Cautious optimism during Pitti
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The final figures show that 3,900 buyers attended the fair (compared to the 4,700 who came to the last winter edition in January 2008), with a decrease in foreign turnout, and a higher show on the part of Italian buyers – a total of 2,468. Buyers from abroad accounted for nearly 40% of the total, and some of the foreign markets increased in terms of buyer turnout: Switzerland (+ 12%), Holland (+ 2%), Russia (+ 17.4%), Slovenia (+ 33%) and Poland (+ 57%). As to the top 12 ranking countries, Germany is back in first place (with 298 buyer), followed by Great Britain (247), France (138), Japan (94), Spain (90), United States (61), Holland (60), Switzerland (53), Turkey (40), Sweden (33), Hong Kong (32) and Russia (27).
"During the fair we interviewed our buyers", says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, "many of whom are the directors of the style bureaus of important fashion companies and fashion labels. They all expressed satisfaction about the exhibitors' collections and about the investments they made in research, creativity and innovation; the buyers identified these factors as the best tools for getting through these difficult times in the global economy. Of course, we are quite aware that fewer buyers came from the markets where the crisis is more severe – and this because of a tendency to trim travel expenses, however, the exhibitors confirmed the quality of the contacts they made and of the orders they booked during the fair."
Pitti received positive feedback regarding the fair's new Spazio Ricerca – the title-theme for this edition was Urbanize-me Humanize-Me - curated by Angelo Figus and Nicola Miller with a new layout designed by architect Alessandro Moradei and input from Elementi Moda for the research on eco-compatible fibers. According to Raffaello Napoleone the Spazio Ricerca made the area more accessible and interactive, which will be further devolved in the near future.
Image: Pitti Immagine Filati