Mido 2006: opening press conference
The 36th edition of Mido officially opened this morning at 11. With Federica Panicucci as moderator, Mido President Cirillo Marcolin, Marco Fortis, Vice President Edison Foundation, Gianluca Giordano, Director IED-European Institute of Design, and Debra Forstenzer, Fashion Consultant, had in-depth discussions on important subjects linked to the eyewear world - innovation, fashion and design. Data on the eyewear market worldwide were also announced.
'In terms of global exports, eyewear market is valued at more than €6 billion (+11.8% over 2005)', Cirillo Marcolin began, 'with sunglasses increasing by 18.9% and frames by 4.3% over the previous year. All these figures only partially illustrate the growing importance of eyewear around the world, as they are only the tip of the iceberg of a much far-reaching process that involves significant investments in design, fashion and innovation'.
Design, fashion and innovation were at the center of talks by Gianluca Giordano and Debra Forstenzer. The former underlined, among other things, that the use of pure materials, peak performance and endless combinations are important elements in the design of eyewear. Talking about what today's consumers want, the latter suggested the choice of simple shapes because, now more than ever before, glasses must give the wearer a clear identity.
'All these factors are important when creating fashion eyewear', Marcolin explained, 'materials, sun filters, lenses, and cases, to obtain a truly customized accessory. Here too we can see that a strong trend has emerged over the years: while plastic and acetate are the most widely used materials for sunglasses, only 24% of the prescription frames exported worldwide are made of plastic, whereas 76%, that is, two out of three, are metal.
'In order to maintain and strengthen these results, European manufacturers must continue to invest in creativity, innovation and research', Cirillo Marcolin concluded. 'Mido believes firmly in this and has decided to join efforts with the Research Center of the European Institute of Design and establish working partnerships between designers and companies. This is a testing and research laboratory where creative ideas go through various phases of study to become market products'.
The press conference was closed also by the President of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni, who stressed the importance of the Italian eyewear business worldwide. Before visiting the stands, he and Cirillo Marcolin invited everyone to the 2007 exhibition, which will be held in the new pavilion at the Rho-Pero exhibition center from May 4 through 7 next year.
