With September 2025, there are important innovations planned for the fashion fairs you direct: Momad, Bisutex, Intergift and Madridjoya. What are they all about?

From September, Madridjoya will reach its maximum expansion and this will entail the expansion of the exhibition space for the jewellery and watchmaking event. In addition, over the last few years we have realised that there are increasingly strong synergies between Momad and Bisutex, because footwear is increasingly part of a total look that includes clothing, footwear and leather goods on the one hand and jewellery and accessories on the other. For all these reasons, from September 2025 Madridjoya will move to pavilions 4 and 6 and Bisutex to pavilion 8 together with Momad. Momad and Bisutex will be held from 11 to 13 September, Intergift from 10 to 13 September and Madridjoya from 11 to 14 September. These changes will also affect the future, of course.

Speaking more specifically about Momad, the Italian presence appears significant. What can you tell us about this?

The Italian market is very important for us and there is a lot of affinity with the Italians. After all, communication with the Italians is very simple and the lifestyle has a lot in common. We have products that can create a lot of synergies and that work well in the Italian and Spanish markets. This is also why every year we work to increase the Italian presence not only at Momad, but also at Bisutex, Intergift and Madridjoya. If we look at our Buyer Programme, we see that the largest percentage of our participants are Italians. The delegates responsible for involving Italian companies and buyers in our trade fairs are Nicolò and Diego Costanzo, in Galleria Passarella in Milan.

In today’s increasingly digitalised and globalised world, many believe that the traditional role of trade fairs as a meeting and business opportunity is outdated. What is your opinion?

With Covid and the advent of digital platforms, we thought that the role of the traditional trade fair was coming to an end. Instead, Covid has shown that the two worlds – the physical and the digital – do not replace each other, but are complementary. This is because having the opportunity to see and touch the product, to talk to people vis à vis, to form relationships and friendships, has a different value and importance from mere digital contact. A bit like what happened in the past between TV and radio: the former has not replaced the latter, but each has carved out a role for itself and they have become two complementary media. Of course, if the product in question is a piece of machinery or a technical component, the importance of seeing and touching is not the same as for a piece of clothing or a shoe.

Another increasingly central theme is sustainability. How are you addressing it?

Ifema has been working on the sustainable development of its events for some time and has obtained several sustainability certifications. The stand furnishings are made of sustainable materials, including carpeting, and are themselves recycled. Where the product allows, we also reduce lighting to save energy. Another aspect we are paying attention to is the carbon footprint: we have started a pilot project to assess the carbon print of the activities involved in organising our trade fairs and we have realised that the most important item is transport, both for visitors and exhibitors. And it is precisely on this front that we are trying to understand how to intervene.