AlpTextyles project at Milano Unica fair
In July 2025, Katarina Šrimpf Vendramin from ZRC SAZU attended the international fair show of high-quality fabrics and fashion accessories Milano Unica in Italy. The AlpTextyles project, which was recognized as a good practice by the partners of the CULTURALITY project and included in the catalog (D3.1 Inventory of good practices), presented at its stand how Alpine textile traditions can be reimagined for a circular, regenerative future.
Visitors were invited to explore material roots of Alpine textile handicrafts, regional short supply chains, and upcoming open-access online course designed to share sustainable, circular, and heritage-based practices with students, professionals, and communities. Katarina also moderated a roundtable discussion on safeguarding textile traditions.
CULTURALITY and AlpTextyles share the common goals of revitalizing local communities through traditional crafts, innovation and digital tools. Milano Unica offered a rich ground for establishing new partnerships and exploring innovative market opportunities that can also empower CULTYRALITY’s mission of weaving cultural heritage into sustainable, creative, and locally rooted economic practices.
Such fairs are also an opportunity to present heritage materials and stories to a global audience, which is crucial for visibility of local sustainable crafts and cultural tourism development.
Milano Unica was also attended by the Handicrafts Centre Škofja Loka, which will use the inspiration gathered at the fair for co-organizing the CULTURALITY #RuralEvent with ZRC SAZU, in September 2025.
Photography: Federico Masini for AlpTextyles
