MICAM, the world’s most important international footwear show organised and promoted by A.N.C.I. (the National Association of Italian Footwear Manufacturers) held in Milan from 11 to 14 February, closed edition number 85 with 44,227 visitors. Every year numerous visitors come to experience innovation, quality and design and to have the sneak-preview of the new collections.

In addition to the usual extra area dedicated to the emerging designers, as part of a wider development of the footwear world, the last edition of MICAM hosted the exhibition named ‘Questa non è un sòla. Scarpe, pelletteria e accessori tra fake e rarità’. A clever pun (the word ‘sola’ means ‘scam’ in dialect but also unique in standard Italian) that aims to draw attention to the importance of recognising a genuine and unique handcrafted product from a fake one.

The exhibition was displayed within the fashion square and represented the second step of the educational  itinerary organised by the Associazione Museo del Vero e del Falso of Naples together with the Italian Footwear Manufacturers’ Association (Assocalzaturifici) and the Confindustria Campania. The itinerary started within the Sala delle Grida of the Chamber of Commerce of Naples on last 17 November and reached the MICAM Milan as a special guest. A significant cultural commitment against counterfeiting which asserts the importance of legality and aims to preserve the local businesses.

Fake clothes, shoes and leather accessories lead the Italian market to report a loss of revenue of almost 7 billion Euros every year. This phenomenon not only damage Italy’s businesses but also the workforce with the equivalent loss to 100,000 jobs.

The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the most representative footwear that marked the 20th century. From the high heel prototype based on a special dance shoe worn by the prima ballerina Carla Fracci to a priceless collection of vintage gloves provided by the Mondragone Foundation and last but not least, among the most common counterfeit leather goods, the iconic bags by Gucci, Yves Saint Lauren and Louis Vuitton.

Nowadays people involved in the counterfeiting industry are becoming more and more skilful in imitating goods’ details such as stitching, fabrics or decorations that fake items are hardly distinguishable to their originals. For this reason this exhibition gives visitors the chance to make a visual comparison displaying the original products and their fake versions seized by the law enforcers during their inspections.

The importance of the awareness about counterfeiting was also highlighted by workshops and exercises -just for the bravest! – on how to spot fake products by reading the composition labels or evaluating the quality of the workmanship.

We want to play our part in this and share some useful advices with our lovely followers.

Going through some details can help you identify an original from a counterfeit, for example by making sure that the shoe upper has a soft touch and the leather its typical scent.

Considering the shoe’s weight and its adequacy is another incredible way to check if you’re dealing with a poor-quality product. Depending on its goal and its style every good quality shoe is supposed to have a certain weight. That’s why an extremely heavy shoe is probably not a well-done shoe.

Analysing the craftsmanship. Uneven stitching, with stitches of various alignments or sizes are a clear sign of a knock-off pair of shoes. High-quality shoes, instead, often have a double stitching on high foot pressure points such as the heel and the instep.

And then… we have to stay cool, stop lovingly gazing at those wonderful shoes and read carefully the label that specify their composition. The label, that according to the law must be applied to at least one shoe, will definitely be a good help while choosing.

An original high-end product can be identified through its serial number, namely a printed code placed somewhere within the shoe matching the series affected.

We and the show ‘Questa non è un sòla’ have the same aim in mind: to help you out to observe and identify a product. And we want you to look beyond the mere price, where quality and work hide.

For those of you crazy about shoes and interested in experiencing value, quality and craftsmanship: come visit us! We are waiting for you! King Tartufoli would be glad to welcome you in our showroom to discover the new Spring-Summer collection 2018.  Follow us on our social networks and check out our website because as they say… a picture is worth a thousand words.