italian footwear

Italy is the leading shoe manufacturing country in the European Union, it also holds fifth place amongst world-wide footwear manufacturing countries and is the third largest exporter of footwear in the world. This is an indication of the success of the Italian footwear sector which, with its 7,570 companies and 113,000 employees, is of considerable importance to the Italian economy and represents one of the leading sectors in the Italian Fashion industry. The success of the footwear sector in Italy is linked to Italian entrepreneurship and to the structure of the sector which consists of sub-suppliers of raw materials; tanneries; manufacturers of components, accessories and shoe making machinery; and model makers and designers. This has resulted in a geographic concentration of companies in the so-called footwear manufacturing districts. The main districts are in the Lombardy, Veneto, Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Campania and Puglia regions and cover 23 provinces. The leading position of the Italian shoe industry on the international market is due to the high quality of the product and the elevated capacity for innovation. The characteristics that distinguish Italian production in the footwear sector are: creative talent; innovation of traditional manufacturing methods; skilled labour, produced by professional training schools; raw materials; accessories and components that are in the forefront of the field for technology and design; flexibility resulting from the geographic concentration and size of the companies; a wide range of designs to suit current trends and satisfy customer demands; customer service and the "Made in Italy" image. The most important event for the footwear is Italian Micam, the main European trade fair for shoes and bags, held at the Milan Fair. Micam is great Italian’s most well international Fashion Footwear exhibition. Micam can always be relied on to launch or reinvent new Footwear Fashion trends. It presents a new season of Italian shoes fashion with themes and styles which the designers have skilfully translated into products that are elegant, casual, traditional or experimental, but always absolutely unique. It is this creative power, the quality of materials and a meticulous eye for detail that attract the attention of buyers from around the world. Elegance, trends, informality and experimentation: these are the main themes of Micam, the most important Italian event regarding shoes , the top international showcase for Footwear fashion trends, which has presented the collection for springs-summer 2005 in the halls of Fiera Milano from September 18 to 21. The figures regarding the autumn Micam were particularly exciting. There was an increase in the number of Footwear fashion exhibitors, confirming the importance of an event keenly awaited by the top Italian and international buyers. Micam’s organizers, also say they are expecting 34,000 visitors to attend at this year's event. The number of International Buyers increases each year confirming their confidence in the show, and forms part of the overall fashion week in Milan. The September Micam was full of interesting ancillary events. There were conferences and workshops devoted to Footwear exhibitors and to the Italian and international press. Monday 20 September at 12 p.m., in the Oceania Room, the Minister for lndustry, Antonio Marzano, gave a speech during a conference attended by the press and by ANCI's Executive Board. Again on Monday, at 3 p.m. there will be a Press conference for international journalists attending the show.