Milano Unica Combines the Force of Five Shows

Fifth Italian Textile Show Joins Lineup in Milan

MILAN—Milano Unica is hoping to be the source for high-end European fabrics, rivaling the longstanding Paris textile show Premiegrave;re Vision.

The textile show recently completed its Feb. 14-17 run, during which visitors had a chance to view more than 700 textile and trim collections.

The show was held at the new massive Fieramilano Rho-Pero fairgrounds on the outskirts of Milan. This is the second season for the newly formed umbrella trade show, which encompasses five existing Italian textile shows representing different markets and Italian textile-producing regions.

Last season, the show was held in the more central Fieramilano convention center, and organizers confirmed that the next show in September will return to the central location.

Visitors to this season’s show included fabric buyers from the large Italian design houses, as well as many large American brands such as J. Crew, Eileen Fisher and Tahari.

New this season was the participation of Prato Expo, a 27-year-old textile show founded by the Industrial Association of Prato, located in Tuscany’s Prato province. The 89 collections in Prato Expo come from the association’s 130 member companies that produce high-end fabrics for the men’s, women’s and children’s markets.

Milano Unica’s other shows included Moda In, the largest of the five, which represents a broader selection of men’s, women’s and children’s textiles, as well as technical fabrics and trims. Moda In featured more than 500 collections from companies from across Europe.

As the name suggests, Shirt Avenue’s 37 companies carried shirting fabrics for men’s and women’s apparel. Founded in 1999, most of Shirt Avenue’s companies are based in Italy. Ideacomo represented 52 collections from the nearby Lake Como region. Founded in 1975, Ideacomo’s mills produce high-end silks, fine cottons and wools, and novelty synthetic for the women’s apparel market. And the 28-year-old Ideabiella show featured high-end menswear fabrications including fine- and medium-weight wools, linens, cottons and silks. Ideabiella’s 76 collections hail from Italy’s Biella, Veneto, Lombardy and Tuscany regions, as well as a select few Europe countries.

Milano Unica organizers were pleased with the sophomore run, noting that 30,176 visitors attended the show, which featured Spring/Summer ’07 textile collections. The first edition’s attendance was 27,500.

Organizers were particularly pleased because Spring/Summer is typically a smaller season for many Italian textile producers. Attendees represented 6,568 companies, including 5,070 companies from outside of Italy, organizers said.

Show President Paolo Zegna stressed that organizers do not intend Milano Unica to grow to be larger than Premiegrave;re Vision, but the intent is for the Italian show to more fully represent the high end of the textile market.

“The goal is not to be bigger, it is to be the best,” he said.

Zegna, a former president of the Ideabiella show, said more American and Asian attendees came to the show in its second season, adding that he expects even greater attendance in the future. Working together

Prato President Riccardo Marini said the first day of the show was like the first day of school.

“This is 25 years [in the making] and it finally happened because it’s the only way to work,” he said. “There wasn’t another situation to maintain the leadership in textiles worldwide.”

Marini, whose company, Marini & Cecconi s.r.l., which represents the Ospiti del Mondo and Risposte de Moda collections, said that by joining forces, the five shows can stress the innovation and quality of European textiles.

“Basics are not for us anymore,” he said. “If price is the only issue, we are out of it. Customers are realizing that running behind price will only make the fashion very flat. For innovations and novelty, they come to us. Otherwise Wal-Mart and Donna Karan are more or less the same because they have the same source.”

Marini said the show dates were selected to allow buyers to visit both Milano Unica and Premiegrave;re Vision, which was scheduled for Feb. 21-24.

“A lot of important names are coming to this show. J. Crew, Tahari,” he said. “They try to spend two days here, then spend the weekend shopping in Milan or Paris, then spend two days at Premiegrave;re Vision.”

Many of the exhibitors said they hoped the joint trade show would help fuel demand for “Made in Italy” fabrics and products. Like many textile producers, Italian mills are finding increased competition from Chinese textile producers.

“For the American designers, if they want to sell a $3,500 suit, they have to justify that in terms of quality, and with ’Made in China,’ they have a problem,” said Beppe Pisani, president of Serikos Collezione & Tessili and Ideacomo.Crowded calendar

On the show floor, many of the exhibitors were discussing the crowded trade show calendar and whether scheduling Milano Unica so close to Premiegrave;re Vision would help or hurt attendance at either show.

Expectations were high at Bottonificio B.A.P., where representative Francesco Nembrini said the debut of Milano Unica in September drew a record number of buyers to his company’s booth at Moda In.

“Last edition, we had more visitors than PV [Premiegrave;re Vision] because all the shows were combined together,” he said. “We hope to see even more visitors this year.”

Seterie Argenti representative Michele Viganoacute;, who was also showing at Moda In, said he hoped Milano Unica would help ease the crush of traffic at his booth at Premiegrave;re Vision. Serterie Argenti’s business is 80 percent export, Viganoacute; noted.

“It would be really important to see customers in Milan, to spread them out between here and Paris. Normally, we see 700 customers in Paris,” he said, adding, “It’s difficult to show the line [fully at just one show].”

Teseo’s Adriano Clerici said he thought buyers would welcome the chance to visit two shows in one week in light of how the textile business has changed over the years.

“It’s not any more the ’80s, when we had time and the customer had time,” said Clerici, who was showing his collection at Shirt Avenue. “Now the customer can come once for a week and can do Milan and Premiegrave;re Vision and they can see a lot of exhibitors.”

But Guest S.p.A. General Manager Cristina Curti questioned the cost of exhibiting in both Milan and Paris.

“Two shows is too much. It’s too expensive,” she said, noting that she may have to decide between the proven success of Premiegrave;re Vision and Milano Unica’s Italian focus.

Milano Unica President Zegna hinted that one day the show may expand its offerings beyond Europe. “For the time being, it’s just European mills,” he said. “If you ask me in five years, my answer is, ’I don’t know.’”

Milan’s Maven

For many visitors to Milano Unica, the first stop at the show was the Trend Forum in the Moda In section of the show.

This season, the trends were divided into three groups, “Suaveness,” “Workmanship” and “Luminosity,” which included textiles and trims from all of the Moda In exhibitors.

The forecast was the work of textile consultant Angelo Uslenghi, who has been creating Moda In’s Trend Forum for more than 12 years.

“Our trend area is really a working area,” Uslenghi said, noting that every swatch and trim is already in production and available for buyers to order.

“It’s a service we want to pay to the visitor who comes to buy,” he added. “Buying is not an easy task with 400-something mills.”

For many years, Uslenghi was in sourcing at The Limited Group and has gathered trend forecasts for DuPont. These days, he travels extensively to give color and fabric trend presentations, including a presentation he gives on behalf of the Italian Trade Commission’s TexItalia show during Los Angeles International Fashion Week.

“My experience is quite international,” he said, adding that textile producers need to take an international outlook when they design their collections.

“[Today] a mill has to think internationally. It has to create an entire global view, and not be just purely Italian,” he said. “The future of this country in textiles and fashion is related to how much we become global and mix culturally.”

Italy to L.A.

Many of the exhibitors at the Feb. 14-17 run of Milano Unica in Milan are regular exhibitors at TexItalia, the Italian textile trade show held in Los Angeles during the biannual Los Angeles International Textile Show.

The upcoming April 24-27 run of TexItalia, which is sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission, is expected to feature Bottonificio B.A.P., Teseo s.r.l, Seterie Argenti and Tessitura Taiana Virgilio, among others.

For many of the Italian mills, the Los Angeles show provides a starting point for a West Coast trip that often includes stops in San Francisco and Seattle.

Seterie Argenti’s Michele Viganoacute; is planning such a trip.

“We do good business in Los Angeles with all the chain stores, Bebe, Guess, as well as some new young designers like Jasmine Shokrian,” he said.

Teseo’sAdriano Clerici said he typically works with such companies as Peter Cohen, Louis Verdad, Richard Tyler and Beverly Hills Shirts, along with many new companies and designers.

“Every time we go to L.A., in three days 80 percent of the customers we see are new,” Clerici said.

For Claudio Taiana, president of Tessitura Taiana Virgilio, the West Coast draw is from the swim market.

About 15 percent of the company’s business is in the United States, he said, and of that, about 30 percent is based on the West Coast.

However, the bulk of the U.S. demand for their swim textiles comes from West Coast companies.

In past seasons, Marco Ciucci has shown his Tessilgodi and Epica collections at TexItalia. Ciucci recently opened an office in New York to house its new joint venture, called TG USA Corp., to oversee the U.S. market. The company represents Tessilgodi and Epica, as well as Lanificio Caverna Gramigni, Tessile Fiorentina, the Pinori Group, Marco Lana and La Perla Bottonficio.

In April, Ciucci will expand TG USA to Los Angeles, which will serve as the base for the company’s West Coast business.

“We’re doing pretty good on the West Coast, with Eddie Bauer, Nordstrom, St. John,” he said. “[And] we do nice business in Los Angeles. It’s still very fashion-oriented, and they tend to buy the right quality at the right time.”