At the tenth edition of the Innovation Village Retail, start-ups are telling the story of a sector undergoing full-scale digital transformation — from foot measurement to supply chain certification, from the use of 3D across the entire product lifecycle to increasing levels of personalisation. A future driven by AI which, according to Alberto Mattiello, is already set to revolutionise the design, production and retail of footwear and bags. The June edition of the Riva del Garda fair will be strongly focused on innovation… with a surprise in store!
Some iconic presentations used to end with the famous phrase: “One more thing”. This year, Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags will also surprise visitors with something fresh, dynamic and innovation driven. We will reveal
more shortly — but the unmistakable sense of a technology capable of reshaping how shoes and bags are designed, produced and sold will run throughout the entire summer edition of Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags (13-16 June 2026). Innovation will, in
fact, be a central theme.
Let’s start with some figures that clearly show why innovation can no longer be overlooked.
According to the latest World Footwear report, AI adoption among OECD companies has risen from dal 6% in 2020 to 20% in 2025 — with a sharp acceleration in the past two years, as tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini have moved beyond experimentation to become real working tools. In the footwear sector, this translates into tangible case studies. In Portugal, for example, AI-assisted planning developed by Olifel has reduced working cycles from eight hours to one, increasing production schedule accuracy from 50% to 98.5%. ISI expects to cut planning time by 90%, while MIND, through advanced 3D modelling, has reduced the concept-to-sample cycle by three quarters.
This is not just about software. In Monsummano Terme, Italy — not typically associated with cutting-edge innovation — companies investing in digitalisation and automation have recorded productivity increases of up to 30%, alongside a 15% reduction in operating costs.
Meanwhile, at the Politecnico di Milano, Paolo Rocco is working on “soft handling”: collaborative robots capable of manipulating deformable objects such as cables, fabrics and uppers, thanks to tactile sensors, computer vision and machine learning. It is the last major bottleneck in automation — and it is beginning to be overcome.
A clearer picture of where the industry is heading was outlined by Alberto Mattiello in Orlando (USA), during the recent NSRA – National Shoe Retailers Association conference. Mattiello – futurist and member of the Scientific Committee of Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags – identified four levels of artificial intelligence already coexisting and reshaping the rules of footwear and leather goods retail.
There is horizontal AI — now widely used — no longer just chatbots, but agents capable of navigating the web, completing forms and even ordering samples autonomously. Mattiello himself described how his AI sourced mushroom-based materials and had a sample delivered to his office without further input. Then there is vertical AI: tens of thousands of specialised tools designed for specific tasks, from contracts and pricing to photo shoots generated without a physical studio. A third development is Vibe Coding: anyone can now ask a machine to build the software they need, without writing a single line of code. The fourth level is embedded inphysical product — from washing machines that understand natural language to tennis ball machines capable of replicating the playing style of Alcaraz.
Within this framework, two insights stand out. The first is personal AI. As digital assistants begin to understand our preferences, habits and even wardrobe, they will increasingly make purchasing decisions on our behalf. Mastercard and Visa have already developed infrastructures enabling agents from platforms such as Perplexity, ChatGPT and Gemini to complete transactions. McKinsey estimates that within three years, the “agentic web” could generate five trillion dollars in value. SEO is giving way to GEO — content optimised not for search engines, but for AI systems making decisions on behalf of users.
The second insight: today, footwear and leather goods companies can move from idea to digital prototype in minutes. Time-to-market is shrinking, sampling is reduced, and decisions are made in the same space where ideas are generated.
Against this backdrop, the scale of change is clear: 1.3 billion people already use AI daily, with a projected 5 billion by 2030.
According to Retail Hub, innovation partner of the Riva del Garda fair, the State of Fashion Technology 2026 report (here is the full press release) shows that over 75% of global fashion brands now consider artificial intelligence and digital technologies a strategic priority to improve customer experience, supply chain efficiency and sustainability. In this scenario, start-ups have become one of the main drivers of innovation. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025, analysing over 5 million start-ups across more than 350 ecosystems, confirms that technological innovation, artificial intelligence and sustainability are now key drivers of global entrepreneurship (with over 12,000 start-ups registered in Italy alone).
Taken together, these developments may seem almost futuristic. This is where Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags come into play — bringing innovation back into the reality of business.
The June 2026 edition marks the tenth Innovation Village Retail and Start-up Competition. Ten editions in five years, nearly 90 start-ups from 17 countries: a unique observatory on the future of the sector. This year’s start-ups reflect a rapidly evolving landscape across five key areas. The first is 3D without compromise: Voxelo (UK) transforms smartphone videos into digital twins; Threedium (Espain), with Wrkspace AI, generates intelligent digital twins for the entire product lifecycle; Ustyle (Italy) enhances product discovery through personalised recommendations. The second is fit as data: Sooley (Germany) turns an iPhone into a 3D foot scanner; Shoefitr (Netherlands) matches foot scans with finished shoes to reduce returns. The third is mass customisation: Tailoor (Italy) enables on-demand production and personalisation, reducing stock; PlatformE (Portugal) digitises the entire journey from product creation to distribution; Estyl, Like Magic (Italy) brings hyper-realistic virtual try-on and automated styling into the digital fitting room. The fourth area is the Digital Product Passport: HALA (Italy) and Circular Solution (South Korea) help companies prepare for upcoming EU regulations, turning compliance into a growth driver. The fifth — cutting across all others — is returns reduction and after-sales innovation, from recommerce to verified recycling.
Five directions, one conclusion: innovation in footwear and leather goods is no longer just about machinery and technology. It is about data, digitalisation and product traceability.
During the fair, additional initiatives will also focus on innovation. As part of Market Focus Europe, APICCAPS will present the results of the FAIST project — a €50 million Portuguese consortium bringing AI and advanced technologies from pilot phases into industrial production. A valuable reference for the entire industry.
And then, of course, “one more thing”. For the upcoming edition, Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags have planned a surprise that combines communication and innovation: a curated selection of exhibitor products will be presented in a completely new way. We won’t reveal more for now — but it will be an unmissable opportunity for anyone interested in product, innovation and the future.
To conclude, returning to a key idea highlighted by Mattiello: every AI we use today is, by definition, the least advanced we will ever use. Tomorrow, it will already be more powerful.
The future of footwear and bags is not yet fully defined — but the direction of innovation is unmistakably in the air.
