May 30, 2013 — "FROM FARM TO FASHION. The wool supply chain and the consumer" is the title of the Forum that IWTO, the International Wool Textile Organisation, is organising in collaboration with The Woolmark Company, on Friday 14 June in Biella. Open to the press and wool industry stakeholders, is it an opportunity to discuss relevant industry topics. The forum is part of the 82nd International Congress of the IWTO, the annual meeting of the global wool system, which in 2013 will be held in Biella from 12 to 14 June.
The Forum "FROM FARM TO FASHION. The wool supply chain and the consumer" will see debate on the future of wool, the raw material, and the reorganisation methods that the supply chain, from sheep to distribution, will have to adapt to in order to fully exploit new opportunities offered by today's scenario. This meeting aims to analyse which initiatives and which projects may be able to establish a relationship between the tangible production chain (manufacturing) and the intangible one (services) in other words, marketing, communication and distribution. In this new context, where product value and significance are becoming increasingly more "intangible", wool is the best candidate for this type of analysis, as it is the paradigmatic summary of the challenges facing so-called traditional producers. Now is the time to make the most of the manufacturing core competences and to expand horizons towards those intangible functions that are decisive in involving the consumer in a "wool experience". The latter allows the knowledge of the material to be translated into involvement and passion (commitment) for a raw material that forms an extraordinary link between tradition and innovation. This Forum will therefore take an in-depth look at the creation of product value, tangible and intangible value, namely of that set of meanings that guide the consumer towards purchase. The concept of the Forum "FROM FARM TO FASHION. The wool supply chain and the consumer" has been devised by Diomedea Area Studi.
The main content of the Forum will develop issues of interest for the wool supply chain and industry, promoted worldwide by The Woolmark Company. These include, in particular, analysis of fibre marketing and ingredient branding initiatives in the fashion and luxury sectors, a global trend that concerns all operators along the supply chain, from farmer to retailer, called on to put new dynamics and cooperation strategies in place to improve global market performance.
The discussion will be chaired by Antonio di Bella and will see the participation of a large number of speakers, invited by The Woolmark Company and IWTO to have a dialogue on the themes covered. Speakers at the Forum will include: Giuseppe Angiolini, President of the Italian Chamber of Fashion Buyers and Owner of SUGAR, Alberto Baldan, CEO of La Rinascente, Ennio Capasa, Creative Director of Costume National, Nino Cerruti, President of the Lanificio F.lli Cerruti, Domenico De Masi, Sociologist, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, President and CEO of the Loro Piana Group, Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, Stuart McCullough, CEO of The Woolmark Company, Andrea Panconesi, CEO of Luisa Via Roma S.p.A., Franca Sozzani, Director of Vogue Italia and L'Uomo Vogue and Paolo Zegna, President of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group.
