Spring is coming, and Italian leather goods never go out of season.

The Spring/Summer edition of Arts & Tannery [2], the biannual boutique-expo held by the Italian Leather System Consortium in partnership with the Italian Trade Commission [3], closed on February 23 after two busy days of activity at the Midtown Loft and Terrace venue on 29th and 5th in Manhattan.

The eleven participating exhibitors, Italian leather manufacturers producing exclusively in Italy and members of the Italian Leather System Consortium, presented their exclusive collections for the upcoming Spring/Summer to the American buyers and fashion designers. 

“Buyers really enjoy the direct relationship with producers they can have at Arts&Tannery, and being able to see materials is extremely important for them,” says Sally Fischer [4], PR manager for the event.

The exhibitors were extremely satisfied too. Sandra Busoni of Conceria M2 told i-Italy that: “Arts&Tannery is a great opportunity to gain visibility in the American market. We didn’t use to work in it before joining the Consortium 7 years ago. Over the years the Italian presence in New York has grown increasingly and the perception of the Consortium among the clients is very positive.”

David Bilancieri, representing the Consortium, stressed the importance of the New York market for Made in Italy leather goods: “This is the 14th edition of Arts&Tannery and we really believe in this market, despite the difficult times we are living. We are always working on upgrading the quality of our presentation and we are very proud to be here.”

Augusta Smargiassi, Senior Deputy Trade Commissioner, attended the event for the third consecutive year and stated that Italy confirmed its leadership in the sector of leather goods, with a 22% market share, followed by Brazil, Mexico and Canada. “What’s Italy secret?,” Smargiassi asked and replied: “Quality, innovative designs and know-how.”

Vice-Consul of Italy Dino Sorrentino was also present at the event. “It’s extremely important to promote Made in Italy products in New York,” he said, and added “numbers never lie and Italian style is always winning in this market, and that’s very positive for us.”

The guests could also participate in the presentation of the new trends and styles in the tannery industry held by Gianluca Gori, cool-hunter and researcher of the Consortium. 

Navy flairs and watercolor shades, but also chains, studs and uniform-inspired lines will inspire a “cruise mood” in fashion that will be big in the upcoming Spring/Summer. The glossy materials and the architectural structures that characterize the works of contemporary artists such as Anish Kapoor are a source of inspiration just as much as pop-culture products such as dark fantasy books and icons like Lady Gaga.
Another summery trend is inspired by the extravagant and exaggerated world of gypsies and nomads from all continents: from the Hispanic-Moorish to the Turkish, from the Native Americans to Central Europe, drapes, patterns and embroidery in bright colors are the must-wears of the warmer months to come.

Gori tells i-Italy that this year the Consortium really invested in analyzing the links between the world of fashion, art and music: “Fashion is a collaborative field, and much of the success of contemporary pop stars and artists depends on being able to develop a variegated way of expressing oneself.”

Fashion, in fact: “Is a sincere phenomenon that answers market demands that are the esthetic and poetic demands of the people who buy. We have to analyze all that happens in different worlds to understand what people like: we need to know what cuisine is the trendiest, which furniture styles are popular, which music is being listened to, what art is being made.”

Blogs, Gori says, “are extremely helpful. Not only do they focus on fashion, but they are extremely useful to understand the general mood that frames fashion when they also include movie reviews or relevant news. Bloggers are definitely dictating fashion today.”