Braccialini's 20/21 Autumn/Winter Collection

The 117th MIPEL international bag trade fair was held in Milan, Italy for four days from February 16th. The fair, which featured approximately 300 bag manufacturers, mainly Italian leather brands, saw a decrease in visitors from Far East Asia due to the suspension of flights from China to the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, visitors from Russia and Ukraine increased, resulting in an 11% increase in total visitors to MIPEL compared to the February exhibition last year.

Loh Fiera, the venue where MIPEL and MICAM were held
The international shoe trade fair MICAM was also held at the same time as the exhibition at Loh Fiera, and one buyer who visited on the first day said, "I had more time than usual to look at the products at the booths and was able to have business negotiations in a relaxed atmosphere" (a buyer from a Japanese select shop).

The Milan Fashion Week satellite, Fashion Hub, set up a support space for Chinese designers unable to travel to Italy.

MIPEL and MICAM, held just before the COVID-19 pandemic, sent a message of support for China.

The 2020/21 Autumn/Winter Milan Fashion Week, which began on the third day of MIPEL, held a "CHAINA WE ARE WITH Under the slogan "YOU," the association launched a series of support measures, including exhibiting works by designers whose shows were scheduled but couldn't be held at the Permanente Museum, where the association's headquarters are located, and streaming all official runways. However, the spread of COVID-19 in Lombardy toward the end of the week led to a dramatic change in the situation, with Giorgio Armani holding an audience-free show on the 23rd and Atsuki Nakashima, who participated from Japan, canceling all scheduled shows on the final day.

MIPEL, held about a week before the sudden spread of infection in northern Italy, took precautions by distributing disinfectant gel and wipes at the venue entrance, but the four-day event was completed as scheduled, with a party event held at the venue in the evening.

The theme for this year's exhibition was "sustainability," as in the February and September 2019 exhibitions, and 1,500 pots of ivy were planted throughout the venue.

Dani D'Alessandro, General Manager of Italian Leather Goods Manufacturers Association and CEO & General Manager of MIPEL
"This time, we examined sustainability from three perspectives: industrial, environmental, and social. Sustainability from a social perspective is particularly important as it conveys the attitude and background of the Italian leather bag industry," says Dani D'Alessandro, General Manager of Italian Leather Goods Manufacturers Association and CEO & General Manager of MIPEL. The association introduced the relationship between the leather industry and sustainability in workshops held at the venue, highlighting how the vocational training facility (San Patrignano) in Rimini, on the Adriatic coast of Emilio-Romagna, has been training leather artisans since 1978 to help drug addicts and others reintegrate into society, and how the institution boasts a high employment rate of over 90% for graduates of leather-related schools, thereby contributing to global social issues. Italy's pride and joy in sustainable product initiatives, such as vegetable tanning, eco-friendly products, and recycling, were showcased in the SCENARIO zone in the center of the venue, where small-scale brands from both Italy and abroad offering innovative and contemporary products were gathered.

ALKeMe ATeLirR
ALKeMe ATeLirR, a New York-based brand that was founded 15 years ago, creates products using eco-leather other than animal skin, such as bags made from pineapple leaves produced in Spain, Italian wine grapes, Mexican cactus, and recycled plastic. Portugal's autelusa produces cork bags, while Taiwan's STUDIO SMOLL uses the concept of recycling by laser-cutting Tuscan vegetable-tanned leather and assembling the parts with screw trenches.

SPAZIOIF

The idea of Japanese origami has also been picked up as an overall trend for bags for SS21, and the new collection from SPAZIOIF, which has an atelier in Palermo, Sicily, has also had a minimalist "origami" technique as its theme.

EREMO
Braccialini, a long-established bag manufacturer in Florence

WABI exhibited at the Japan booth
KIYOKAWA exhibited at the Japan booth
Six companies from the Japan Leather Industry Association exhibited from Japan. KIYOKAWA, where Kiyokawa Shoten creates formal bags using artisan-polished clasps and a single piece of leather, CALDO TOKYO JAPAN, which applies Yuzen dyeing to leather, Kinuya Indigo, which dyes bags with natural indigo dyes by Kinuya, Saveur, an atelier-made brand from Hokkaido, Art Fear, a Toyooka bag maker that has won Germany's iF Design Award, and WABI WORLD, which mixes vintage kimono fabric with leather, each exhibited items that made the most of their unique features. In particular, WABI's lantern-shaped bag and Art Fear's backpack were also exhibited in the trend area and attracted a lot of attention.

Toyooka Bag Booth
Furthermore, 11 bag manufacturers based in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, jointly exhibited at MIPEL for the first time, following their previous exhibit in Hong Kong last year. Toyooka's high-quality products, such as Santa Croce's water-repellent leather and collaborations with Ibara Denim and Sabae Megane, were well-received by buyers. While the company also received high praise from its Italian competitors, both companies share the same underlying philosophy: factory brands are rushing to rebrand themselves amid the difficulties facing OEMs. The Japan-EU EPA came into effect last January, and while there are plans to eliminate tariffs over the next 10 to 14 years, the reality is that price remains a significant barrier.

"The impact of COVID-19 on the Italian leather industry may be a turning point that will lead to further change. It is true that the industry is facing difficult times, but every four or five years, the industry has overcome major obstacles, such as the 2011 economic crisis and terrorist attacks, and grown stronger. At the next MIPEL, the 118th edition in September, we will bring about a major revolution, including the design of our exhibition booths," Alessandro is confident.



Text by Tatsuya Noda