MIPEL: Italy's Leather Goods Industry Goes Digital

"MIPEL119 The Digital Show" (www.mipelthedigitalshow.com) will represent the digital version of what is normally a physical trade fair event, augmented by the many opportunities offered by digital technology: it will provide brands with the tools to display products and tell their story, as well as giving buyers visiting the event the chance to talk directly to exhibitors online, and allow them to discover the FW2021/2022 collections of the various brands through 360° virtual showrooms, video presentations and product photos.

The new MIPEL platform will therefore make it possible to immerse oneself in an all-digital world, bearing in mind the real needs of operators in the sector and providing them with the tools to satisfy them even without being physically present at the event: discovering new brands, contacting those already known, talking to and meeting exhibitors via instant connections and ZOOM videocalls, doing business and networking, discovering the latest in the sector. Buyers will be able to visit the fair, enter the stands of interest, talk to the staff, ask for information, view the collections remotely and hopefully place their orders, just like in a physical fair.

The exhibition, promoted by Assopellettieri – a trade association member of Confindustria Moda - was organised with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA – the Italian Trade Agency, and sponsored by the Municipality of Milan.

Inaugurating the on-line event will be the MIPEL Digital Days: two days - 23 and 24 March – rich in virtual content, talk shows, webinars and interviews with industry leaders, taste-makers, buyers and experts, curated by well-known journalist and writer Alan Friedman, in collaboration with Armando Branchini, former Vice President of Altagamma and undisputed expert in the fashion and luxury sector. The digital content for Mipel Digital Days is produced by Milan-based Synchronicity Media Srl in collaboration with Assopelletieri.

Among the topics to be discussed: the role and importance of Italian leather goods in the world, sustainability issues, the value of Made in Italy, market trends and prospects for the future, generational changeover and new ways of communicating, the need for companies in such a traditional sector to innovate, retail transformation and much more.

The official opening of MIPEL119 The Digital Show, is scheduled for 23 March at 10 a.m. (GMT+1) on the platform (www.mipelthedigitalshow.com) and live streaming on the MIPEL Facebook profile: a round table involving the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Manlio Di Stefano, the President of Agenzia ICE, Carlo Ferro and the President of Mipel and Assopellettieri Franco Gabbrielli, moderated by  Alan Friedman.