A further edition marked by growth for Pitti Immagine Filati: 115 exhibitors and over 3,000 buyers

News

Edition 94

26.01.2024

From around seventy countries worldwide. Attendance from Asia significantly increased. Innovation, stylistic creativity, technological advancements in processes and materials, and the highest quality collections: these are the success factors of the 94th edition of the leading event in the world for the finest Italian yarn manufacturers and a selection of international companies.

The 94th edition of Pitti Immagine Filati (Florence, Fortezza da Basso, January 24-26, 2024) ended with an attendance of 3,000 buyers - around 1,170 of them international, a 4% increase from last January – and thus can already be deemed more than successful. The event showcased yarn collections for the Spring-Summer 2025 season, designed and produced by the best Italian and international mills, totaling 115 exhibitors. Overall - including journalists, agents, and suppliers – 3,600 visitors were registered.

Our exhibitors have worked at very high and focused rhythms, thanks to the presence of motivated, competent buyers with spending power. It’s not just about the numbers, which are pleasing as always: a look through the attendee list reveals that, for years, all the style offices of the major fashion and luxury houses and the best international knitwear companies haven’t missed an edition of the show. And it’s not just about fashion in the strict sense: Pitti Filati is also visited by heads of style departments of prestigious interior and home design companies and other industrial creativity professionals, like those in the automotive industry.

— Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine

In the ranking of international attendees, the top spots are occupied by France, Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, the United States, Spain, Mainland China, Japan, and the Netherlands. The significant increase in Asian buyers (adding South Korea and China-Hong Kong to the aforementioned countries) is perhaps the characteristic element of this edition of the show – and also bodes well for the next June edition, focusing on the winter collections, which generally have a greater impact on the volumes and revenues of the producers.

Pitti Filati is a different kind of fair, as the highest technical and manufacturing content is combined with the ability to evoke and represent the glamour of fashion, which is now inseparable from a conscious sensitivity to variously interpreted sustainability themes. It’s a three-day gathering for industry operators, an opportunity for dialogue and mutual drive towards innovation, in all the components leading to the product – and in this regard, the Research Area, as always, is an unmissable part of the journey in Fortezza. That’s why Pitti Filati is the place-to-be for the international market, unmatched worldwide.

— Agostino Poletto, General Director of Pitti Immagine

Positive feedback was also recorded among buyers, the press, and operators for the new Research Area MILESTONE, curated by Angelo Figus and Nicola Miller, the fair's creative laboratory and a real experimental observatory for future trends; as well as the special area CustomEasy, curated by Maurizio Brocchetto and dedicated to customization in luxury knitwear, Knit Club, with its selection of some of the best knitwear companies, and the participation of D-HOUSE, an urban laboratory for the fashion, design, and automotive sectors. There was also significant appreciation and attendance for Vintage Selection, a show within the show and an added value for the operators arriving at the Fortezza da Basso.

In conclusion, today the first session of the "CFMI Academy" took place in the Fortezza, a new operational deep-dive format for Fashion Design students born from the partnership between Centro di Firenze per la
Moda Italiana, Pitti Immagine, and UniCredit: a new and exciting educational opportunity, which saw extensive participation from students of fashion schools and academies, for a full immersion in sustainable fashion creation.