White Milano, the womenswear apparel and accessories show, closed its recent edition held from February 22-25, 2019 in Milan’s Zona Tortona Area registering good attendance and positive vibes.
It counted 25,256 visitors between buyers and insiders. Buyers grew 2.3%, with those from abroad reaching +6.8% , and the Italian ones registering +1.4%.
The show’s selection offered a balanced brand mix including some new areas, and the newborn Give A Fok-Us Hub dedicated to sustainable innovation.
International buyers crowded the show’s hall. Among them were Printemps and Spree from France; H.Lorenzo, Elisa B. and The Voyager, from the USA; The Outnet.com and Studio 120 from the UK; Canada’s Andrews; Doshaburi from Spain; Tsum from the former Soviet Union and Onward from Japan among many others.
Among its different initiatives, the show hosted a new project “Give A Fok-us_Focus on the Unfocused”, a sustainable hub created under the creative direction of Matteo Ward, co-founder of the eco-friendly brand WRÅD also awarded the Green Carpet Award of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.
The project explored the relationship between fashion and nature and between fashion and society through an emotional and interactive path format, in which the visitor was given a chance to gain a deeper insight into sustainability, innovation, traceability of the product and a circular economy. The path presented within the hub was based upon three interactive phases that ended up with a vast room and installation presenting some of most significant examples of Italian sustainable textile and fiber manufacturers. Among them were Candiani Denim, Reda, Pure Denim, Aquafil, Frunat, Vegea, Orange Fiber, Recycrom and Alisea-Perpetua.
“The fashion system is undergoing a revolution in which it is necessary to refocus our activity, so that it caters for the real needs of a worn-out planet, of an exploited society and of the individuals, said Ward. “We are more and more stuffed with things that do not mirror our real identity. Give A Fok-us proposes an emotional and rational path of exploration and rediscovery to call everyone to action and shine a spotlight on sustainable innovation, circular economy, traceability and block-chain technology, which ultimately guarantee worldwide relevance to both the Italian fashion system and the world of retail.”
Among novelties on show, in the Tortona 27-Superstudio Più area the Knit Lab section debuted. This space was dedicated to knitwear and its related creative variations. Among the most interesting participants there were the cutting-edge knitwear I-Am-Chen brand founded in Honk Kong by designer ZHI Chen in 2017 and a finalist at the International Woolmark Prize 2018/2019. Further enriching the area was the installation by Paris Essex, in which knitwear was turned into a raw material for leading-edge creations. In this same area there was Vestir x Susanna Bettencourt.
Among other interesting exhibitors there were Texas Robot–hybrid shoe models mixing Texas boots with sneaker elements, ethnic knitwear brand Oneonone, colorful eco-fur brand Unfleur and Lonparny, a highly decorated luxury streetwear denim brand.
“White Milano’s DNA expresses a vocation for experimentation, capable of anticipating and grasping the changes in the fashion system,” said Massimiliano Bizzi, founder of White Milano. “The dynamism of this show is the upshot of a successful combination of scouting activity, new exhibiting hubs and also of a project marked by a highly cultural profile, such as Give-A-Fok-us. This effort has been noticed and valued, the feedback by the buyers was very positive, they have indeed defined it a well-targeted trade show, which can be easily interpreted. Edition after edition, we represent approximately 550 businesses, which believe in the power of our projects.”
