MILAN — The planned new Italian textile show, regrouping the country’s main industry exhibitions under one roof and trumpeted with pride less than two months ago, is not going to take place in March as scheduled and may not happen at all.
In September, organizers of Ideacomo, Ideabiella, ModaIn, Shirt Avenue and PratoExpo said the move to join forces was seen as necessary to attract more visitors to Italy with one substantial fair and that it was also their answer to a specific request from buyers and visitors who were looking to cut costs and save travel time. In the long run, it appears that these demands, rather than reflecting a real desire to abandon the shows’ original dates and locations, are merely cornering show organizers. They still plan on a united fair, tentatively called Unica, that will take place from Sept. 14-17 next year and be held at Milan’s fairgrounds.
Beppe Pisani, president of Ideacomo, said in a phone interview the dates shifted because organizers wanted to be “reassured that they would be able to maintain their autonomy.” In September, Pisani said the show was to be viewed more as a “container” of the separate exhibitions, and that each one would maintain its identity. In the meantime, organizational and logistical glitches had surfaced and made it impossible to be ready in March.
“We did not feel we had enough time to be prepared in a way that is up to our standards,” said Pisani, dismissing the idea that the united fair will not happen.
“We meet every two weeks to talk about these issues and we are focused on going through with this,” said Pisani.
Arianna Leone, vice president of Gruppo Luigi Botto, is convinced a united trade fair gives the exhibitors more strength and shows the “Made in Italy” label at its best.
Not everyone agrees with the idea of the huge fair, however. Mario Boselli, president of Italy’s chamber of fashion, who also owns the mill Mario Boselli Jersey, said, “It doesn’t make sense to have a general, big fair with about 600 exhibitors where you regroup the medium and high-end range of the market. This show would not be qualified enough and I don’t believe in it.”
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Boselli insists that the Italian textile industry should not compete with Première Vision, but rather create an exclusive fair with 200 selected exhibitors that would complement the French show. The new show was scheduled for the first week of March, to be held just before Paris’ massive Première Vision fair.
Sources here attribute the delay in shaping Unica mainly to Prato Trade, the organizing body of PratoExpo. Back in September, Prato Trade was the only body that declined to take part in the upcoming March edition, opting for its traditional show in Florence.
“We share the belief that this type of united trade show is necessary, but first we need to discuss it within our organization,” said Vincenzo Pagano, director of Prato Trade.
Amid the controversies, organizers did finalize a show calendar for next season. Shirt Avenue kicks off Italian textile week on Feb. 27 with its three-day run in Cernobbio. ModaIn is set for Milan on March 1-3. Ideabiella is March 2-4 in Cernobbio and PratoExpo wraps it up on March 3-5 in Florence. Ideacomo opens its three-day show on March 22 in Cernobbio.
— Luisa Zargani, with contributions from Courtney Colavita