Jan. 28 – Clothing, accessories, footwear, trends, news, style and taste… “Who’s Next” is an event for fashion houses taking place at Porte de Versailles in Paris. The appointment kicked off on Saturday and closes its doors today; the Marche Region took part in the event in collaboration with the Regional Chamber System, which promoted the participation of 13 companies. “Who’s Next” is considered worldwide the most important international fashion event. In particular, for the Marche hat industry, the event is a fundamental and indispensable occasion to promote their products in an exhibition space of 100.000 square meters, alongside other 2.000 exhibitors, including 280 Italian companies. The last edition saw the participation of 55.000 visitors active in the sector from all over the world. “This important international event provides great visibility and interesting sales opportunities to participating companies – said the President of the Marche Region and Internationalization Councilor, Gian Mario Spacca, – the presence of hat manufacturers is very positive. Representatives from the Massa Fermana and Montappone districts have often recalled the importance of participating in international exhibitions, demonstrating that opening to internationalization is a decisive factor for competitiveness and resistance.” Montappone is the most important European district for the production of hats. The ancient craftsmanship of the straw hat originates from the farmers on the Fermo hills – on which there once was a widespread cultivation of wheat – who began to weave the harvested stems. Over the years, the craftsmanship was transformed into large-scale production and Montappone, at the end of the nineteenth century, was the first Italian center to industrialize the industry. The district was established in the late 60s, becoming a highly specialized hub rather quickly, and allowed to expand the production offer to different types of hats (fabric, felt, yarn…) as well as other fashion accessories, such as gloves and scarves. The European cradle of hat production sells 70%of its products on the domestic market, exporting its goods in established markets like France, Japan, United States of America and promising new basins, such as Russia and other Eastern European countries.
