Docksteps unveils the New Independent, the model evolution of the iconic shoe launched in 2014. With a revamped design and cutting-edge technology, the New Independent is designed to offer the ultimate in comfort and performance. The EVA sole provides extraordinary lightness making it perfect for everyday use, which, together with the strategic cuts on the sole, improve flexibility and cushioning, offering exceptional walking. But that’s not all: the pouch construction allows the shoe to perfectly adapt to the shape of the foot, ensuring a customized fit.
Four models are offered: the Slip On Easy Fit for a quick fit, the versatile Derby, the elegant and casual Moccasin with a soft and flexible upper, and the Mid, which combines stability and adjustable closure thanks to laces. Each model is enhanced by distinctive details, such as the fluorescent elastic pull on the heel, which facilitates the fit and adds a touch of style, and the removable leather insole, which provides breathability and freshness.
Since its debut, the New Independent has represented the brand’s core values: innovation, comfort, and uncompromising style. It will be available with the Spring-Summer 2025 collection, the year Docksteps celebrates its 45th anniversary.
A record 50th edition for SIMAC Tanning Tech, the leading international event dedicated to machinery and technology for the footwear, leather and tanning industries. From Sept. 17 to 19, more than 9,000 visitors were registered in the 15,000 square meters of exhibition space at Fiera Milano Rho, confirming how well the event has been able to turn the spotlight on the excellence of Made in Italy. Excellence also recognized internationally, as demonstrated by the 44% foreign attendance and 26% of exhibitors (out of 316) from outside Italy, from more than 20 countries.
Despite the show’s record numbers, the sector suffered an overall export contraction (-11.55%) in the first half of 2024. The data show in the tannery machinery sector a +6.77%, only apparently positive as it is to be attributed to foreign orders placed in 2023. Significantly, more than 75% of sales in the six-month period were concentrated in only 10 countries, which shows that, with a few exceptions, the tannery machinery sector is in trouble, just like the other sectors of the supply chain. Less in crisis is the spare parts sector, where there was a smaller decline in exports (- 5.52%) to all destinations.
“Despite the general contraction of exports in the first six months of the year, we remain confident about the future of our sector”, comments Assomac President Maria Vittoria Brustia. “The leather processing machinery sector has recorded some encouraging signs that show that the quality of our technologies is still recognized and appreciated in international markets. We look to 2025 with optimism, focusing on the ability of our companies to innovate and adapt to global challenges. However, it is essential that the Italian government actively support us in promoting and protecting Made in Italy, especially in an increasingly competitive international context. There is a need for additional support for the internationalization of our companies to ensure that our sector can continue to represent excellence in the world.”
Maria Vittoria Brustia, Presidente Assomac
This edition of SIMAC Tanning Tech was also an opportunity to recall the half-century history of the event, which has evolved from a national trade show to a global platform for the footwear and leather processing industry. The first edition was held in 1973 in Milan, marking a significant change: for the first time the machines and technologies of the industry became the absolute protagonists.
When is the next 51st edition of Simac Tanning Tech? September 23-25, 2025.
Finally some good news. The European Commission has proposed a one-year postponement of the Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The request, reads the official statement, is not intended to call into question the objectives of the EUDR, but to allow global operators to adhere to the regulation without operational problems. The Commission took note of the fact that the application of the regulation was practically unfeasible, mainly due to delays in the implementation of the European IT system needed to upload the due diligence required of companies, causing very serious problems for international trade in all sectors involved. The last word now rests with the European Parliament and the European Council, which will presumably accept the proposed postponement, moving the regulation’s entry into force to 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for SMEs. The difficulties of applying the EUDR in the tanning sector were discussed on 18 September at the last Lineapelle during a crowded conference. On that occasion, a study commissioned by UNIC and COTANCE to the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of the University of Pisa was presented, which proves with scientific evidence that leather has nothing to do with deforestation. Leather comes from cattle raised mainly for meat and milk and its production does not encourage cattle breeding. Now the sector has twelve more months to make its case.
Galli S.p.A., during the 50th edition of Simac Tanning Tech held in September 2024, wanted to meet not only customers but also its employees.
Carlo Galli, CEO of Galli S.p.A., explains why: “We want our team to grow cohesive and aware of the importance of these events, especially the many young people who have joined the company.”
She told about her arrival in Italy and how everyone made fun of her for her not particularly on-trend style. Always with her smile and spontaneity that make her a showbusiness star, but also a simple person who never backs down if there is a picture to be taken with fans.
So Michelle Hunziker attended MICAM as an ambassador of the Marco Tozzi brand, whose comfort and appeal of the collections she particularly praised. The German brand’s booth was filled with curious onlookers who wanted to meet one of the stars of “Striscia la Notizia,” just to mention one of its successful programs.
MARCO TOZZI Shoes GmbH & Co. KG is a company of the Wortmann Group, one of the largest footwear production and distribution companies and a market leader in Europe. The MARCO TOZZI brand is synonymous with fashionable women’s shoes with special attention to detail and excellent value for money.
The new campaign of the German brand consists of 12 shots and backstage videos, focuses on 5 models of footwear personally chosen by Michelle Hunziker for a total of 4 outfits, ranging from casual chic, matched with brown boots with a classic cut, to a more gritty style, which well interprets the amphibians proposed by the brand, from an office look, matched with loafers, to a more glam outfit enhanced by blue suede ankle boots.
The communication campaign, created exclusively for Italy and Switzerland, will support the point of sale and declined for communication via social (on Instagram the TV host and entertainer has more than 5.8 million followers).
“We are really pleased to have embarked on this collaboration with Michelle Hunziker, who shares and interprets in the best way the values of our brand: we are sure that Marco Tozzi’s notoriety is destined to grow in the near future,” said Fabio Lombardi, MARCO TOZZI Italy Sales Manager.
“Training is a fundamental element in supporting the growth of the District’s companies, even the smallest, which are the real backbone of the area’s economy. Investing in the growth of our talents, offering them the opportunity to express themselves, bringing together experience, know-how and innovation, is therefore not only an interest of all of us sportsystem entrepreneurs, but also a moral duty and a sign of gratitude to a territory that has allowed so many brands and companies to establish themselves worldwide. I therefore sincerely thank the more than 50 member companies of the Foundation, whose contributions support our activities, and I hope that more and more companies will join our work”, thus commented Gianni Frasson, President of the Sportsystem Foundation, during the inauguration of the new factory innovation school in Montebelluna.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the customary thanks were given: to the companies participating in the Foundation for their constant support, to Banca delle Terre Venete for their enthusiasm in contributing to the training activities for several years now, to Intesa Sanpaolo for providing the large spaces in a central and strategic location, as well as to the municipal administration for their cooperation and to the companies supplying the equipment RiVeMac and PrismaTech.
Molding, Edging and CAD are the 3 courses that started on September 14, dedicated to new graduates who wish to acquire the skills most in demand by district’s companies, or people already employed who aspire to grow professionally.
The Foundation is already working on new courses, starting in January, on the topics of design and sustainability.
The much hoped-for recovery predicted in the spring has not materialized, and the German footwear sector appears to be suffering from substantial stagnation in the first half of 2024, with many companies predicting a significant drop in production. According to Manfred Junkert, CEO of the Federal Association of the German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry, “For this reason, the industry also sees little sign of recovery in the second half of 2024. It can even be expected that, due to the many additional bureaucratic burdens, footwear will be significantly more expensive next year.”
In the first half of 2024, in fact, the German footwear industry had a turnover of about 1.15 billion euros. In the corresponding period of 2023, total footwear industry sales reached about 1.17 billion euros, a slight decline of 1.7 percent. In the first half of 2024, domestic sales generated 877 million euros.
In the same period last year, the amount was about 860 million euros, a nominal increase of 1.98 percent. From January to June 2024, foreign sales were 273 million euros. compared to 307 million euros in 2023, a decrease of more than 11 percent. Of this 273 million euros, 167 million euros were sales within the euro zone (2023: 191 million euros).
The footwear industry will therefore face significant challenges in the coming months, continuing along the path of investment in digitization and sustainability despite weak consumer motivation. In particular, the industry is waiting for the right impulses from the government, with laws that will unleash the strengths of the economy, stimulating it, particularly with regard to small and medium-sized enterprises, and finally-as often announced-reducing red tape instead of increasing it. The governments in Brussels and Berlin are also called upon more than ever to ensure a level playing field for competitiveness. This is especially true of the online sales platforms provided by Temu and Shein. They intrude from the outside into the market, most often in a duty-free manner, and do not have to fear monitoring of compliance with sustainability standards.
In the ever-changing landscape of fashion and design, REFERENC wants to challenge the constraints of time by offering the classics in a new and different way. REFERENC shoes are produced in Italy, in Tuscany, and in Portugal, in Porto, world-renowned regions for leather goods and luxury craftsmanship, with historical know-how and craftsmanship experience passed down from generation to generation. REFERENC works closely with family-owned factories to develop each style and ensure the highest quality production. From the last to the sole, every material is carefully sourced and processed in Europe, with a focus on longevity and sustainability.
The distinctive feature of this sneaker-boot is the Wrap Tech technology, perfect for providing extreme lightness without sacrificing the grip and protection features offered by Vibram soles. Thanks to the innovative design, the sole continues on the upper, limiting the production of waste and allowing greater protection at the sides of the shoe. The outsole then becomes the star of the shoe, both in terms of performance and functionality and as a design element that defines an unconventional style. The breathable hemp fiber upper meets Vibram’s best technologies in the outsole, which incorporates Vibram’s cutting-edge Litebase technology, designed to dramatically decrease tread weight by about 30 percent through a 50 percent reduction in rubber bottom, while maintaining the same tread block layout and shape. Together with the Vibram Megagrip compound, which offers unparalleled grip properties on dry, wet and uneven terrain.
The mission of the brand, which made its debut in 2009, is to offer an unprecedented luxury experience through the proposal of bags and accessories made of exquisitely crafted leather, according to artisanal techniques and in small production runs, with the possibility of customization. One example is the Iraca Palma ‘Elisa’ bag from the SS25 collection, presented at the last edition of Pitti Uomo in Florence, an expression of high craftsmanship and attention to every single detail.
Every Mel Boteri piece and all leathers and components are sourced from European suppliers based in Spain, Italy, Portugal and France, who apply high standards of quality control and fair labor practices, guaranteeing a product that is good for those who buy it and those who make it.
