The 36th Milano Unica, the world's leading trade fair for textiles, was held in Milan, Italy, from January 31 to February 2. According to the organizers, the number of exhibitors for this season, which showcased the Spring/Summer 2023 collections, totaled 475 companies. The number of visitors during the three days of the exhibition was 5,304, a 47.5% increase over the 34th edition held in February of the previous year due to a sharp increase in visitors from outside Italy, indicating that the European fashion industry is rapidly recovering after the new Corona disaster.
JETRO set up a Japan booth "The Japan Observatory" (JOB) jointly with the Japan Fashion Week Organization (JFW), and this was the third real exhibition since the new Corona disaster. Twenty-six companies and organizations exhibited at the booth. In addition, "JOB Plus," an exhibit area for sample materials for five small- and medium-sized companies unable to travel to Japan, was also set up as in the previous show (July 2022).
This season's exhibits were to be sustainable, high-quality products with social and environmental ethics and so-called traceability (traceability from raw material procurement to production and sales), and Milano Unica Chairman Alejandro Barberis Canonico emphasized this point at the opening ceremony this time. Milano Unica Chairman Alejandro Barberis Canonico emphasized this point at the opening ceremony.
JOB exhibitors also touted sustainable fabrics such as recycled denim and organic cotton, as well as their ability to handle small lots with short delivery times, selling their agility more than ever before. The number of business negotiations at JOB during the three days of the exhibition (preliminary figures) totaled 1,306, with exhibitors expressing hopes for expanded sales channels in the booming market, as well as positive attitudes such as "We will strive to develop new products that are not bound by conventional wisdom and aim to cultivate new buyers.