Although the exhibitor numbers have remained close to the 2008 level, around 7% extra exhibition space has been booked with most stands occupied by Italian, Franch and Spanish exhibitors. In fact Italian exhibitors make up 41% of the total number exhibiting at the show.
The first day of the fair was moderately busy and a high number of european buyers were visable. The number of Turkish exhibitors at show increased while a signifcant presence from Germany and Brazil were also noted.
The animal rights group Peta held a small demonstration outside the exhibition centre but it didn’t appear to stop visitors from attending and by lunchtime on the first day they had decided to call it a day.
Within the trend area six themes were highlighted with a strong return to lightly finished natural leathers. The trend collections were for the autumn/winter 2012 season.
