Footwear fashion in Brazil with Fimec: learn from the best

On 6–8 March, the city of Novo Hamburgo in southern Brazil will host the International Fair of Leather, Chemical Products, Components, Machinery and Equipment for Footwear and Tanneries (Fimec). One major new feature of the show will be the Fimec Forum: Fashion and Business, which will focus on information and training in the leather-footwear sector. The event will occur outside the regular hours of the fair and will include lectures from national and international professionals.

Over two days, fashion and business insiders will share their professional experiences and address relevant themes for those working in this segment.

“We designed this project to bring qualified content to Fimec visitors through professionals with very important cases and histories in fashion and business,” comments Fenac CEO Márcio Jung. “The idea is to transmit this knowledge in an inspiring and motivating way, as well as urge entrepreneurs from the sector to carve out a larger place in the domestic and international market.”

Inspire and inform

Fashion will be the primary theme on the first day of the forum. In an informal discussion, fashion designer and trend forecaster Luana Lanzini, together with Luana Savadintzky from Fashion Directions, will address the boom of consistency as a creative basis, the growing desire for heritage brands and the return of classic styles as fashion trends. With extensive knowledge in the domestic and international markets, the Brazilians will share their experiences of working in Europe in order to inspire and foment a different way of producing fashion in the South American nation.

On the second day, the main theme will be business. This will focus on providing information on the reference markets of the footwear sector; strategies and concepts of processes to inspire and encourage their application in the Brazilian context; and how to make the sector more competitive at the international level.

Chief operating officer of the Camuto Group Julio Martini will expound on Brazil’s situation as an exporter in relation to other countries. Camuto buys approximately 30 million pairs of shoes globally a year, with Brazil exporting 127 million pairs in 2017.

The vice-president of manufacturing for New Balance in the US, John Wilson, will discuss the strategies used by the company to produce footwear in the US while maintaining its market competitiveness through resources such as automation and industry 4.0. Investment in technology and machinery is another point that will be considered, since it directly contributes to increased productivity and quality, thereby reducing production costs and making products more competitive.