United in innovation
Like many textile trade shows, and Milano Unica is no exception, the fair’s aisles were busy, not bustling. This is often credited to tighter budgets at brands and retailers that send smaller teams to scout new fabrics. The atmosphere was all the more focused with impromptu meetings, the serendipity of in-person events, lending a relatively upbeat atmosphere to the July 2026 edition. A total of 737 companies exhibited, a 15% increase, with Italian mills accounting for 62% of the total.
International attendance continues to grow at Milano Unica, thanks in part to a robust buyer hosting programme. Nearly half of the visitors to the July 2026 edition came from outside Italy. Organisers noted significant increases in buyers from France (+25%), the United States (+8%), the United Kingdom (+10%), Japan (+14%) and Korea (+22%), in the order corresponding to the number of companies represented from each country. Chinese and German attendance remained stable.
From performance to athleisure and to everyday apparel, fabric manufacturers exhibiting at Milano Unica have been busy devising new fabrics to meet ever-evolving consumer expectations. “Consumer spending has changed,” says Fabio Cescon, sales manager for Innova, citing the rise of ultrafast fashion platforms. This shift makes the look of fabrics more important than other concerns, including sustainability, he suggests. Innova’s latest swimwear range features striking Lurex-enhanced fabrics offering high visual impact. For winter leggings, the company based in Dairago, near Milan, has developed a series of jacquard knits with textured motifs and brushed backs that are soft against the skin.
Texture first
Eurojersey is reorganising its marketing strategy and team and has decided to promote the Eurojersey brand more prominently than its legacy Sensitive Fabrics line. “We want to be less product-oriented and more company-oriented in our communications,” a spokesperson tells Sportstextiles. The Sensitive label, a patented warp knit technology, was first launched in the late 1970s. New fabrics for autumn-winter 2026/27 feature raised textures and a warmer hand feel. Some are bonded to fleece, combining a sleek face with a soft brushed back.
Texture is also a key direction for JRC Reflex, the maker of retroreflective fabrics and trimming. The company introduced a new rigid fabric with a raised grid texture for shoes and bags, says CEO, Céline Cugerone. Double-sided bonded stretch reflective fabrics are popular, she adds, with buyers requesting unconventional colour contrasts between the face and back. “We’ve seen more interest in darker shades this season.”
Exploring new fibre blends
Next-gen fibres derived from renewable or recycled resources are slowly weaving their way into the collections of established mills. Debs, a fabless organisation based in Japan, has a growing business with Eastman’s Naia Renew. The acetate fibre aligns well with the company’s heritage in silk and cupro. “Debs is one of our best partners in Japan. Naia is similar to silk, and Debs can make wonderful fabrics with the fibre,” says Carolina Wilches, application developer for Naia. She notes that special finishes, such as crushed textures, are in demand.
“Debs pioneered washed silk and cupro fabrics, and we are pursuing that same vein with Naia,” confirms Hani Debs, president, CEO and a fifth-generation executive of the Osaka-based family-owned business. “It brings good value to our customers as it tailors well. It also has high tensile strength, which is not usually the case for acetate,” he says. The company is now developing sportier styles, as “sports brands like the look and feel of the fibre, as much as its performance properties,” he says.
Positive Materials, the innovation arm of Portuguese group PDS, tests and scales many next-gen materials to help introduce them to the market. “We function as an interface between innovation and industry,” Tiago Carvalho, key account director, tells Sportstextiles. Fabrics made from Good Earth regenerative cotton (certified ROC) were on display, notably in blends with Spiber’s Brewed Protein and elastane. The company has also developed knits from SEFF hemp in 50% or 100% compositions, with varied textures. Sodra’s OnceMore viscose, made from a 65/35 blend of wood and cotton pulp from recycled textiles, stands out for its competitive pricing, says Mr Carvalho, who notes that Swedish brand Philippa K has adopted the fibre. Sparxcell’s novel cellulose-based physical colouring system is also a part of the collection featured in a series of prints. Positive Materials is now working to integrate the pigments directly into yarn.
In addition to its next-gen fibre lineup, the Portuguese company also produces basic knits in cotton or blends with manmade cellulosics. “It is important for us to be present in both sectors, the commercial and the innovative,” says Mr Carvalho.
The enduring appeal of natural fibres
Pontetorto presents its new fashion ranges at Milano Unica, while its sports collections are usually featured at Performance Days or the Functional Fabric Fair. The company’s roots are in wool, and its innovations span both markets. “Wool is still a big part of our sales. Our stretch merino wool fleece references remain our highest volume products,” says Manrico Rosati, area sales director for North America. Pontetorto’s wool-blend fleece fabrics are washable, shrink-resistant, and offer high abrasion resistance and low pilling, a plus compared to fleece fabrics made in Asia, he notes. The company based in Montemurlo, in the Prato district, also offers fleece knits made from post-consumer recycled merino wool. It has set up partnerships with brands to take back and recycle their wool-based waste. Mr Rosati adds that wool blends are in demand among running and urban techwear brands, with the likes of Arc’teryx Veilance adopting the company’s wool-Tencel blends.
For performance sports applications, Pontetorto’s TechnoCore is a lightweight thermal knit that can serve as a baselayer or an insulation and is also available in wool blends. TechnoCore eliminates the need for a downproof outer fabric, giving designers more freedom, points out Mr Rosati. Made on a special knitting machine, this range has proved popular, and the company plans to expand production.
Recycled wool specialist Manteco introduced a new reference at Milano Unica called Panno Casentino, in reference to Casentino Lane, a mill Manteco acquired in 2023 that specialises in ratine. The wool fabric with a fuzzy texture has a silver-screen ancestor in an outfit worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Giorgina Topi, Manteco’s communications manager, tells Sportstextiles. Another new development is MCashmere, Manteco’s first 100% recycled cashmere fabrics. The result of a partnership with the International Reference Centre for Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Transition (CIRAIG), this new reference was found to reduce potential biodiversity loss by 686 times, confirming the benefits of reusing existing fibres instead of farming new ones from Mongolian goats.
Recycled post-consumer wool is a traditional activity in Prato, where Prato Cardato is produced. The vast ecosystem that is behind the label is looking to obtain a protected designation of origin (PDO) from the European Union. “The EU is extending its PDO programme beyond food and agriculture to cover the industrial sector and support specific know-how developed in a specific location,” says Matteo Manera, sustainability manager for Penny Manera, a Prato Cardato member. “We are working in two directions: first, EU recognition to valorise the activity, and second, digital product passport compliance, as we can offer the traceability required by DPPs.”
Hemp was a major focus at the booth of the Alliance for Flax-Linen and Hemp. Here, too, the results of Hemp4Circularity, an extensive research programme to reintroduce long-fibre hemp, were on display at Milano Unica. “This project brought together a mix of textile agronomists, engineers and industrial partners,” says Sabine Le Chatelier, trend consultant for the organisation. “Linen and hemp share some characteristics but are two different fibres,” she says of the samples developed. “We aimed to keep their territories of expression distinct, not make a ‘faux linen’ from hemp, but rather develop fabrics that express hemp’s distinctive character.” Following this reasoning, the hemp fabrics featured twill structures, as opposed to linen’s traditional plain weaves, to reconnect hemp to its denim and workwear origins.
From updating tradition to exploring next-gen fibres, Milano Unica lived up to its ambition to make innovation a key theme of the July edition.
Image: A leggings fabric with a herringbone texture by Innova Fabrics.
