Intimo più mare n° 199 - Marzo 2015

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
selection of some 80 new brands each year. In keeping with this
same spirit, the trend Forum, created in collaboration with Trend
Union, will be featured with the same intensity of attention as the
various services and customized advice, intended to help the buyers
orient themselves in the rich array of products being exhibited
at the fair. An opportunity for relaxing calmly thinking things over is
represented by La Plage, an attractive, comfortable lounge space
featuring a selection of summer shops, artistic exhibits, temporary
restaurants, live music and wellness activities, serving also as a
connection between Mode City and Interfilière.
Also Interfilière Paris, the fair devoted to fabrics and accessories
for under- and beachwear, has announced a host of interesting
new developments for the July session. In the context of a brightly
colored edition, inspired by the Indian festival celebrating color,
the central theme will be the sportswear category, with a focus on
the fabrics and accessories devoted to sport and activewear in the
world of under- and beachwear. They will once again be offering
Moments of Passion, the forum designed to inspire and inform.
For this session it will be concentrating on activewear and sport
trends. The Innovation Forum, on the other hand, will be devoted
to the latest breakthroughs when it comes to high-tech fabrics and
accessories for high-performance underwear, in particular in the
athletic, medical and cosmo-textile sectors. The traditional General
Forum will be devoted to the lingerie and loungewear trends for
fall-winter 2016/17. Interfilière is continuing with its Star fiber initiative,
intended to inform buyers about the latest breakthroughs,
developments and innovations offered by the fiber manufacturers.
And once again visitors will be able to avail themselves of the handy
Evolution guide which, in commemoration of its 25 th anniversary,
will be featuring the opinions and comments of the designers and
partners regarding the fair’s celebration of color. And finally, by way
of celebrating it thirtieth anniversary, Interfilière has organized a
very special evening to be held in an as yet undisclosed, secret location.
All we can say about this spectacular location is that it offers
a breathtaking view of the Hôtel des Invalides, the Grand Palais, the
Eiffel Tower, The Pont Alexandre III and the River Seine.
IMMAGINE ITALIA & Co.
KICKED OFF UNDER THE SNOW
The Florentine fair make up for losses over the weekend, managing
to host over six thousand buyers
The opening day of the eighth session of Immagine Italia &Co., held
at the Fortezza da Basso facility in Florence, was sabotaged by the
far from favorable meteorological conditions.
But despite the rather slow beginning, the big Florentine fair, featuring
intimate apparel, hosiery and lingerie, more than compensated
for any lost time and opportunities in the following days, registering
over six thousand buyers, matching the attendance figures
for the previous edition. We would like to make special mention of
the contingents of buyers from nations outside of Europe, such as
China, Vietnam and Thailand. And although there were only a few,
the quality of buyers on the first day of the fair was extremely high.
This was confirmed by the exhibitors. By the second half of the
third day the thronged aisles more than confirmed the expectations
of the fair providers and exhibitors.
The overall attendance figures for the fair also included the top
buyers and VIP Italian stores selected and hosted by the Chamber
of Commerce of Pistoia which puts on the Immagine Italia &Co.
event.
Their participation was the result of an important strategy of providing
the fair with a more international scope carried out by various
chambers of commerce with the invaluable partnership of Pistoia
Promuove during the critical months leading up to the event itself.
The buyers in attendance represented chain operations, luxury
boutiques, distributors, importers and online shops from such
far-flung lands as Saudi Arabia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Egypt,
France, Germany, Greece, England, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania,
Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Russia, Spain, Turkey and
Ukraine.
“We are very pleased with the results achieved”, commented
proudly Stefano Morandi, president of the Pistoia Chamber of Commerce.
“In today’s climate, just being able to maintain the performance
of past years and sessions is a very encouraging sign. The
reason for this gratifying accomplishment is, first and foremost, to
be found with the attending manufacturers themselves, who once
again this year presented extremely high-level collection, in perfect
keeping with the undisputed quality of our time-honored made in
Italy legacy of fine craftsmanship and flair for design. I would like
to extend a special thanks to all those who have contributed and
supported this ambitions project”.
IMMAGINE ITALIA & CO. BY MARE D’AMARE
PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING
The team charged with preparing for the upcoming edition of Mare
d’Amare, slated to take place from 18 to 20 July at the Fortezza da
Basso facility in Florence, has already set forth the initiatives for
achieving the objectives of 2015.
“One of our first goals is to provide greater visibility for this fair”,
explained Alessandro Legnaioli, CEO of the Florentine trade show.
“We want to generate a buzz and get lots of people talking about
Immagine Italia by Mare d’Amare, not just the specialized publications
and websites. We have developed a concept that is preparatory
to the presentation of the collections by the exhibitors. We will
launch the first competitions for amateur and professional short
films. A sort of fashion trailer of, at most, five minutes intended to
encourage the use of video in the under- and beachwear sector.
There’s an idea being floated around regarding a deal with a national
TV channel for the presentation of the finalists. There will be
two categories (under- and beachwear) and four possible genres
(sexy, comic, animation and film noir). The only requirement will
be the obligation to utilize garments from the collections being presented
by the exhibitors at the fair. For the winners of the amateur
short films there will be holiday prizes. For the professional the
prizes will be financial, plus a contract to create short films at the
2016 edition of the fair”.
The fair organizers are planning on inviting some two hundred top
Italian boutiques and at least 50 foreign ones. “We will offer one
night for two people in a four-star hotel in the center of Florence to
anyone who prior to the event makes three appointments for meetings
at the fair”, continued Legnaioli, "and two nights for anyone
who makes at least five appointments in addition to participating in
our events. We want to invest in the exhibitors who work intensively
and well with the Italian stores and collaborate primarily with them.
We will try to motivate these companies to grant discounts in the
fair and we will offer them closed spaces in which they can process
their orders in complete privacy. The shop owners who participate
in this initiative will also receive vouchers for their shoppers which
will enable them to participate at the drawings for 30 weekends for
two people in Florence in 2016, guaranteeing front row seats to the
fashion shows at the fair. The organizers will hold an event outside
the fair on Saturday, trying to involve the Spanish manufacturers in
attendance, preparing paella and sangria. The goal is to motivate
the buyers to stick around until the fair closes. If the happy hour
begins at 5 in the afternoon, the buyers are more likely to remain on
hand and this way the exhibitors will also be happier and relaxed”.
As always there will be a big Sunday evening closing event, a special
affair held in an evocative historic location in Florence, including
further surprises that are currently being worked on.
SALON INTERNATIONAL DE LA LINGERIE
AN ANTICIPATED DROP
A drop in the number of visitors in attendance at the Parisian fair
devoted to the intimate apparel sector