Milano Unica renovates trends forecast service

By

Dominique Muret

Published
May 12, 2015

Milano Unica has some big plans. Following the announcement of a busy schedule, including an experimental new pre-collections trade show to be held from July 1-3 July in Milan, the first edition of Milano Unica in New York from July 20-22 at the Javits Convention Center, and the extension of its agreement with Messe Frankfurt in Shanghai, whose next show is scheduled from October 13-15, 2015, the leading Italian textile trade show has said that it is overhauling its trend forecasting service.

Following the departure of Angelo Uslenghi, who oversaw research into textile trends for 30 years, the Milan show began searching for candidates to renew its service. In the end, it selected Stefano Fadda for the task, appointing him creative director and head of Milano Unica’s trends committee.

Passionate about Asia and Russia, Fadda, who is from Milan, has a great deal of experience with brands. He has worked on the development of Prada in Asian markets, as well as for Giada, the luxury label owned by the Chinese company Redstone.

Milano Unica, meanwhile, has put together a team and a network of "sniffers", ready to detect trends around the world. The goal is to give the show a face-lift and to enhance its service in order to attract Italian weavers who have preferred its competitor, Première Vision.

With videos and special installations, an initial presentation for fall/winter 2016-17 trends, which weavers will use in producing their collections, gave a taste of what Milano Unica will present during its upcoming events.

"There will be a space dedicated to trends: 'Trend Area', but it will be moved to the center of the trade show and will be completely overhauled, featuring more stage designs. The idea is to rejuvenate somewhat the entire concept," said Fadda. 

For fall/winter 2016-17, four macro-themes are emerging, involving elements from nature, 3D technologies and cultural fusion: Arctic Tale, Folk Land, Graphic Wave and Play Room.