Milano Unica's 23rd edition to be marked by change

This season marks a revolution at Milano Unica. The 23rd edition of the Italian textile trade show, dedicated to fabric and accessories collections for Autumn/Winter 2017-18, will start on Tuesday 6th September and run until Thursday 8th September. It will be the show's inaugural edition at the new Milanese exhibition centre in Rho, on the city's outskirts, with an entirely new floor plan.

Another novelty is that for the first time Milano Unica will be held together with 'Origin, Passion and Beliefs', a show dedicated to suppliers and manufacturers of high-end semi-finished goods, as well as to small independent artisanal brands. It is organised by Fiera di Vicenza, the trade fair organiser which already held it twice in Vicenza, northern Italy, and will make its debut in Milan with Milano Unica.

For its 23rd edition, Milano Unica has announced the presence of 382 exhibitors, 79 of them from outside Italy, compared to 404 last year, of which 71 were foreign.

In addition, 39 Japanese companies will be included in the 'Japan Observatory' area, dedicated to Japanese manufacturing excellence, while 21 exhibitors will feature in the observatory on South Korea. Thanks to these two dedicated sections, the show’s total exhibitor numbers will rise to 442,139 of which from outside Italy.

A new area called 'Forum Tendenze' (trend forum) will notably host 14 French manufacturers. It is organised by Lyon's Espace Textile, a service company which has worked for a long time with French companies exhibiting at Milano Unica (Albert Guegain Broderies, Dentelle Sophie Hallette SAS, Goutarel, Dutel Creation, Deveaux, Henitex International, Malhia Kent, Philea, Sprintex, Tissage des Chaumes since 1908, Trouillet, Velcorex since 1828, Satab and Seram).

This edition will mark a turning point in the history of Milano Unica, and the organisers will stage a surprise party/event called 'On Air', celebrating once again the wealth of expertise of Italian textile manufacturing.

Also not to be missed is the 'On Board' exhibition produced by Simone Marchetti, a journalist at daily paper La Repubblica, matching trend boards by Italian designers with the collections they have inspired.

Another interesting initiative to watch out for is the 23rd 'International Lab' by Mittelmoda, the young design talent observatory, with a show featuring emerging talents from leading fashion academies from 55 countries.

Milano Unica will also host 'The Fabric Program' project, in collaboration with the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), which allows US designers to work in Italian fabric production workshops, in order to gain an awareness of 'made in Italy' know-how.

It will showcase the summer 2017 collections by accessories designer Gigi Burris, womenswear designer Ryan Roche and menswear brand Orley.

Milano Unica's 23rd edition to be marked by change

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