Italian-made shoes, with their unequalled design, first class materials, excellent fit and comfort will be the outstanding main attraction of an independent exhibition organised by the Italian Trade Commission in collaboration with the trade association Anci in Hong Kong on 12^th and 13^th July.

The spotlights at the prestigious venue of the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel will all be focused on the new trends for spring and summer 2011. Make way, therefore, for shoes with a considerable heel and an open toe, to allow well-cared for feet with no fear of showing themselves to breathe freely, or for sandals and clogs that “play” with the light of rhinestones or with flowers, becoming an essential piece of clothing and often stealing the show.

The forty companies involved in the independent “Shoes from Italy” exhibition will offer the demanding Hong Kong audience, which is well aware of the quality of Italian-made products, the most important latest designs, uniting innovation and creativity with the shoemaking tradition of important centres such as Vigevano, Porto Sant'Elpidio and Riva del Brenta. There will be something for all tastes: from comfortable shoes, ideal for women who are out of the house all day, to those for eveningwear, which are extremely high and elegant, without neglecting men's and children's shoes. The very best will be on display to visitors and buyers, in an event that, coming immediately after that of Tokyo (from 5 to 7 July), becomes its ideal continuation.

In Japan the Italian companies will be seeking to strengthen the positions they have already acquired in the market and create fertile terrain for new business, even presenting their collections ahead of Micam in Milan. The same types of objectives are also proposed for Hong Kong, albeit with an important difference: the independent “Shoes from Italy” exhibition in Tokyo will be combined with another one dedicated to Italian fashion in general, to offer a total look picture of Italian fashion, whereas in Hong Kong the attention will be focused exclusively on footwear. The decision to give preference to an esteemed Italian-made product, such as shoes, was certainly not a casual one but the result of careful reflection, with the aim of testing the product’s consistency in the market and measuring its actual “specific gravity”. As the exclusive attraction of an event that promises to be one of the most important in 2010 for the footwear sector in the Far East, they will be there ready to be admired, desired, tried on and (why not?) chosen for sale in retail establishments.

The synergy that the Italian Trade Commission will provide to ensure the best possible result for the show will do the rest, and for the participants in “Shoes from Italy” there will just be the embarrassment of the choice, as they go around the stands at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel to choose the model most suited to their needs, that ideal shoe, which, according to some, does not even exist.