to develop research for materials subsequently addressed to the whole fashion, design, and automotive manufacturing industry. We have opted, like we did last September, for a rather simplified formula while setting up exhibiting stands together alongside specific solutions to ensure top safety standards.

Unavoidably, the bulk of foreign visitors, starting from the ones coming from Asia, will not be attending the fair. Nonetheless, we have been in close touch with them by implementing an ongoing number of online activities. Yet, this is the main challenge we are about to take on: to figure out what kind of exhibition we are going to present in the years to come. In fact, Lineapelle will have to be more than a fair and enhance its content supply accordingly.

Digital experience is complementary, but it will not replace the fair experience in the future”. Ultimately, a few words about Mipel Lab. In a nutshell, it is going to be a trade show with a special focus on leather sourcing. It will go hand in hand, in a sort of natural partnership and affinity, with Lineapelle. Such system project aims to promote the best quality and expertise of the Italian manufacturing industry and its districts.

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