From the Sector

At Milano Unica, as key inspiring article, ILUNA presented an exclusive and elegant lace long dress, created in collaboration with Valery, starting from an all over textronic ultralight lace with a complex organic design completely made of recycled materials, using ROICA™ Eco-Smart family, a world-first range of responsible made premium stretch yarns, demonstrating, once more, how the two leading innovators continue their close partnership to present the most “advanced” and responsible solutions to the market today.

Nevertheless, for ILUNA smart innovation is not just a project even, at its space at Milano Unica visitors will had the opportunity to discover the new collection and also to experience and touch the latest boundaries of lace smart innovations. This season novelties include:

1. Green Label collection, the Iluna dedicated range featuring a new responsible approach in respect of the planet and people, able to deliver innovation, beauty and quality, at 360°. This season, in addition to the all over, jacquard, double jacquard and mesh offer, the line is also featuring  new stretch Galloon laces fully made with GRS certified recycled  materials, including the stretch thanks to the introduction of the unique ROICA™ sustainable yarn part of the ROICA™ Eco-Smart family. 
2. ILUNA is also proud to introduce a worldwide première: Eco- Smart family made of sustainable yarns allover laces made with NAIA cellulosic fiber by Eastmann combined with ROICA™ premium stretch sustainable yarn   realized on warp knitting jacquard looms. A unique innovation, with an interesting look & feel combined with a special softness!  
3. ILUNA has strategically included in all their stretch laces only ROICA™ Eco-Smart family of sustainable yarns since some time. The company is pleased to introduce the latest version of this yarns that are able to deliver 3 functions in one:  premium stretch, sustainability combined with the ROICA™ Colour Perfect family function offering excellent flawless and world unique colour dimensions, homogeneity.
4. For the salon, another première:  in cooperation with ROICA™ and Cupro by Asahi Kasei, Iluna is pleased to introduce ‘Smart Bucket Bag’ as a  special  limited edition gift. In origin, this was a roomy bag shaped like a bucket taller than it is wide with a rounded bottom. It first came to fashion in the 1900's, from a pouch with a string and a hardened bottom. Federica Annovazzi idea started from the traditional shape, but it went way beyond and imade it contemporary by smart materials and manufacturing. A beautifully crafted ‘double face recipe’ made  combining a luxurious Cupro fabric by Infinity with an Iluna stretch Double face Smart Bucket bag lace designed and produced with ROICA™ Eco-Smart family of sustainable yarns. The bag is manufactured exclusively by Made in Carcere a cooperative of women in rehabilitation, so creating a useful social exchange as well as a responsible and smart one. The Made in Carcere brand was founded in 2007, thanks to Luciana Delle Donne, founder of Officina Creativa, a non-profit social cooperative.
5. ILUNA can also boast its new STeP (Sustainable Textile Production) certification by Oeko-Tex, a certification that clarifies and communicates the company’s sustainable production commitment. In addition to this, all products are Oeko-Tex 100 certified.

ILUNA’s newest digital programs:

• ILUNA has created the new e-shop offering its exclusive materials to smaller companies looking for added values as: creativity, innovation, made in Italy and responsibility. 
• The whole collection is also visible online at its web site, previous registration, and orders can be done directly online always aiming to customers care.

Today ILUNA represents the largest European lace producer, and thanks to its journey toward the most contemporary way to innovate that includes responsibility, has also become a reference point in the international market for a lace offer that is beautiful, innovative and responsible at the same time. An alchemy of design and sustainable innovation, the only eco-fashion line that includes lace and stockings, capable of combining ethics and high quality standards with a fashion image of bright and deep colors. 

Paris - On April 12th 2018, top European talents from 120 campuses will compete in the fourth edition of the Morpheus Cup to showcase their skills and highlight their most innovative projects. After Luxembourg in 2017, the event will take place in 2018 at the Palais Brongniart (Stock Exchange) in Paris and will focus on burning topics such as Digital Transformation, Creativity, Deeptech, Circular Economy, Ecommerce and much more.

Since its launch in 2015, the Morpheus Cup has been placed under the high patronage of the European Commission with the support of Commissioners Marianne Thyssen and Carlos Moedas in 2017. "The championship is a great opportunity for young people to showcase their skills and to help to bridge the gap between universities, schools and the European employment market. In the Commission, we believe that the right skills not only improve young people's life chances, but also act as a driver for our future competitiveness and growth" underlines Mrs. Thyssen.

In the last three years, the event already attracted hundreds of campus from more than 20 countries and rewarded many of them including Warshaw School of Economics, Mannheim Business School, HEC Paris, Polytechnique Nantes, universities from Oxford, Berlin, Luxembourg, Athens, and Barcelona.

New challenges for new talents

The next edition will take the competition to another level by featuring tech, business, science, marketing, creative challenges in five different rooms, suggesting meetings with employers, innovative brands and investors through 50 stands and presenting not less than 20 categories for students to submit their projects/startups ideas (Morpheus Prize). Apart from the live experiences and challenges designed by entrepreneurs or partners of the event, almost 500 research projects and startups will be showcased to win awards, the championship and up to €50,000 worth of prizes.

Art, circular economy, human capital, smart cities, mobility, FinTech, design, industry, sport, artificial intelligence, topics, regardless of the students’ profiles and education level, invite them to be creative in many different fields.

Finalists will have to pitch in front of an international jury. Past editions welcomed jury members from Google Lunar XPrize, WarnerBros, Accenture, European Investment Fund, FC Barcelona, ESA, Canal+, Novak Djokovic Foundation etc. Daimler, Forbes, Expon Capital, Davidson, Leroy-Merlin, PwC have already joined the next edition.

Registrations are already open. First partners, jury members and employers will be unveiled before Christmas season.

The Morpheus Cup’s website unveils the main characteristics of the championship and also the past editions prize-winners.