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It has had various names and various locations, but it has never lost its vocation: looking beyond the present, trying to understand what will happen in the fashion of the future. Or what is already happening, perhaps not in shops but in small technological start-ups that are starting to collaborate with fashion brands to shape the fashion of the future. On 9 and 10 April she returns to Florence, at Stazione Lepolda, for eP Summit, the two-day event dedicated to the digital future of fashion organized by Pitti Immagine.
The number of companies present is increasing: from 33 to 47
An event that unfolds between round tables (in total around 25 events on the topics of artificial intelligence, but also retail and sustainability along the fashion supply chain), but above all spaces dedicated to companies: there will be 47 companies present compared to 33 of the 2023 edition. Like the new smart factory – strongly desired by the scientific director of the event Rinaldo Rinaldi, professor of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Florence – which brings together six companies (Atom Spa, Brustia Alfameccanica Srl, Fratelli Alberti Srl, Newlast Group (Italy), Omac Srl, Sagitta Spa) which produce “intelligent” machinery and technologies to support the production of leather goods and clothing based on Industry 4.0 paradigms.
«eP Summit reaches the third edition of the new course started from Florence and confirms itself as a reference event to bring together the digital innovation community that works at the service of the international luxury and high-quality fashion industry – said Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine -. In a constantly evolving sector, we want to offer a dedicated platform that helps companies anticipate changes and discover the solutions already available, to face the challenges of a future that requires an increasingly integrated, effective and responsible approach.”
La call per otto start up innovative
The Innovation call dedicated to start-ups, now in its second edition, and created this year in collaboration with Unicredit Start Lab, also confirms itself as a key moment. The companies that were selected by the Scientific Committee for this call are eight: Arxy, Brandplane, Cloov, FashionChain, Indigo.ai, Proke, WeWear, ZeroW. They will have the opportunity to present their innovative solutions – from virtual fitting to chatbots, from NFTs to rental or reuse platforms for waste – to the eP Summit audience and compete for the “eP Summit Innovation Award”, which highlights prize of 5,000 euros. Among these, UniCredit will choose a company that will become part of the Start Lab platform.