Textiles Trade Fair: Milano Unica Celebrates 40th Edition with Record Exhibitor Numbers and Industry Innovation

Milano Unica, Italy's premier trade show for high-end textiles and accessories, marks its 40th edition at Fiera Milano Rho, unveiling the Spring/Summer 2026 collections in halls 13-15 and 22-24.

Photo: Milano Unica

Running from February 4 to 6, 2025, this edition has set a record with 723 exhibitors—the highest in the event’s 20-year history, according to organisers. The exhibitor lineup includes 556 participants (+9.5% from January 2024) across the Ideabiella, Moda In, and Shirt Avenue showcases; 150 exhibitors in Special Areas and the Korea and Japan Observatories; and 17 publishing houses. All Italian textile districts are represented in the fair.

Photo: Milano Unica

The increase in exhibitors has led to a 12% expansion in exhibition space compared to the previous January edition.

These figures reaffirm Milano Unica’s role as a key global platform for high-end textile and accessory manufacturers, helping them navigate an industry shaped by both opportunities and challenges for Made in Italy products.

Photo: Milano Unica

According to Confindustria Research Center, sales of Made-in-Italy textiles declined in 2024, with domestic sales down 5.2% and exports dropping 8.5%, though some markets showed resilience. Exports to China, including Hong Kong, which account for over 10% of the total, grew by 4.8%, while Vietnam and Sri Lanka also saw increases, collectively making up 5% of exports. Despite a slight 1.3% dip in export volumes in the first nine months of 2024, total textile exports remained largely in line with 2023 levels, though at lower prices and margins—a sign of potential recovery in 2025.  

Simone Canclini, President of Milano Unica

Milano Unica President Simone Canclini says, "Reaching this milestone 40th edition with a record number of exhibitors should inspire us to further strengthen Milano Unica’s international leadership," says Canclini. "In a climate of economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, the industry needs a robust and strategic platform to support the global expansion of Made-in-Italy and Made-in-Europe textiles and accessories."

He adds, "Thanks to the creativity, innovation, and commitment to sustainability of professionals across various textile districts, the industry remains a key driver of Italy’s economy, generating income, employment, and a positive trade balance. Milano Unica continues to evolve as a research incubator, bridging past, present, and future to foster creative growth. The exhibition dedicated to Anna Piaggi, an iconic fashion figure known for her visionary style and boundary-breaking aesthetics, exemplifies this direction."

The Milano Unica Tendenze area showcases materials for Spring/Summer 2026, emphasizing natural fabrics, lightweight textures, and innovative fibre blends. Accessories also highlight raw materials featuring metallic or recycled plastic and rubber details. Sustainability remains a focal point, with a range of new eco-conscious textile innovations on display.

DESTRO FABRICS

Among key presentations, DESTRO Fabrics debuts new fabrics developed in collaboration with ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei and TENCEL™ by Lenzing, emphasizing sustainability and circularity in applications from apparel to outerwear. 

MARZOTTO Group

The Marzotto Group, through its partnership with Authentico® by Schneider Group, showcases its brands’ creative interpretations infused with passion and values.

ILUNA Group

Iluna Group’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection highlights Plissé and Volants, including a lurex version with fresh floral prints certified by GOTS, emphasizing water conservation. The collection features metallic accents crafted from lurex and GRS-certified foils. Iluna draws inspiration from three designers: Ken Scott, the "gardener of fashion," known for his vibrant floral motifs; Iris Van Herpen, whose sensory design philosophy embraces movement and fluidity; and Guo Pei, who blends Chinese imperial elegance with European royal aesthetics.

Since 2018, Iluna Group has held GRS certification for its Green Label range, championing sustainability through a fully traceable production chain and measurable environmental progress using the Higgs Index.

Photo:  UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT)

A delegation of 23 British textile companies, including leading UK mills, manufacturers, cloth merchants, and textile design firms, is exhibiting in the ‘Ideabiella’ area (Hall 24 F09) at Milano Unica under the auspices of the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT). International buyers can explore the UK's rich textile heritage and innovation, discovering everything from classic suiting fabrics to specialty textiles and premium natural fibers like wool and cashmere. Renowned as a global leader in luxury fabrics, the UK showcases responsibly sourced wool, high-fashion silks, and cutting-edge weatherproof materials, reflecting the latest trends and advancements in textile production.

Beyond a commercial event, Milano Unica continues to integrate special areas and cross-disciplinary projects that merge creativity, tradition, aesthetics, and technological innovation.

The 41st edition of Milano Unica is set for July 8-10, 2025.

VITELLI Spring Summer 21 collection at Milan Fashion Week

The young Italian fashion brand Vitelli is made with 100% reclaimed yarns, with a non-gender orientation and a zero-waste ethos.  All the attributes that many fashion names across the world today aim to address.

Vitelli’s eighth “Gioventù Cosmica” collection launched during the recent Milan Fashion Week was inspired by the history of Italian youth culture “stile Italiano” through the filter of the present, according to founder Mauro Simionato (creatie director) and Giulia Bortoli (knitwear director).

The Milan-based knitwear brand is entirely made in Italy, produced by local craftspeople, and family-owned local mills. All garments are knitted, looped, printed or embroidered in Veneto, in the northeastern part of Italy. 

Since 2019 VITELLI works towards a 100% sustainable production cycle: the “DOOMBOH” line is entirely made with 100% reclaimed yarns from neighbours’ production leftover, felted together into clothes and then used for creating non-gender collections with zero waste; other reclaimed or waste materials such as dead-stock silks are collected locally and used as a canvas for knitwear hybrids.

The concept of the collection references the culture of Italian tailoring and classic elegance,

reinterpreted and revisited with a psychedelic touch of Cosmic Youth and the early ‘80s. The

dressed- up 3-piece suit is created in a classic pinstripe entirely ton sur ton where the shirt, jacket

and trousers are produced in the same shade and weight of silk. 

Key pieces can be mixed and

matched in courageous combinations with the collection’s outerwear and jackets, influenced by workwear and uniforms, created in jacquard silk. In fact, suit jackets are made from silk fabrics not typically used in apparel but instead meant for home furnishings or ties, for a deluxe version of ready-to-wear.   

Deconstructed military uniforms and navy jackets are embellished with knitwear, the signature touch that deVines each garment, for example in a decorative band of a cotton/Lycra blend that adds an embossed effect to the silk sleeves. 

 

The choice of silk in floral-themed

prints and various patterns is linked both to the search for naturalistic elements and abstract

motifs which combine on the garments to create a look immersed in a current of multiple cultural

references and influences.

There are 24 looks in the new collection, proposing a new lifestyle range that is the result of collaborations between the brand and its seasonal partners, including Bloke, whose own collections are entirely handmade in Lagos, Venetian footwear brand Marsèll and Milan-based active-punk brand, Rayon Vert.  Additionally, Vitelli engaged with the London incense brand Cremate to produce a special line of knitted headwear and a new scent.

For the first time the attention is shifted also to silk suits, pants and jackets, shirts and blouses 

.

Italian tailoring is mixed with embroidery made with knitwear yarns on traditional machinery. 

The decorations are reminiscent of seaweed and coral navigating sinuous waters, whose shapes allude to an upside-down perspective of oceanic creations that become terrestrial.

In this collection, conventional knitwear becomes structural, as cuffs or banding used to adorn the

garments from the pocket flaps to stitching details. Knitting and crochet are applied to accessories and “Doomboh” needle-punch techniques embellish many of the collection’s looks.

Pal Zileri appoints new CEO. Other new appointments to follow.

The Viaglatorre suit by Pal Zileri highlights the high clothing brand's Italian craft.

The high-end Italian clothing brand Pal Zileri has a newly appointed CEO.   Mr. Paolo Roviera, 44, has more than 15 years of experience in the business. For the past 10 years he has had managerial roles at Ermenegildo Zegna, first as Zegna Sport Brand Director and subsequently as head of EMEA.

Paolo Roviera re-enters Pal Zileri for the second time, after having a first experience as master student intern more than 15 years ago.  Now he will leverage the excellence of “made in Italy” of Pal Zileri products to tackle the task of managing the brand's consolidation in Italy and also across the International markets, rolling-out a strategy that targets the domestic market, America and Russia, as core areas of development.

Stefano Gaudioso, 41, who will join Paolo Roviera in the Brand's re-launch as General Merchandising Manager, has had an extensive experience in merchandising high-end, luxury menswear, having garnered over 20 years' experience at Ermenegildo Zegna, and later Corneliani.

Additional new managerial appointments are due to be announced in the following months.