JFW Textile Div. Press Release< The Japan Observatory >at Milano Unica 2016 SS Post-Show Report

Mar.10, 2015

“The Japan Observatory” at Milano Unica 2016S/S< Post-show Report ><The Japan Observatory> made its non-EU debut in September
2014, at Milano Unica (MU), the most prestigious textile exhibition inEurope as part of a delegation of 29 companies/ associations fromJapan. Building on the success of the previous edition, weparticipated in the MU fair held in February for the second time under
the same structure and scope as <The Japan Observatory>,enhancing crucial issues such as ‘promotion of exports’ and brandingof Japanese textiles.

■ Milano Unica 2016 Spring & Summer
Name of exhibition : Milano Unica 2016S/S
Show period : Feb. 4 – 6, 2015 (Wed.- Fri.)
Venue :

9:00 – 18:30

Portello Fieramilanocity

No. of exhibitors : 353 (incl. 64 companies from other European countries)
No. of visitors : Over 18,000

Milano Unica (2016S/S), celebrating its 20th edition, was held a week earlier than usual,in line with other European exhibitions’ show dates. This time the fair was significantly
affected by global upheaval emerging in several forms, namely the Middle East turmoil,
political instability caused by terrorism in the neighbouring country, France, the plummeting
Russian rouble and the Greek crisis in the EU as well as the economic slowdown in China.
Furthermore, the unfavourable snow and rain throughout the fair period hampered theefforts of visitors from central Italy to attend. Accordingly, the total number of visitors
recorded, while over 18,000, marked a decline compared with the previous show. Première
Vision was also affected by a 5% drop due to travel cancellations and a decline in major
visitors from leading apparel companies, despite achieving an overall 2.5% increase on theprevious year. A special large-scale event was held at Milano Unica on a large scalecelebrating the 20th anniversary in 10 years on the first evening of the fair.
<An upswing apparent in international attendance (+2.5%)>(Increase) : France (+12%) UK (+9%) USA (+10%%), China (+13%), Japan (+29%), Turkey (+4%)(Decrease) : Russia (-29%), Germany (-12%) Spain (-6%). Italy (-9%)

1JFW Textile Div. Press Release< The Japan Observatory >at Milano Unica 2016 SS Post-Show Report■Mar.10, 2015

<The Japan Observatory > at MU 2016 Spring & Summer Post-show report

Name of exhibition :<The Japan Observatory」 at Milano Unica 2016S/SShow period : Feb. 4 – 6, 2015 (Wed. – Fri.) 9:00 – 18:30
Venue : Specially located area at the Milano Unica venue (Hall 2)
Overall structure : Exhibitors’ booths + JAPAN TEXTILE PR booth(Total : 519 ㎡)
No. of exhibitors : 34 companies / associations
Organiser :Japan Fashion Week Organization (JFW)
Cooperation : Japan Textile Federation (JTF)
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)Support : Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

Our second participation as <The Japan Obaservatory> saw a record total of 34
companies/associations involved ; surpassing the previous 29. Amid unfavourable
conditions, including the current political instability or economic uncertainty and poor
weather limiting the number of visitors to the whole venue, <The Japan Observatory> wasinevitably affected, with total visitors of 3,061. However the declining trend in visitors to S/Seditions is said to be 15% less compared with A/W editions and considered normal, so weremain optimistic about the result. Moreover, those exhibitors who did attend achieved
positive business negotiations despite the challenges, confirming the success of theirparticipation.

□ Total visitors to <The Japan Observatory> at Milano Unica 2016S/SFeb. 4: 1,055 / Feb. 5: 1,294 / Feb. 6: 712>>> Total visitors: 3,061* Above figure considered the minimum as numbers were counted by scanning admittance badges.

□ JAPAN TREND＆INDEX Corner
The <JAPAN TREND & INDEX Corner> was highly acclaimed and attracted a numberof favourable visitor comments: ‘modern and beautiful’. The layout this time reflected theexpression of ‘WA’ (Japanese) taste by separating the thematic areas with ‘KOSHI’,latticework inspired by ‘SHOJI’, Japanese paper sliding doors, while respecting theoverall breezy and open atmosphere as the perfect backdrop to the spring/summer
season. One of the two trend themes, ‘Tokyo-Pop Cruise’ was a particular head-turnerfor visitors, thanks to its outstanding illustrations, representing Japanese pop culture thatblends modernity alongside tradition, centring on a MAIKO (dancer) and DAIMONJI
letters as well as several witty motifs, including surfing/diving lads inserted here andthere. This illustration originates from art by a young creative unit in Kyoto, ‘DARUMA
SHOTEN’. Another attractive point of the ‘JAPAN TREND＆INDEX’ corner was the way
it displayed hanging fabrics to promote the specificity of Japanese fabrics, while thedisplay in the MU TREND area featured fabrics suspended in a vertical arrangement.

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JFW Textile Div. Press Release< The Japan Observatory >at Milano Unica 2016 SS Post-Show ReportMar.10, 2015

□ Business matching and major buyers who visited <The Japan Observatory>
Business matching was arranged in cooperation with JETRO
inviting buyers from major brands and successfully deliveringa programme featuring numerous visitors from top Italianbrands: G. ARMANI, FENDI, MISSONI, DIESEL alongsideother European brands; LOUIS VUITTON, SAINT LAURENT,HUGO BOSS and many others. Moreover, buyers who
visited the previous edition of <The Japan Observatory>
were seen engaging in repeat negotiations at certain booths.
< Major buyers / brands >PRADA / GUCCI / DOLCE & GABBANA / DSQUARED2 / MARNI / BALENCIAGA /FERRAGAMO / JIL SANDER / NEIL BARRETT / GIVENCHY / GIANNI VERSACE / HERMÈS(Homme) / BOTTEGA VENETA / KARL LAGERFELD / CHRISTIAN DIOR / CoSTUMENATIONAL / MONCLER / ETRO / PIERRE BALMAIN / ROBERTO CAVALLI / INCOTEX /EMILIO PUCCI / BURBERRY / MACKINTOSH / VALENTINO / BROOKS BROTHERS /ESCADA / RALPH LAUREN / TOMMY HILFIGER / E. ZEGNA (Garment) / TOD’S / FILA /GIORGIO ARMANI / FENDI / MISSONI / DIESEL / LOUIS VUITTON / SAINT LAURENT / HUGOBOSS etc.

□ Related <The Japan Observatory> event<OMOTENASHI> (Feb. 4 / 15:30 – held at BUSINESS LOUNGE)
The <O/MO/TE/NA/SHI> event was held following the previous edition and aimed to greet
50 or so invitees, including MU-related personnel, overseas press and buyers, with our spiritof Japanese hospitality; serving Japanese sake, tea, and snacks.
The event opened with a speech from Mr. Kawashima, Senior Director, on behalf of Mr.
Miyake, JFW Chairman, with the message ‘We are delighted and honoured to be able
to participate in the celebratory 20th edition marking a decade of Milano Unica.’, followedby the words of Mr. Shimomura, President of the Japan Textile Federation, who led the‘Kampai’ toast which kicked off the main party. Mr. Albini, President of MU and the VIP guest,commented that ‘He believes and takes pride in the fact that MU is the world No. 1 textile
show in terms of quality and is delighted to have selected leading Japanese companies tothe fair’. Equally welcomed was Mr. Luigi Loro Piana, who joined the event and gave us aspeech on stage.

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