The Florentine trade show Pitti Uomo, a major global menswear event, enjoyed an auspicious opening on Tuesday, January 13. While a dense crowd bustled about in the aisles of the Fortezza da Basso amidst a fresh spring air, the show’s organizers appeared satisfied with the participation “of more than 1,200 exhibitors, including 700 Italians, offering collections with a very competitive quality-price ratio.”

The opening ceremony saw the unveiling of “an extraordinary project for the Made in Italy” promoted by the Italian government with an investment of 261 million euros thrown into the bargain to support the internationalization of Italian SMEs in 2015, while 36 million per year will be allocated to the textile and apparel industry in 2015, 2016 and 2017. “

An Italian government has never invested so much. Previously, 40 million on average was annually allocated to the promotion of exports and only 4.5 million in fashion. We have finally understood the need to invest in what works and not to invest in what doesn’t,” said Italian minister of economic development Carlo Calenda as he presented the plan, which is centered on two priorities.

First priority: support for the Italian fashion industry through the backing of its major trade shows – Milano Unica (textile), Pitti (menswear/childrenswear) FILO (yarns and fibers), Mipel and Linea Pelle (leather goods). “We will provide funding for specific projects for each of these events, as we did last year for Pitti Uomo. This year, 2 million will be allocated to the menswear show, but we also intend to lend our support to the childrenswear sector with Pitti Bimbo and other shows,” said the deputy minister.

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Source: FashionMag.com