Denim Première Vision Milan reaches 2,500 visitors

The first Milan edition of Denim Première Vision finished at Superstudio Più in Via Tortona on Wednesday, with the total number of visitors over the two-day event reaching 2,524, an increase from 1,400 at the Paris edition in May 2018, and from 2,342 at the London edition last December.

Denim Première Vision Milan welcomes 1,477 Italian visitors and 223 Turkish visitors

The event brought together 93 exhibitors including major players of the international denim scene such as Absolute Denim, Artistic Fabric and Garment Industries, and Calik Denim, as well as around 20 exhibitors from Italy. Among the latter group was Pg Denim, founded by Paolo Gnutti, whose clients include the likes of Chanel, Replay, Dondup, 7 For All Mankind, Louis Vuitton, Berto Industria Tessile, Manifattura 1887 and Cappio Tessuti.

The ever more sophisticated processes for producing luxurious and versatile garments from denim, all the while keeping sustainability in mind, was a key theme at this edition of Denim Première Vision.

“The exhibitors and visitors liked the Milanese edition. There were a lot of people on both days,” Guglielmo Olearo, international exhibitions director of Première Vision told FashionUnited.

Looking at the statistics, there were 1,477 visitors from Italy, 223 from Turkey, 130 from Spain and 110 from France. There were 91 visitors from Germany - the same number as those from the UK. About 50 visitors came from Switzerland and 30 from the Netherlands - a country also renowned for denim thanks to its activities in support of new talent and of the training provided by the House of Denim Foundation, whose registered office is located in Amsterdam. Lastly, the American visitors, 24 in total, were the same number as those from Portugal.

Overall, exhibitors came from Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, China, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritius.

The event was a great showcase for the attending Italian firms. “It is important to be at this show in Milan because all the offices of the top lines of the most famous brands are present in the Italian capital of fashion,” Paolo Gnutti, founder of Pg Denim, a 100 percent “made in Italy” project which is developing a completely Italian integrated supply chain, explained to FashionUnited. The company, which recorded sales of four million euros in 2018, expects to double its turnover in 2019. “Our first market is still Italy, with Germany in second, followed by France. We are also looking to grow in the USA, where we have seven to eight clients at the moment,” stressed Gnutti.

On the Denim Première Vision Milan stage, Gnutti presented a multiplicity of capsule collections with unique materials to show the ‘thousand faces of denim.’ “We are addressing the market segment in which production always needs to think outside the box,” he said. “Our approach often consists of challenges, suggestions, reflections by means of constant research which often leads us to plan capsule collections that are always innovative.” An example of this can be seen with the vinyl effect in strong colours for jackets and jeans, trousers extremely soft to the touch and denim with a ‘rock’ and rebellious look.

Whatever the final output, sustainability, whether because of the fabric used, the manufacturing process that leads to the finished product, or the recycling processes once the “first” life of the product is over, remains central to product strategy. In fact, the event provided a forum dedicated to ecologically responsible denim with a space developed with the help of designer Kristian Guerra in collaboration with the London-based creative studio Flmrs: the A20W21 Laboratory.

Inside this space, an “immersive inspiration” accompanied the visitors on an experimental and stimulating audio-visual voyage of new trends. The smart creative selection, on the other hand, put a focus on the eco-developments, and featured an eco-responsible wardrobe created by designer Kristian Guerra in artistic collaboration with a dozen fabric and accessory producers.

In addition, one contribution to sustainability, as mentioned, comes from the creative recycling and reuse of fabrics and vintage garments. This is the case with MyAr, a project created by Andrea Rosso, the creative director of Diesel licences and the son of Renzo Rosso, the president of holding company Otb. The brand, founded in 2015, produces collections consisting of items of military clothing which have been given new life. “Today, distribution consists of about thirty stores around the world including Tokyo, Los Angeles and Milan,” Rosso told FashionUnited. He continued: “We make about a thousand garments a season, recycling military uniforms from the 60s and 70s.” The prices of the garments range between 250 and 350 euros for a pair of jeans and up to 600 euros for a jacket.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited IT

Photos: FashionUnited