Garut Regency, West Java, had the opportunity to participate in the fashion industry exhibition and design of leather products at the 2022 Lineapelle Leather Fair which will be held in Milan, Italy during 20-22 September 2022. “Yes, the target of the local government itself is that we can communicate (with the market) internationally, because I represent Indonesia, and the exit permit has just come out of the ministry,” said Garut Regent Rudy Gunawan in Garut, Wednesday (14/9/2022). He said Garut Regency is one of the areas famous for producing leather products in Indonesia, the center of which is in the Sukanggang area, Garut Kota District. His departure to Milan is a form of state duty because later it is hoped that there will be cooperation, especially between the Garut Regency Government and Italy as one of the countries that are synonymous with fashion products made of leather. “If there is an export-quality industry that has the Gucci stamp, for example, he wants to build it here,” said the Regent.
Head of Garut’s Department of Industry, Trade, Energy and Mineral Resources (Disperindag ESDM), Nia Gania Karyana, added that the exhibition in Italy will be attended directly by the Regent of Garut with a departure schedule for Thursday (15/9) for the next 10 days. The main target of the Garut Regency Government is to participate in the 2022 Lineapelle Leather Fair exhibition in Italy, she said, one of which is cooperation and an increase in the quality of leather handicrafts from Garut so that they can be known to the world. “Now it has quality, the design is more attractive, so at least if you have collaborated with Italian classmates, you can improve the quality of the leather and increase the income of business actors from upstream to downstream. She conveyed that the exhibition with the theme “Build a Bridge between The Innovation of The Present and The Vision of The Future” will not only carry products made of leather but will also bring other superior Garut products such as vetiver handicrafts and so on. The Regent of Garut wants leather products to be global, for it is necessary to take concrete steps with well-known manufacturers. He added that they need support from the central government, Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia (Bappenas), Ministry of Cooperatives, and Ministry of Industry and Trade to improve and implement the results of the visit to Italy.
The Head of W20 Agenda Team for Garut and Milan Cooperation, Alia Maulidiyanti said the presence of businessmen and local governments in Italy not only participated in the exhibition but a memorandum of understanding would be signed between the Regent of Garut and Fulvia Bacchi as General Manager of Unic Concrete Italiane of the Italian association of tanners. She added that the collaboration includes several things such as holding joint conferences, symposia, courses, and seminars on certification, standardization, technology, improvement, fashion trends, research on alternative materials, leather promotion, facilitating collaboration between universities, and trade associations and other technology to improve the quality of leather production in Garut Regency, West Java. Meanwhile, the Lineapelle Leather Fair 2022 exhibition will be attended by 1,100 participants from 38 countries or representatives from 556 leather tanning companies, 359 accessories manufacturers, 132 textile and synthetic manufacturers, 8 chemists, and 35 other services. The exhibition was a follow-up to the signing of the Letter of Intent (LoI) conducted by Garut Regent Rudy Gunawan with the Chair of Italian Women Twenty (W20) Delegation, Sveva Avveduto at the W20 Summit at The Kaldera, Toba, North Sumatra, July 20th, 2022.
