Fila, back in the spotlight in a fashion key 

In fact, the capsule collection is in imminent collaboration with the Milan concept store, 10 Corso Como, while at the Triennale museum, on September 19th, an exhibition of the brand that on 23rd day will take the Milan Moda Donna catwalks for the first time.

Fila brothers, from Biella (where the brand was born in 1949) to the peaks of sport, including the Wimbledon and Himalayas fields, and the investment funds phase with the arrival of the Korean manager, are far behind. Gene Yoon who took over in 2007, Fila wants to revive his identity.

“Change is an essential element of Fila’s DNA,” explains Yoon, who is the CEO of the Fila Korea group listed on the Seoul stock exchange and controls Fila. «After several successful collaborations in fashion, we thought it was a natural step to be present in the official calendar of Milan fashion, with a fashion show accompanied by an exhibition on the legacy of the brand».

The idea of ​​Fila, 2.3 billion dollars in turnover (about 2 billion euros), is “to provide a 360 degree storytelling” to talk to new generations in Italy.

“We have the opportunity to inspire new consumers thanks to an extraordinary history both in sports and in style”, says Jennifer Estabrook, chief operating officer of Fila North America, to ItaliaOggi. «Today millennials are looking for brands to discover and with which to realize themselves. For this reason they globally embraced Fila. We will continue to inspire them both by looking at our archives and adding a touch of modernity to the collections, leaving a link with the new generations in the development phase “.

The exhibition organized at the Milan Triennale is a milestone in the history of the brand: there are the exploits of Fila entrepreneurs, from the first activity to Coggiola in 1911 with Maglificio Biellese to the victories with the Fila brand alongside the tennis player Bjorn Borg to Messner, that wearing technical clothes from the Piedmontese company climbed the eight thousand without oxygen.

“In the last few years there has been a great interest in the brand starting from the fashion world”, emphasizes Estabrook. “This explains the collaborations with important companies like Fendi, Gosha Rubchinskiy and Jason Wu. The show that will be broadcast in live streaming and will have a series of see-now-buy-now articles (to be purchased live) in addition to the exhibition at La Triennale will further reflect the strength of Fila ».
For the Peninsula there is still no talk of shops, which are present in China but continue with the collaborations.

The next showcase will be the concept store 10 Corso Como with a series of items, from slippers to hats, backpacks, in cobranding. “Fila was born as a sport brand with a sensitivity towards fashion, to become a fashion brand with a sporting soul”, concludes the manager of Fila Usa. “Being present in all sports disciplines remains the core business but we will continue to have eyes on trendy and consumer-friendly products”.