FROM JANUARY 16 to 18 2021 WSM GOES DIGITAL
During the Milan Fashion Week Men’s Collection, WHITE launches WSM digital, a online project with a focus on sustainability and the world of advanced craftsmanship, presenting 40 men’s and unisex collections. Several Italian and international partners involved: Fashion Revolution Italia, Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte, Sustainable Brand Platform and The Sustainables Agency & Showroom.
From January 16 to 18 2021, during Milan Fashion Week Men’s Collection, WSM Fashion Reboot – WHITE format on sustainable innovation, returns – a project created thanks to the support of MAECI and ITA – Italian Trade Agency and thanks to the partnership with Confartigianato Imprese.
The online edition of WSM focuses on two macro-themes: sustainability and advanced craftsmanship. Thanks to an important targeted scouting activity on the WSM-WHITE platform, about 40 fashion brands with artisan and sustainable DNA will be presented, representing the new frontier of modern craftsmanship in which production, techniques and handmade are important, revisited with new technologies or with a more modern approach to the product and image. Companies will be selected capable of representing this new concept of contemporary craftsmanship, an essential element of strong interest for buyers and for press. Thanks to the WSM-WHITE platform and a series of ad hoc editorial content (emotional photos and videos) these companies will present their collections to an international audience. The WSM digital brand mix includes Italian men’s fashion or gender fluid research brands in which sustainability is combined with refined aesthetics, ranging from clothing to the vast world of accessories. An important part of the project is the matchmaking with the buyers who will be accompanied on the online platform, to view the collections of the selected companies and will be able to fix their appointments in real time. Furthermore, to facilitate the involvement of buyers as much as possible, the WSM-WHITE platform will be connected to that of ICE “365 smart” to give further communication opportunities to all SMEs on board.
Several partners involved in the project, among which we can mention: Fashion Revolution Italia, Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte (which promotes a “new Renaissance” of artistic crafts, especially aimed at young people), IDEE Brand Platform through its Sustainable Brand Platform (Sbp) project, a new platform that, through an algorithm of its own creation and blockchain technology, offers an environmental and ethical assessment of emerging brands at an international level, connecting them with buyers, up to The Sustainables Agency & Showroom, an international reality that promotes sustainable innovation. All these stakeholders were involved both for scouting and for the organization of a series of webinars dedicated to the evolution of sustainable fashion and advanced craftsmanship. And thanks to the presence of experts and opinion leaders in the sector, will be possible to have a more complete vision on how the very concept of sustainable fashion is changing. The project is curated by Matteo Ward, co-founder of the Wråd brand and artistic director of WSM, who states: “It is from the encounter between technique, vision and new technologies that, throughout history, innovative solutions have emerged revolutionizing the systems and schools of thought. Today we live in a historical moment in which we are called to encourage this meeting, to question the no longer sustainable status quo of the fashion system”.
Massimiliano Bizzi, founder of WHITE comments: “In this specific historical moment the role of us as organizers, is to support SME companies with all means, also through digital promotion. In addition to WSM, we are working on the next edition of WHITE in attendance, from 25 to 28 February 2020, which includes an innovative digital and physical format that we are implementing in these months. WHITE demonstrated in September how its phygital format was able to collect success from operators and its customers. We are also studying concrete actions – from January to March 2021 – to support companies during the sales campaign, which will be the prelude to the recovery in view of the September 2021 edition in which the great relaunch of the fashion system and the entire economy is expected “
Declares the President of Confartigianato Marco Granelli. “The initiative that Confartigianato has created with White, thanks to the support of MAECI and ITA- Italian Trade Agency, makes it possible to enhance the artisan value of Italian fashion companies: 79,000 companies employing over 700,000 employees. An heritage of creativity, talent, manufacturing excellence that combines traditional skills and innovative drive and made in Italy products unique and inimitable in the world. An example of economic, social and environmental sustainability that Confartigianato is proud to represent “.
Federico Poletti, WHITE Marketing and Communication Director concludes: “For some time WHITE has been working on sustainable innovation projects with the WSM format which for January could only be digital, given the evolution of the global situation. Thanks to the various partners involved, we want to create an emotional storytelling that will allow you to discover a truly interesting panorama of companies with sustainable and artisan DNA. A calendar of activities aims to involve buyers on these issues, which are increasingly important for the new generations of consumers “.
