Foreign participation in the 43rd edition of Milano Unica comes close to 50% for the first time, confirming that the competitiveness of the European textile and accessories sector continues to be based on the ability to combine quality, research, innovation and manufacturing culture

The 43rd edition of Milano Unica has come to a close — held from 7 to 9 July 2026 at Fiera Milano Rho — where the A/W 2027-2028 collections of high-end fabrics and accessories for clothing were presented, with international buyer attendance confirmed and a slight decline in Italian buyers, partly due to transport disruptions.

Particularly significant was the participation of buyers from: first and foremost France (+25%), followed by the USA (+8%), Great Britain (+10%), Japan (+14%) and Korea (+22%), a ranking based on the number of companies present. China and Germany remained stable. For the first time, moreover, international participation came close to 50% of the total. A result that adds to the excellent starting figures: 737 total registrations, 604 exhibitors present across the Ideabiella, Moda In and Shirt Avenue trade shows, among which — alongside the confirmed 460 Italian presences — the significant growth (+15.2%) of European exhibitors stood out.

Milano Unica confirms that the competitiveness of the European textile and accessories sector continues to be built on the ability to combine quality, research, innovation and manufacturing culture. In an international context still marked by elements of complexity, the event offered companies not just a place for business, but a space for dialogue, relationships and growth, where supply and demand found common ground for development.

The opening ceremony, dedicated to the theme “From Roots to the Future: the Path of Innovation in Textiles and Fashion,” set the interpretive key for the whole event, highlighting how innovation finds its strength in the ability to enhance skills, knowledge, tradition and innovation.

Simone Canclini, President of Milano Unica, stated that this edition’s results represent an important consolidation, but that the message emerging from these three days matters even more: European manufacturing remains a benchmark when it invests in quality, research, innovation and people. He added that Milano Unica grows because it grows together with the companies that face the challenges of international markets with courage every day, and that the organization’s task is to keep offering them a platform capable of generating relationships and development opportunities — starting with the strategic issue of sustainability, on which, through an alliance between businesses and institutions, building a recycling supply chain can no longer be postponed.

Over the three days, a series of meetings, in-depth discussions and exchange moments took place, involving exhibitors, buyers, institutions, press and operators from the main international markets. The Special Areas, the Japan and Korea Observatories, and the content dedicated to innovation, sustainability and research confirmed Milano Unica’s ability to help anticipate the sector’s developments, offering companies concrete tools for competitiveness.

Visiting the exhibition spaces, Alessia Cappello, the City of Milan’s Councillor for Economic Development and Labour Policies, remarked that Milano Unica’s numbers tell far more than the story of a successful trade fair: they tell the story of a supply chain that keeps moving, investing, innovating and generating value. She noted that the event stands out as a privileged observatory on the fashion of tomorrow, where high-end fabrics and solutions point to the direction of the market and become an opportunity for meeting, networking and inspiration for everyone in the sector. For Milan, she added, hosting a trade fair of this scale confirms the city’s central role in fashion’s international trajectories and showcases a production system still capable of generating innovation, jobs and growth.

Massimo Mosiello, General Director of Milano Unica, commented that every edition of Milano Unica is the result of great collective work — made of expertise, research, passion and responsibility — without which the important results achieved in this edition too would not be possible. He added that innovation never happens by chance: it is the fruit of people who choose every day to question themselves, share knowledge and look beyond the present. That, he said, is the spirit found in the event’s exhibitors, which makes Milano Unica not just a trade fair but a community that grows together with businesses and keeps investing in the value of European manufacturing — growth also made possible by the valuable collaboration with ICE Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which play a decisive role in strengthening the presence of international buyers and dialogue between the Italian textile industry and foreign markets. He concluded that the value of Milano Unica is measured by its ability to grow the entire textile manufacturing ecosystem, with thanks also going, as always, to their loyal partner Lauretana.