Soft and delicate shoes in satin, buttery leather, fur and knitted fabrics, neutral and sophisticated colours, for walking seeking protection and warmth.
Or multi-buckle and biker boots, bold sneakers, protective straps, mud tones, dark together with an overbearing red.
At the international footwear exhibition Micam, which opens today at Fiera Milano Rho, around a thousand brands, 464 Italians, 459 foreigners, present their proposals for the coming seasons, defining the macro trends that respond to the challenges of a constantly evolving moment.
But, beyond trends, Italian shoe manufacturers seem to want to confirm their uniqueness and great creativity with ever greater conviction.
"You are competitive in the world in high-end products" said the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, inaugurating Micam, together with the other salons opened on 18 February, Mipel, Milano Fashion&Jewels, The One Milano.
The watchword therefore is 'Made to be collectible', i.e. only the shoe that has the Made in Italy brand is an accessory to be collected, obviously in the sense of durability and value over time.
It is also the title of a central installation in the exhibition pavilions, where icons that can still serve as models today are on display.
Like the slingbacks shoes of the 40s or the legendary sports shoes with colored inserts of the 70s: "These are models that are still taken as a reference, our way of showing our art through Made in Italy, but this is above all a project for young people to make them understand what we were in the past and what we will become", said the president of Micam and Assocalzaturifici Giovanna Ceolini who considers the involvement of young people in this sector one of her priority commitments.
"By using artificial intelligence together with our creativity - she added - we produce art objects and therefore to collect, but not as if it were an ancient object, but to be taken, learned and developed as a model".
And if artificial intelligence was entrusted with the task of developing the Trends Buyer Guide for the FW 24-25 season created by Livetrend, through an analysis of data flows to offer an innovative vision of the future, young people have also in this edition their space.
The area dedicated to Emerging Designers hosts 12 creatives from all over the world selected by a jury of fashion industry experts for the current season.
Recycled or recyclable materials and attention to the production chain are just some of the characteristics of the footwear that have been proposed.
Micam, together with the other salons opened today in the presence of Ice president Matteo Zoppas, remains open until February 21st.
Overall there are 2951 brands.
Buyers and operators from all over the world are expected.
"Milan in these three days - said Zoppas - is the world capital of the footwear, leather goods, fur and accessories supply chain thanks to the synergy created by six trade fair events. For MICAM and MIPEL, in particular, ICE organized the incoming of 110 buyers from all over the world, thus confirming ICE's mission to increase the presence and sales of Italian companies on the main outlet markets, help them look for emerging ones, promote product quality and raise awareness of new production niches. are created in close collaboration with all the actors involved, from the trade associations to the regions where the major production districts are located, a heritage of over 7 thousand footwear companies and 5 thousand leather goods companies capable of covering both the medium and high-end ranges , where Made in Italy is a universally recognized excellence thanks to the precious raw materials, the uniqueness of the design and the product innovation".
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