Creativity fuels the fashion supply chain

International Lab of Mittelmoda – The Fashion Award’s catwalk, hosted again this year at Micam thanks to the continuing support of Confindustria Moda, saw 28 collections on the runway, competing for the eleven prizes up for grabs. The work of the young finalists, coming from 21 of the most important Fashion Schools and Academies around the world, were selected out of 608 students by a jury led by Matteo Marzotto, President of International Lab of Mittelmoda.

The Lab is quite unique, as Marzotto specifies: “it is a non-profit and, for this reason, it is able to support creativity, craftsmanship, and the market orientation of new products for the entire supply chain: from materials and fabrics, from clothes to knitwear, from accessories to jewellery, it offers a meeting point and a comparison space for companies in the fashion system. We want to bring new life into the system. Being at Micam is the right choice: it is an in-person trade fair with 700 exhibitors, an attraction pole for international retail”. Micam also shows how creativity did not stop during the pandemic: even when happening remotely and despite a skipped edition of the award, the selection of student projects never stopped. “It is important to make young people understand”, continues Marzotto, “that the fashion system does not need only designers, but also people who work behind the scenes. As such, there are many possibilities for young people to enter this world, and so Mittelmoda becomes an instrument at the service of this eco system”.

In addition to the two ‘Absolute’ awards and the sector-specific awards (for bags, shoes, accessories, leather goods, knitwear, and eyewear), including one provided by Assocalzaturifici and won by Angelo Masciello of the Academy of Costume and Fashion of Rome, and to the two ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Seasonsless Collection’ awards, this year the competition also offered for the first time the “Pattern Maker Award” sponsored by Lectra for the creation of the best outerwear and an unprecedented “Special Award” for the best digital content manager, for the marketer who has created the most creative editorial plan. The “Leather Award” is another novelty this year. It bears witness to how the Mittelmoda Award covers a wide range of professionals in the fashion system.