I love it when unexpected opportunities come along that are sometimes out of your planned activities - go with the flow I say and see where it all leads ! So, when some friends from my past life called me up and asked me would I come to the Cosmoprof Cosmetic Fair in Bologna to help them out with their new business, it didn’t take me long to say yes, and start the packing!
Having spent my entire life and career in the world of beauty - cosmetics, skin care and fragrances, this event in the beautiful city of Bologna, Italy, attracts worldwide retailers looking for what’s new in the industry to add to their selection of products in their retail stores. The world of beauty and fashion often intertwine and I looked upon this to be a perfect opportunity to be at the heart of the latest trends, with new colors in beauty emerging at the same time as new colors in the fashion world.
Bologna is a fabulous city, with amazing history, architecture, and more closer to my heart and soul - it is know as the “food basket” of Italy ! Any foodies out there need to add this to their “must see” list as their restaurants, osteria’s, trattoria’s and coffee bars and pastry stores are simply irresistible! Its not all about spaghetti bolognese - so many other fabulous foods to try and delicious wines from the region to accompany them!
The show attracts over 40,000 people annually and this was the first one in three years due to Covid and lockdowns and I was naturally curious to see how many would attend and what would be wearing, as from my own experience people in the beauty world love fashion - so I knew there would be great opportunities to people watch and catch some great innovative fashion trends - and I wasn’t disappointed ! Men in particular stole this show, with vibrant colors and on trend pieces, and weren’t afraid to show them all off - I do love to see well dressed men not afraid of color or fashion - at any age!
What I saw delighted me - all the colors of the shawls, scarves and accessories I have been posting this past few months for Spring were right on trend and the show was a delight of bright greens, electric blues, golden yellows, fire engine reds and glorious oranges - all our pure wool spun shawls and cashmere wraps were right on target for this year’s Spring look - and I am so looking forward now to the show in July where I will be featuring these items live at the upcoming Americas Mart Gift Show in July in Atlanta !
Exploring the city at night was so much fun. Bologna has a very large population of young people for its universities and so for a fashion junkie its a perfect place to catch all the individual styles of today’s generation and watch them add their own person twist to the new looks and designs for this season. I came away with a great deal of information and loved blending my past life with my former one - beauty and fashion - intertwined and working to keep us all up to date, stylish and on trend on a worldwide basis ! Well done Cosmoprof, it was a great show, with great people and wonderful new exciting and innovative products. I feel so very lucky to still be a part of this industry even on a part time scale, keeping my finger on the pulse of what’s new, what’s happening, and where the market is going both in beauty and fashion !
Walking to work each day was a joy. Stunning architecture, fabulous food, great people watching, beautiful weather - what more can we ask for ? Make it part of your itinerary if Italy is on your list this year - you won’t be disappointed!
It’s official and not necessary true - but made me smile ! Graffitti on the walls of the city centre as I was leaving …hopefully it will be true - very soon!