Nefertiti in Ibiza, featuring embroidery and applique, is one of the three themes of the recent Ital-ian fabric show.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The recently concluded 24th edition of Milano Unica, the Italian Textiles and Accessories Trade Show, provides a hint about what to expect in the 2018 spring/summer collections. Sun Yuanqing reports.

Italy is well known for its luxury fashion brands, but to understand the phenomenon, one has to look at its fabric industry, which fuels the fashion powerhouses.

Meanwhile China is a big fan of Italian textiles. last year, China surpassed Germany to become the top market for Italian fabric, according to Sistema Moda Italia, the National Textiles and Fashion Association.

Made-in-Italy textiles recorded total sales of 7.86 billion euros ($8.34 billion) in 2016, a 0.6 percent decrease from 2015, due to the weak international markets. So, what does 2017 have in store for the Italian textile industry?

A glimpse of the future was on show at the 24th edition of Milano Unica, the Italian Textiles and Accessories Trade Show, which was held in Fiera Milano Rho from Feb 1-3.

A total of 427 exhibitors participated in the show - 365 Italian and European exhibitors, and 40 Japanese and 22 Korean ones.

At the show, the 2018 Spring/Summer collections were based on three themes: Nefertiti in Ibiza, Malevich in Sorrento and Mollino in Teheran. The collections were showcased in the Trend Area using multimedia.

The Nefertiti in Ibiza theme showcased embroidery and appliqu??, the Malevich in Sorrento section featured cotton and wool fabric with color blocks and graphics. And the Mollino in Teheran theme offered exotic and surreal jacquard designs.

A special session called Back to School had renowned British designer Paul Smith do a seminar on how "you can find inspiration in everything" for students from fashion schools.

In a section called Magazzini Aperti, seniors from 10 selected schools showcased their design projects using fabrics and accessories contributed by Milano Unica exhibitors.

In the Vintage Area, retro clothing and accessories offered a glimpse Italian fashion's heritage.