Twelve out of 16 technical presentations at the 2025 UITIC Congress in Shanghai had a focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

The International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians (UITIC) holds an international congress every two years. The most recent of these took place in Shanghai in the autumn of 2025. This was the twenty-second international congress in the organisation’s history.

UITIC president, Sergio Dulio, said that more than half of the papers that industry professionals submitted for consideration for the programme in Shanghai addressed the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the design and production of footwear. His belief is that “mature and exciting projects” using AI are coming into the global footwear industry now. “This is a breakthrough,” he added. He explains that presenting and sharing ideas on this and other subjects led to “an intense few days in Shanghai”.

In keeping with UITIC traditions, the congress began with two days of visits to institutions and companies. “This is not about tourism,” Mr Dulio makes clear. “These visits are a vital part of the programme. They are an effective way of learning about the local industry, seeing how companies are organised, and seeing the technologies they are choosing to use in their manufacturing processes.”

Organisations that hosted UITIC delegates during this round of visits included the Shanghai Art and Design Academy, safety footwear specialists Shima Technology Group and Saina, materials developer Huafon, and athletic footwear brand Do-win. The UITIC president describes these companies as “a brilliant selection”, put together with the help of colleagues at the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA). Together, they represented the “realities of the industry” well, he insists.

Keynote contributions

The conference component of the event followed, beginning with formal speeches to welcome delegates to Shanghai from Sergio Dulio, as well as from the president of CLIA, Li Yuzhong, and from one of the leather and footwear industry in China’s most eminent figures, Professor Bi Shi. There were two keynote speeches, the first from another well known industry figure, Nicoline van Enter, founder of innovation platform Footwearology. She spoke about the move “from shoes to systems” and AI-driven workflows, which she believes will apply in the construction of next-generation footwear. “Nicoline is  a visionary and an innovator in the field of footwear,” Mr Dulio said. “Her presentations are always very inspiring, and this one was no exception.”

A second keynote speech came from Liu Wei, representing athletic footwear and apparel brand Li Ning. He spoke about the contribution that technological innovation can make to sustainable development. This provided a clear explanation of Li Ning’s efforts, starting years ago, to put sustainability at the core of its business, Sergio Dulio stated. Sustainability is no longer a goal for the company, but something “deeply rooted in its processes”, he explains.

Material concerns

The conference programme at the UITIC congress included a total of 16 technical presentations. The UITIC president explained that selecting these 16 was a difficult task because the scientific committee for the event had around 80 proposals to choose from. “It’s not that this was an overwhelming number,” he continued. “We have had higher numbers of proposals at other UITIC congresses in the past. But the level, the quality of the proposals we received for this most recent event was very high. The committee had a very tough time selecting the 16 best ones to be presented on stage.” 

The presentations that secured selection divided neatly into four sections. The first, focusing on materials and product innovation, covered AI-driven design, alternative materials and, “quite intriguingly, and brilliantly presented [by Pedro Duarte at Portuguese industry research body CTCP]”, according to the UITIC president, the reuse of waste from leather production in footwear applications using additive manufacturing technologies.

Still learning

A second set of technical presentations focused on sustainability and competitiveness, focusing on traceability, product durability, and strategies for disassembly. On this last point, Mr Dulio points out that disassembly is a subject that has come up before at UITIC events. “We are used to assembling shoes,” he says. “We are still learning how to disassemble them.”

In this session, Sabrina Frontini of Italian certification body ICEC set out to reclaim the term “eco-leather” for the leather industry. With so many synthetic material developers misusing the term leather in their product descriptions, Ms Frontini told delegates that “eco-leather” is real leather produced with a low environmental impact. Footwear companies should use this, she said, and have their material choices certified by bodies such as ICEC “to avoid greenwashing”.

A third round focused on smart manufacturing, much of it empowered by AI. Case studies labelled as “successful industrial stories” made up the full complement of technical presentations at the UITIC Congress. An additional 24 high-value proposals went on display in the event’s Poster Showcase section.

Data challenge

Just before the close, seven representatives from different parts of the footwear industry took part in a panel discussion, chaired by Sergio Dulio, with ‘The Power of AI for the Footwear Business’ as the over-arching theme. One of the panel members, the general manager of Spanish footwear research and testing organisation Inescop, Dr Eduardo Calabuig, says one of the key points to come out of the discussion related to data. “There is a data challenge,” he says. “In the footwear industry we still have too many manual processes. We have to collect all the data we need and organise it in the best way possible. Research centres have a key role here. We have to help companies digitalise their processes. We have to be more than a knowledge provider. We have to be enablers of technology for the footwear industry and move from isolated systems to eco-systems, with everything connected.” He insists AI will be critical in achieving this.

In all this, there are, potentially, important advantages for designers in particular, Sergio Dulio insists. “Designers can tell the system, in a clear manner, about their intentions,” he says. “If a system can understand your intentions, it can provide you with a detailed design and a 3D model to help translate those intentions into a future pair of shoes.  I think this is the real breakthrough.”

But humans must continue to play a role. He describes AI as “a kind of nervous system”, relying on data in the same way as the brain relies on blood. But he insists that processes need to continue to have humans in the loop. “In all these areas, a human presence is fundamental, ,” he makes clear. “With AI, you need to have a guard-rail. It has to be guided in a certain direction. It also requires a licence to drive it, just as in driving a car. You need a licence to show that you can drive your car without causing any harm to your health or to the safety of others.”

Night life

On the social side, UITIC held its own gala after the first full day of the conference, but Sergio Dulio also pays tribute to the warm hospitality UITIC delegates received from their Chinese hosts the night before. Congress attendees received an invitation to join CLIA members at another gala dinner, marking the host organisation’s own annual general meeting, giving the international footwear contingent the chance to spend time with more than 500 leather and footwear industry professionals from all parts of China.

At UITIC’s own special evening event, which took place on board a boat on the Huangpu River, the organisation presented lifetime achievement awards to four industry figures. People receiving honours on this occasion included Miguel Fluxà, chief executive of Mallorca-based footwear brand, Camper, although Mr Fluxà was unable to attend. Chinese academic Professor Gong Taishen from Shaanxi University of Science and Technology received the UITIC scientific award. Technical awards went to Andrea Favazzi, who manages the technical department of Italian industry body Assomac, and to Chinese technologist Chen Guoxue, a master artisan who runs the Shanghai Guoxue Shoe Last Company. “The awards are important,” Sergio Dulio insists. “This is a way of celebrating the contributions that people make to business and technology.”

There was also time for UITIC delegates to visit the 2025 All China Leather Exhibition and the inaugural edition of a new finished products exhibition, the Moda China International Shoes, Bags and Apparel Fashion Fair. These events, organised by CLIA and its partners, were taking place in Shanghai at the same time. “This contributed to the richness and completeness of our event,” Sergio Dulio stated. 

A strong focus on AI at the congress made for an intense few days in Shanghai. Credit: UITIC

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