It’s already time to start thinking about F/W 2023/24

[On the cover: a picture from the MICAm of Oz campaign]

This February is the month in which fashion trade shows give us a foretaste of what we will be wearing during the 23/24 winter season. MICAM, on at the Fiera Milano from 19-22 February, will be presenting the collections of 988 brands, 451 of which are from abroad, but the event is also an opportunity to get up to speed with the hottest topics and latest issues facing the footwear industry, from the latest technology to digitalisation.

These subjects will be discussed in the MICAM X area in Pav. 1, which for this edition of the fair has been completely renovated while continuing to focus on four important themes: trends & materials, sustainability, art fashion heritage & future and the future of retail. Moderating the panel discussions will be Federico Brugnoli, CEO & Founder of SPIN 360.

Within the MICAM X space, the Trends & Materials area, set up in collaboration with Lineapelle, puts on display the materials and components featured in the footwear collections. The area was devised in conjunction with a new tool for buyers: the Trends Buyer Guide powered by Livetrend, a guide to trends and must-haves for the next FW season that helps buyers identify the season’s best-sellers and optimise their purchases.

As far as the retail of the future – which MICAM X sees as hybrid –  is concerned,  FUTURECLO will present the magic mirror, a technology which makes it possible to try on clothes and shoes virtually and in real-time;  DTECH LAB, BAMBUSER and an Offbeat virtual influencer will make it possible to simulate a live shopping experience, with a camera showing products created by the Emerging Designers that can be commented on live on the Bambuser platform; FOOTWEAROLOGY  will offer an AI-powered immersive experience revealing visuals of the shoe shop of the future. THE FOOTWEARIST will present an example of on-demand manufacturing thanks to two 3D printers for the creative/design part, offering visitors the possibility of seeing and touching the finished models. Lastly, ZAKEKE will provide a 3D Configurator, a tool that enhances the customer experience with virtual 3D models ready to be customised.

The issue of sustainability is tackled in the area dedicated to VCS Verified & Certified steps, the first certification mark for the footwear industry, granted to companies embarking on a process of assessment, measurement, and above all, improvement of their corporate sustainability performance in line with internationally recognised standards.

The Emerging Designer area is back, with the same 12 young talents that exhibited their products at the previous edition of Micam, and a space has once again been dedicated to Italian start-ups (Start Up area), featuring Appcycled, Leath3R, Lab-go and iHeel.

The Micam Tales Square will host the final chapter of the #micamtales communication campaign that, from 2020 to today, has brought the enchanted world of fairy-tales to the trade fair, starting with MICAM in Wonderland, followed by MICAM Glass Slipper and concluding with MICAM of Oz.  It was this fantastic journey into a magical world that inspired the book “Scarpe da Favola” (“Fairy-tale Shoes”), promoted by Assocalzaturifici and produced in collaboration with ITA and MAECI. 95 Italian footwear companies are featured in the book, which will take the form of a digital display that can be admired by visitors over the four-day event.