中文MICAM Milano Hands the Spotlight to Twelve Emerging Designers for Its Ninth Edition
MICAM will once again put the next generation of footwear talent centre stage when its Emerging Designers project returns to Fiera Milano Rho from 13–15 September 2026. Now in its ninth year, the initiative will showcase twelve international designers and brands selected for a fresh, contemporary take on shoemaking.
The names span the globe: Éclat, En Talons, Joel Wijangco, Maliko, Moon2gether, Nalebe, Paidal, Raphia, Stefano Mugnai, The Dreamers Club, Tenconi and Wud. Each will present collections in a dedicated Emerging Designers area built to raise their profile among MICAM’s international audience — and each will also take part in MICAM Next, a programme of talks on creative process and the future of footwear.
Why emerging talent is the fair’s future
Giovanna Ceolini, President of MICAM and Assocalzaturifici, framed the project as an investment in the whole supply chain. “Supporting new talent means investing in the future of the entire footwear supply chain,” she said. “With Emerging Designers, we want to give up-and-coming designers not just international visibility, but also a genuine opportunity to connect with buyers, companies and industry professionals.”
That connection is the prize. A trade fair’s enduring value is not the square metres it sells but the matches it brokers — between a young brand with a point of view and a buyer or manufacturer who can scale it. MICAM’s bet is that by lowering the barrier for newcomers, it keeps the fair relevant to where footwear is actually heading, not just where it has been.
What this year’s cohort represents
According to the organisers, the 2026 collections share a commitment to experimentation, design quality and product functionality, uniting craftsmanship, material research and constructive innovation with contemporary reinterpretations of footwear design. Comfort, brand identity and design are described as increasingly central — a fitting reflection of a market where consumers reward both substance and story.
The twelve were chosen by a jury chaired by footwear designer Ernesto Esposito, alongside Sabrina Donadel, Ada Kokosar, Americo Cacciapuoti, Bojan Kostic, Sergio Zambon, Ceolini and CEO Giorgio Possagno. Esposito, reflecting on the programme’s ninth edition, said creativity “can find a genuine opportunity for growth at MICAM” when design ideas, production expertise and the international market are brought together.
The bigger signal for the industry
For a European leather and footwear complex navigating cost pressures, tariffs and shifting demand, programmes like Emerging Designers are more than goodwill. They are a pipeline. The brands showing this September may be the suppliers, collaborators and headline names of the next decade — and the manufacturers exhibiting alongside them know it.
MICAM has always been where the industry meets. By reserving real estate and attention for its youngest voices, it is also where the industry renews itself.
Source: World Footwear / MICAM (worldfootwear.com)
