"The contraction we expected was confirmed. We saw a drop in the number of Asian buyers and a slowdown in British visitors due to transport difficulties - caused, as far as the former are  concerned, by the public health emergency and, as regards the latter, by the extreme weather conditions. There was also a slight decrease in German buyers who are going through a difficult economic period. A scenario which is counter balanced by an increase in buyers from Russia and the CSI area thanks to the support of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA)", commented Siro Badon, Chair of MICAM and Assocalzaturifici (the Italian Footwear Association).

One of the new entries at this edition was MICAM X, the area dedicated to the most innovative and technologically advanced ideas and products. Here buyers were able to enjoy a packed schedule of seminars and fashion parades with the most updated developments in the sector, including fashion trends, new materials, sustainability and the future of retail. Social and environmental sustainability represented one of the key themes at the heart of other successful initiatives, such as The Garden, a space dedicated to respect for the environment, and the iKids Square, which hosted the Wonder Dolls, limited-edition dolls made by the artist Allison Hoffmannwere, with proceeds going towards projects run by Humana People to People Italiato improve primary school education in Malawi.

Other highlights of the event were the world of sports and outdoor shoes in the Players District, and the Emerging Designers area, showcasing the creations of 12 young up-and-coming designers selected by a panel of experts.

According to the organisers, the announcement of the first edition of Micam Americas, scheduled to take place from the 17^th to the 19^th of August 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre "was met with great interest on the part of both dealers and the foreign press". This exhibition, created in partnership with Informa Markets, takes the place of FN Platform.

The last day of this edition of Micam and Mipel (the show focused on leather bags and accessories) coincided with the first day of Lineapelle (leather focused fair featuring accessories, components, synthetics and models for footwear, leather goods, garments and furniture) and Simac (trade show for machinery and technologies for the footwear, leather goods and tanning industries).

The next edition of Micam will take place from the 20^th to the 23^rd of September 2020 to present the Spring/Summer 2021 collections.