MILAN — Milano Beauty Week is changing dates for its sophomore edition.
After its debut last year in spring, the city’s consumer-facing event dedicated to beauty is moving to fall and will run from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, right after Milan Fashion Weeks.
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The new timing and schedule of events was shared Friday, when the organizers hosted a press conference.
In addition to the new dates, another novelty is the doubling in the number of primary sites dedicated to the event. The Palazzo Castiglioni location will be added to the Palazzo Giureconsulti building in being turned into a Beauty Village that will host panels, workshops, laboratories and charity events related to the cosmetic world. These will be flanked by activations across the city, at beauty retailers, department stores, perfumeries and pharmacies, as well as cultural spots that will be involved in the week-long edition.
A brainchild of the national association of beauty companies Italian Cosmetics in collaboration with the Cosmoprof and Exxence trade shows, the initiative was introduced last year with the goal to promote the values of the Italian cosmetic industry and create awareness around both the social and economic roles it plays in the country.
“Last year we launched an extremely ambitious and unprecedented cultural project: to create and implement a large-scale event that could narrate to anyone the values of our industry, its relevance for the country and the essential nature of cosmetics,” said Cosmetica Italy’s president Benedetto Lavino.
According to data released by the association, the total sales of the local beauty industry grew 12.4 percent to 13.3 billion euros in 2022, and are projected to increase 7.9 percent this year. In particular, sales generated in the Lombardy region accounted for 66.2 percent of the national total.
Last year, overall exports grew 18.5 percent to 5.8 billion euros compared to the previous year, while projections show 10 percent growth for 2023.
The industry plays a key role on the occupational front as well as for its scientific impact, since local beauty companies invest an average of 6 percent in innovation, double the investment made by other manufacturing industries in the country.
In presenting the program for the upcoming edition, Accademia del Profumo’s president Ambra Martinone underscored the inclusive nature of the event, since all activities will be open to the public and mainly free.
The city’s central Palazzo Giureconsulti will continue to include beauty corners, olfactory and floral laboratories to train visitors on the importance of raw materials for cosmetics. Novelties will include the Wellness Lodge section offering free sessions of yoga, face yoga and meditation in the morning, as well as the Never Ending Beauty project promoting the circularity of the industry. Here, visitors will be invited to bring their old and empty bottles of beauty products, which will be replaced with new ones by partner companies of the event, while they will also receive information on how the packaging will be recycled