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Pilot Pen Australia is lifting its profile in the fashion stationery stakes via a promotional partnership with The Institute Group.

Pilot Pen Australia will work with The Institute Group, the umbrella company The Fashion Institute and The Makeup Institute, on a collaborative program that includes events, sponsorship and media publicity.

“Research shows that beautiful ink pens are back in fashion, in fact, we have witnessed a 200 per cent increase in the sale of prestige fountain pens in the last 12 months,” Barbara Oliver, marketing manager, Pilot Pen Australia, said.

“This is a global phenomenon,” she said. “In 2015, the UK reported a five per cent year-on-year increase in stationery sales; in the US, speciality pen sales grew by 11 per cent and in China, the world’s biggest market for fountain pens, sales rose to $341 million – an increase of seven per cent from 2014.”

In 2014, pens and writing tools generated global revenue of $16.2 billion, which is expected to reach $20.2 billion by 2019.

Oliver said that a new wave of calligraphers and lettering artists have become “social media stars”, which has contributed to the surge in the popularity of handwriting.

“Beautiful handwriting is very much in vogue at the moment, and just like a beautiful handbag or watch, a stylish pen is a fashionable must-have,” she said. “The alignment with the Institute Group is the perfect fit for Pilot, putting stylish pens in the hands of the fashion movers and shakers of the future.”

Oliver added that research shows that students who take notes by hand generally outperform students who type, with an improved memory recall.

“We aim to encourage students to experience a variety of pens and use them in their studies,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pilot Pen USA, which has partnered with New York Fashion Week in recent years, has collaborated with American fashion designer Nicholas K to create a dress decorated front and back with more than 200 Pilot Frixion Clicker pens.

Original article can be found here.