Arsutoria Studio
Arsutoria Studio

R4MILANOECOSYSTEM is born

R4MILANOECOSYSTEM, the new multi-stakeholder digital platform developed with the aim of communicating and promoting circularity and sustainability in the fashion and design sector to the entire Milan ecosystem, was presented last June at Green Media Lab, media relations and digital company certified B Corp since 2018. The platform is part of MUSA (Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action) – an Ecosystem of Innovation funded by the Ministry of University and Research within the PNRR – and is structured in three large macro-areas: Companies, Citizens and Knowledge.

During the event, the first four pilot projects were unveiled: ‘From Fashion to Design’, ‘Eco-plaspack’, ‘The Library of Objects’, and ‘Shoes keep walking’, developed with the collaboration of Milan’s universities and a number of local stakeholders.

In particular, in the ‘Companies’ macro-area, users can learn about pilot projects and their support guidelines, which are useful to be replicable in the future and to disseminate the knowledge developed. There is also a space dedicated to creating a network of contacts useful for the promotion of exchanges and projects and a database for the study of innovative, sustainable and circular materials and processes.

In the Knowledge macro-area, on the other hand, there is room for scientific articles and publications, recommended content to deepen knowledge, books dedicated to the topic and open, free online courses for learning about sustainability topics.

SESA Footwear: heritage inspiration

Located in the Marche region, between the Sibillini Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, SESA Footwear traces its roots back to 1976, when the Ramadori brothers set up their footwear factory for high quality shoes and fine materials. The brand was presented at Pitti Uomo in the Futuro Maschile section, where it proposed a collection for next summer inspired by the nature that surrounds us, but also with a ‘heritage’ character, which explores the original models from the archives, highlighting a strong knowledge of hand-stitched products built to last, faithful to the tradition of craftsmanship.


The sustainable hedonism of UMUS

Founded by Clothilde Gaumy, a designer with a consulting and start-up background and as an artist in the electronic music scene, UMUS not surprisingly embodies the values of electronic music in concept, design and craftsmanship, namely experimentation and movement, but with a view to sustainable hedonism. Indeed, UMUS is a brand that protects the environment by offering natural, plant-based products. No materials of animal origin and, where possible, no plastic, and not only in the product but in the entire production process. The name UMUS is inspired by the Latin word ‘humus’, meaning soil. Because the brand’s ultimate ambition is to offer completely natural products that can return to the earth to enrich it in perpetual motion. Furthermore, the brand chose to be transparent about its approach to production, its creative processes and its products, declaring where plastics and chemicals could not be eliminated.


TFL exhibiting at the ACLE 2024

TFL confirms its participation in ACLE 2024, the leather industry event scheduled to take place in Shanghai from 3 to 5 September. After the successful presence last year, TFL has decided to repeat “this exciting experience and to welcome its valuable customers with the latest leather collections & chemical innovations”.

Appreciated by many customers, “TFL will be presenting a special selection of premium leather articles – all made with great chemicals and excellent advice – in the colors forecasted for Autumn-Winter 2025/26 and dedicate a special room to its discovery. TFL will not only present garment, accessories, and shoe articles, but also integrate the fashion colors into leather car interiors”.

Alongside this collection of leather items, visitors will discover how TFL stands for high production standards, sustainability and best performance, achieved in compliance with environmental regulations. The TFL PURE TEC, a complete range of bio-based low impact chemicals for leather, and our extended range of low Bisphenol Syntans will be starring aside and inside the collection displayed at ACLE 2024.

TFL will be pleased to welcome operators at stand E2-E03 at ACLE 2024.

Pitti Uomo moves forward a week in June 2025

The decision to move the dates of the 2025 summer edition of Pitti Uomo was taken in agreement with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion – explained Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine – to keep the system of men’s fashion presentations coherent and compact, in the presence of a repositioning of the main fashion weeks, and to thus avoid possible diseconomies for buyers and non-European media.

Here, therefore, is the complete calendar of Pitti fashion events in 2025, in Florence, in the Fortezza da Basso:

Pitti Immagine Uomo n.107 will be held from 14 to 17 January 2025
Pitti Immagine Bimbo n.100 will be held from 22 to 24 January 2025
Pitti Immagine Filati n. 96 will be held from 28 to 30 January 2025

Pitti Immagine Uomo n.108 will be held from 17 to 20 June 2025
Pitti Immagine Bimbo n.101 will be held from 25 to 27 June 2025
Pitti Immagine Filati n. 97 will be held from 1 to 3 July 2025

GSC introduces live support for pigments

GSC Group announces that it has activated an important new service specifically for the pigments sector: “We’re excited to introduce an innovative level of support for our valued customers, enhancing our standard assistance and color matching services with live remote assistance”. 
 If you’re using our color matching or quality control software, they can guide you through the matching and quality control procedures step by step, even in urgent situations.
This is made possible by their Quick Support module, which can be downloaded directly from the website of the Italian leather chemicals company.
“Ensuring an operator is always available to assist with your requests, our live support service is complemented by: our WhatsApp Business service, direct phone line and centralized email inbox”.
 
All the services are available to customers in Italy and abroad during the following hours: 7:30 – 12:00 / 13:30 – 17:00 Rome: UTC+1.

Request GSC Quick Support

 

Dani signs the UN Global Compact Manifesto

The Veneto tanning group Dani announces that it has signed the Manifesto ‘Business for People and Society’, the text addressed to companies and drafted by the UN Global Compact Network Italy, the local network of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. By signing the Manifesto, Dani pledges to strengthen the role of the Social dimension in its business strategies to generate long-term value also in the supply chain and in the communities where it operates.
“We are truly proud to have joined the Manifesto promoted by the United Nations, a step that adds a further piece to the important commitments we have made in terms of social sustainability,” comments Giancarlo Dani, President and CEO of Dani. “Efficient people management is an essential factor for Dani that allows us not only to continue a journey towards sustainability that we have been undertaking for years, but also to guarantee our company practices that promote values and contribute to the continuous improvement of our business system”.
The UN Global Compact is a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General mandated to guide and support the global business community in promoting the goals and values of the United Nations through responsible business practices. With more than 20,000 companies and over 3,500 non-profit signatories based in 167 countries and 62 local networks, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. The UN Global Compact operates in Italy through the UN Global Compact Network Italia (UNGCN Italia), an organisation established as a Foundation in 2013 after ten years of activity as an informal group. The Italian Network works first and foremost to promote the UN Global Compact and its Ten Principles through institutional dialogue, knowledge production and the dissemination of good sustainability practices. It is also committed to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations for 2030. More than 600 Italian companies and non-profit organisations participate in the UN Global Compact.

Stahl launches new Stahl Ymagine® edge paint

Stahl, a leading provider of speciality coatings and treatments for flexible materials, has announced the latest addition to its edge paint portfolio: a high-performance, bio-based edge paint for luxury accessories.
This latest addition to Stahl’s edge paint portfolio has been developed with environmentally conscious consumers in mind, who increasingly seek more sustainable fashion choices. The Stahl Ymagine® range combines Stahl’s edge paint expertise with the latest innovations in renewable raw materials.
Stahl Ymagine® addresses the current lack of bio-based solutions in the edge paint category while continuing to meet the needs of technically demanding brands and manufacturers. It offers the same excellent performance as Stahl’s other premium edge paint products, including the following benefits:

– Excellent ageing and hydrolysis resistance
– High solids content, requiring fewer coats
– Suitable for leather and synthetics
– ZDHC and REACH compliant
– Over 2,000 colours developed and colour matching capabilities as per customer requests

Georges Fonseca (Global Business Manager Shoe Finish & Leather Care at Stahl) said: “Stahl Ymagine® is the result of years of intensive research and development, during which it showed exceptional performance under a wide range of conditions. And with its bio-based formulation, it demonstrates Stahl’s tangible progress on our ESG Roadmap to 2030. This high-quality edge paint product is a great source of pride for our team. It feels great and is kind to the planet, delivering on both facets of our purpose, ‘Touching lives, for a better world’ ‘’.
The range is part of the Stahl Ympact® family of renewable carbon solutions – a key part of Stahl’s efforts to de-fossilise the coatings value chain. All Stahl Ympact® products contain between 25% and 70% renewable carbon content, so customers can be confident that by choosing a Stahl Ympact® product they are reducing their dependence on fossil-based raw materials.

Mono: transcend the limits of time

The brand’s keywords are comfort, which, combined with refined design and the use of premium materials, results in footwear that is designed to last and go beyond the short-lived fashions of the moment. Each season, Mono’s designers challenge classic shapes and styles, aiming to inspire and satisfy the needs of outdoor enthusiasts and contribute to a more sustainable world. Mono shoes are made from the finest Italian leathers, sourced from certified tanneries, combined with rubber soles that offer superior traction on wet surfaces, while the Micro sole allows for maximum walking flexibility. It is no coincidence that, despite its short existence, Mono is already a success story, a brand that is loved and followed by planet-loving ‘urban nomads’ all over the world. Mono also partners with One Tree Planted to plant a tree for every item sold.


More foreign buyers but fewer Italians at Pitti Uomo no. 106

“The first figures on the final attendance indicate that after last June’s big increase of 20% over 2022, foreign buyers registered a slight increase to 5,300. The confirmation of international buyers – those who make the market and indicate the direction – are important indicators for exhibitors, they give confidence and perspective. The number of Italian turnouts, on the other hand, does not confirm the 2023 results, they are down by 7%, but I have to say that this was widely expected, considering the closure of so many shops in the last two or three years and the lacklustre trend in domestic consumption. The idea circulating among operators and commentators is that – counting on a relative easing of geopolitical tensions and stimuli to the economy by economic and monetary institutions – we will have to wait until 2025 for a decisive recovery”: the words of Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, give a clear picture of the latest edition of the Florentine exhibition dedicated to high-end fashion for men.

The figures recorded a total of 11,500 buyers, with the foreign share reaching 46 per cent. In total, visitors to the Fortezza exceeded 15,000.

Therefore, to be noted – alongside the confirmation of France, the United States and the UK -, the growth of Central-Northern Europe (Germany at +15% with about 680 buyers), very good performance of Holland, Austria, Belgium and the Baltic countries), the surprising increase of Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria), the consolidation of the Asian recovery (also for newcomers such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Mongolia) and the exploit of key markets such as Turkey and Kazakhstan.

The difficulties were mainly registered on the domestic market, with weak consumption dynamics. We all need to reflect and understand how to open a new phase of growth and confidence,” stressed Antonio De Matteis, president of Pitti Immagine: entrepreneurial and labour representatives, the Italian government, European institutions… The Pitti team is inexhaustible in research and scouting, providing services to operators, devising special events and communicating. But all of us, starting with myself, know how far we still have to go”.

An edition of Pitti Uomo that also featured a rich calendar of events, in the Fortezza and in the city, attended by over 1,000 journalists and media operators who came to Florence. Starting with Paul Smith’s special opening event, Guest Designer Marine Serre’s fashion show, Plan C’s debut menswear presentation and Pierre-Louis Mascia’s first ever fashion show. Internationality was also a distinctive feature of the many collaborations and special projects – from Scandinavian Manifesto to J Quality and the new China Wave – successfully presented by Pitti Immagine in the Fortezza.

Marine Serre