Friday 16 June saw the curtain go down on the 88th edition of Expo Riva Schuh, which had begun on Saturday 10 June. At the fair, a growing interest was noted in men’s footwear, a segment defined by an image attentive to style, new takes on traditional designs, and products made using variegated or intertwined leathers or with engraved patterns. All in bold, traditional colours, including marine blue and indigo, leather, brandy, dark brown. Nubuck in warm shades such as mustard, carmine and dark green was also popular. Instead, on the sporting front, footwear is presenting itself as a component of transversal activewear, supporting a philosophy of life in which the comfortable, high-performance shoe becomes a support to be worn all day long. Sandals, on the other hand, are becoming less popular. One of the events that accompanied the end of the spring-summer edition of this exhibition with an increasingly international feel was the meeting with Titi Nxumalo, the Consul General of South Africa in Milan. Indeed, her country was represented for the very first time during the fair in Trentino by a number of exhibitors. After the opening remarks of Roberto Pellegrini, chairman of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, Ms Nxumalo underlined the important role played by the South African Leather Export Council in supporting African companies as they seek new markets. In South Africa, the leather and footwear industries have a key role because they are capable of providing jobs in a sustainable business, an aspect on which the African nations focus closely. After a period of difficulty, footwear production in South Africa is now again on the upturn: investments have increased and new production plants have been opened. For the companies, it is therefore becoming more and more important to find possibilities for presenting their product and widening their commercial horizons, such as Expo Riva Schuh.
The curtain goes down on Expo Riva Schuh: for men, the sports shoe is a philosophy of life
