e-Pitti.com partners with Fashion Technology Accelerator to incubate start-ups

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jun 10, 2014

Pitti Immagine online trade fair is branching out. In addition to functioning as an online extension for Florence trade shows, e-Pitti wants to play a key role in the fashion and technology industries. After its "Decoded Fashion" event in Italy last October, the world's first forum for start-ups and fashion, e-Pitti has announced a partnership with Fashion Technology Accelerator (FTA), a U.S. company out of Silicon Valley, to help "fashion tech" businesses in their ramp up to market launch.

"The agreement between e-PITTI.com and FTA Milan aims to stimulate, significantly, this reality," said the Pitti Immagine organizers in a press release. "Italy, with its creativity and high quality manufacturing, is an ideal ground for digital technologies applied to fashion. The idea of promoting this industry sits at the basis of e-PITTI.com, the project designed and launched by Pitti Immagine and FieraDigitale. The mission is to help the fashion supply chain through new digital strategies, facilitating the online growth, especially on an international level," said the event's organizers in their statement.

"We want to become a resource for fashion and technology and reaffirm the importance of e-Pitti at the center of technology developments in the sector," said Francesco Bottigliero, managing director of FieraDigitale and head of e-Pitti. "More start-ups are contacting us about the online and physical trade shows to offer us their services or get in touch with exhibitors and buyers,” he said.

“With this agreement, we will be involved in the FTA's activities with emerging Italian companies. In exchange, FTA will help us in the selection process to evaluate start-ups who want to participate in 'Decoded Fashion,' the next edition of which is scheduled for October 22 in Milan," said Bottigliero.

FTA actively supports the growth of start-ups in fashion and technology with its expertise in management consulting, primarily gained through international partnerships. The company has offices in the United States, Italy and South Korea. It acts as a real "growth accelerator," catering to the most diverse needs of young companies through various services, organization management, etc.

FTA has been active in Italy for six months and has already taken three young companies under its wing: Leonardi Milano, offering made-to-measure cashmere clothing; La Passione Cycling Couture, specializing in products for cycling enthusiasts; and Warda, a B2B project for managing online visual merchandising.