Fashion Innovation Week 2020 Launch

25 October 2019

FROM THE CATWALK TO THE SIDEWALK WITH THE AIM OF MAKING TICINO THE FASHION HUB OF EUROPE

Fashion Innovation Week 2020 is set to be Europe’s biggest one yet. Fashion and lifestyle brands, ICT firms, start-ups and investors come together in Lugano for a full week of events designed to drive growth and innovation in the European FashionTech industry. The 2020 edition also aims to get the wider population on board too, encouraging a series of “Fuori Salone” events across the region.
 

  • The 3rd annual Fashion Innovation Week will run from Monday 30th March to Friday 3rd April 2020, organized by Netcomm Suisse
  • 1000 top-level Fashion industry and tech executives expected to visit Lugano to network and create new business opportunities
  • The Fashion Innovation Award, organized by Loomish SA in partnership with Bally, is focusing on Sustainability in fashion
  • Netcomm Suisse is today leading an open call to involve local businesses, associations, local organizations, universities and enterprises in contributing to the event, with the opportunity of creating a “Fuori Salone” here in Ticino

 

Lugano – 25th October 2019. Netcomm Suisse, the Swiss Digital and e-Commerce Association, has officially launched the third edition of the Fashion Innovation Week. The 5-day event, headlined by the day 1 initiative Innovation meets Fashion, has become one of the most coveted and respected FashionTech events in Europe, with past editions that counted more than 1.200 attendees, 60+ speakers and hundreds of top-brands from around the world and from Switzerland in particular. Fashion Innovation Week 2020 will be held in Lugano, from March 30th to April 3rd, and aims to do even better.

The focus of the week is on innovation in the FashionTech Industry as a response to the ever-evolving needs of today’s customers: in particular, the structures required to support innovation across the industry. Different to the past, when brands were content to outsource large sections of their online business to others, recent years have seen first the rise of “insourcing”, and today instead, a strong impetus to building partnerships to innovate on a scale beyond the reach of a brand by itself. That’s why Fashion Innovation Week will bring together not just brands, but also technology companies, investors and start-ups: a genuine “ecosystem of innovation” to benefit the industry and the community.

The main event will be on Monday 30th March, known as Innovation Meets Fashion, a full day dedicated to exploring the topics through conferences, seminars, round tables and networking with over 1200 people expected to take part.

Previous attendees include: Gucci, Benetton, Ermenegildo Zegna, Breitling, VF International, Bulgari, Michael Kors, The North Face, Mandarina Duck, Bulgari, Guess, Missoni, Max Mara, Tiffany & Co., Valentino SpA, Bally, Calzedonia and many more, while sponsors feature some of the most prominent names of the digital industry such as Google, Facebook, Salesforce and many more.

The other days feature the Fashion Innovation Award (Tues, 31st March), where Loomish SA in partnership with Bally will present start-ups working on sustainable technologies to a high-level jury panel, with each start-up pitching solutions to make fashion “greener”. There will also be an Institutional Meet Up (Weds 1st) bringing together institutions and political voices, as well as a two-day-long Digital Creativity Challenge, which offers university students the opportunity to meet leading brands and employers from the industry, and to conceptualize and present a solution to grow their business.

Carlo Terreni, President of Netcomm Suisse Association, said: “Fashion, and all the satellite industries around it, is a massive component of the economic fabric of Ticino. Our goal is to provide a solid platform for Swiss companies in which to learn, network and shape the future of the fashion industry. Given the number of guests and visitors we are expecting, we are this year opening the event to collaborations with businesses and enterprises around Ticino, who are interested in taking part and in hosting mini-events and initiatives, potentially driving up business during the days of the Fashion Innovation Week.

Mr. Terreni’s invitation is open to all kinds of local businesses, activities, local organizations, universities and enterprises, who, thanks to Ticino’s exemplary high-quality local services and activities, can bring the skills and creativity to add value to an already compelling event. Albeit on a different scale, the concept is not far removed from that in Milan, where local businesses can expect advantages from hosting their own initiatives in parallel to the main fashion event each year.

Contact Netcomm Suisse Association for further details at: info@netcommsuisse.ch

 

THE 2019 FASHION INNOVATION WEEK PROGRAM IN FULL

Sunday, March 29th: an exclusive, invite-only, closed-door dinner with high-level executives of some of the brands involved in the event.

Monday, March 30th: the main event of the week, called Innovation Meets Fashion, a fixture of the FashionTech calendar and regularly hosts over 1000 delegates, speakers and visitors; it is made to bring together brands, retailers, manufacturers and technology providers from the worlds of fashion and fashiontech.

Tuesday, March 31st: the Fashion Innovation Award – Sustainability Edition, created by Loomish SA in partnership with Bally: a closed-door event where selected scale-up companies get to pitch to an international audience of brands and investors.

Wednesday, April 1st: Institutional Day an open-door event featuring political, academic and business leaders, aimed at discussing the shape innovation should take in the coming years.

Thursday and Friday, April 2nd and 3rd: the Digital Creativity Challenge, in collaboration with Fondazione Agire, invites student groups from numerous Swiss universities to conceptualize and present digital solutions for the future of digital to top brands and players as well as investors and university leaders.

Keep in touch

The first and only
Swiss Association of
e-Commerce.

info@netcommsuisse.ch

LUGANO

Centro Galleria 1 A
Via Cantonale
6928 Manno CH
@ Dagorà Innovation Hub
T. +41 (0) 91 210 47 36
VAT no.: CHE-485.124.256 IVA

ZÜRICH

MÜHLE TIEFENBRUNNEN
Seefeldstrasse 229
8008 Zürich
T. +41 44 500 21 73

GENÈVE

Blue Box, Chemin du Pré-Fleuri 3
1228 Plan-les-Ouates CH
T. +41 (0) 22 510 71 03
@ Fongit Foundation