The 62nd edition of Pitti Filati (Florence, 30th January – 1st February 2008) closed by launching optimistic signals for the yarn industry.

“At the stands throughout the Fortezza da Basso, we have heard satisfied opinions”, says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, “the exhibitors told us that they made high-level contacts and the buyers admired the quality and work that went into the collections. Certainly, the yarn industry is going through a delicate phase: even here at the Fortezza this was confirmed by the selectivity that is characterizing the entire industry. Some of the firms are more structured and are doing more research in order to take a steady place in the higher end of the market; others, however, are less equipped and are encountering more problems in dealing with the competition from the Far East.

However, the quality and the research we showcased at the fair give us cause to look towards 2008 with optimism. The Spazio Ricerca A filo d’acqua – At the Water’s Edge – curated by Angelo Figus and Nicola Miller and the new Eco-Luxe area curated by Ornella Bignami enjoyed a great success with the visitors that including creatives and style bureaus from major brands and the most important names in fashion such as Armani, Balenciaga, Benetton, Calvin Klein, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Gucci, Prada, Valentino and Ralph Lauren, just to mention a few”.

The final attendance figures show a total of 4,783 buyers, a slight decrease with respect to the last winter edition (5,253 buyers came in January 2007), of which 1,865 from abroad (almost 40% of the total). Looking in more detail at the countries, the European markets remained essentially stable – with increases in the number of buyers from the United Kingdom and Belgium, excellent performances from Sweden and the Baltic countries, and almost double the number of buyers from Portugal - along with a predictable decrease on the part of the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Topping the list of foreign countries was the United Kingdom (367 vs 358 in January 2007), followed by Germany (365 vs. 419), France (174 vs. 174), Spain (121 vs. 137), the United States (116 vs. 152), Japan (107 vs. 146), Turkey (61 vs. 78), Hong Kong (60 vs. 98), Holland (59 vs. 68), Switzerland (47 vs. 55), Austria (35 vs. 34), Belgium (36 vs. 31), Sweden (33 vs. 28), China (26 vs. 26), Korea (23 vs. 54) and Russia (23 vs. 29).

We cannot conclude without remarking on the interest aroused by Eco-Luxe. The exhibition-event at Pitti Filati 62 turned the spotlights on biological yarns-textiles. This approach to production is involving the entire production chain more and more and has already launched a new concept in luxury onto the market.

At the Stazione Leopolda, Vintage Selection recorded a total of 11,000 visitors. Thanks to the concomitance with Pitti Filati, this event dedicated to vintage fashion enthusiasts has become a not-to-miss occasion for those who do research on fashions of the past. The big success of this edition of Vintage Selection was “Mao for sale”, the fair devoted to Mao memorabilia.