TRADESHOW PREVIEW

BACK IN THE GAME

The return to physical get-togethers wasn’t the only priority for most tradeshows this year: fundamental decisions that will affect the future of fashion fairs and reveal their full impact in the months to come are also at the top of the agenda.

Two years after Kingpins24 was initiated as a digital format, the organisers of denim tradeshow Kingpins and its founder Andrew Olah got back to business in a new location, Amsterdam’s SugarCity, with a physical event showcasing 600 brands and attracting over 1,200 visitors. This clearly set the tone for the second post-pandemic event, which took place from 19-20 October.

And staying on the topic of denim: Denim Première Vision celebrated its premiere in Berlin this May. Awaiting the visitors were not only 80 exhibitors and a new line-up – consisting of the Marketplace, physical and digital talks as well as space for fashion trends and seminars – but also a presentation of trends and technological innovations for the autumn/winter 23/24 season. In November, the tradeshow will be heading to Milan to showcase the latest developments in the world of denim.

Ready and raring to go, Munich Fabric Start (MFS) and its international denim fair Bluezone returned as a physical event for its 50th anniversary edition at the end of August, beginning of September. With the launch of its new format The Source as a one-stop solution, the event covered its largest total exhibition space to date: 45,000 m². Now fully back on track, they’ll be following up with View at the end of November and MFS and Bluezone at the end of January 2023.

Fashion fair Premium also made an impressive comeback this July. With its formats Premium, Seek and the recently launched D2C event The Ground, the organisers celebrated their physical tradeshow comeback in the new location of Messe Berlin. But there’s no time to rest on their laurels as the next edition is already in the planning stages and will take place in January 2023 during Berlin Fashion Week.

New city with a new licensee: Neonyt is bidding farewell to Frankfurt am Main and will be pitching its (tradeshow) tents in the Rhine metropolis of Düsseldorf in January 2023. The sustainable format is being initiated by the new licensee of Igedo Company parallel to Fashn Rooms and will once again include Fashionsustain as an integral part of the event.

FABRICS OF THE FUTURE

Every year, international fabric fair Munich Fabric Start brings the fashion industry together and unites fabric manufacturers, brands and experts in one place, putting the spotlight on the latest fabric trends and innovations. Taking place from 24-26 January 2023, the next edition will showcase the latest trends for spring/summer 24/25 within the various creative areas.

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With progressive content, innovative formats and new areas and partnerships, Munich Fabric Start has been leading the way for years now. What really sets the fair apart is its different formats: Bluezone, Keyhouse, The Source and View.

Once again, Munich Fabric Start will showcase 900 exhibitors and around 1,500 collections covering eight areas: Fabrics and Additionals with international material innovations for all clothing segments, Resource and Sustainable Innovations for the most innovative textile developments, Design Studios with fabric designs and new innovations for prints on an extended area, innovation hub Keyhouse, denim powerhouse Bluezone and new sourcing area The Source for international, vertical integration.

For sourcing platform Resource, the space has been completely redesigned and will showcase the latest fabric trends such as certified organic, plant-based, recycled, circular fabrics and accessories, or those made from regenerative sources. And once again in the Keyhouse, the innovation hub of Munich Fabric Start, a variety of pioneering technologies from the textile and fabric sector will be shown. On over 1,000 m², forward-looking showcases and sustainable innovations will be presented from the sectors of sustainability, digitalisation, traceability, technology and finishing. This is also where visitors will find Munich Fabric Start’s main lecture forum with exclusive keynotes, panel discussions, trend presentations, Q&A sessions and expert talks with international industry insiders. At the special Sustainable Innovations presentation area, visitors can discover innovative new approaches that will inspire them to rethink the future of fabrics. From ‘Biotic’ – environmentally friendly fabrics made from living microorganisms – to leather alternatives made from withered flowers down to soft robotics.

In addition to these formats, Munich Fabric Start is organising the exclusive preview concept View Premium Selection from 29-30 November where the first developments for spring/summer 24/25 will be presented in the unique atmosphere of the MVG Museum, a public transportation museum. “Full of inspiration and as early in the season as possible – View Premium Selection is our exclusive preview concept. From 29-30 November 2022, we are making a trend statement and offering buyers and designers of high-end ready-to-wear clothing from throughout Europe a handpicked selection of premium-quality fabric and accessories collections from the different areas Fabrics, Additionals, Design Studios, Denim and Sportswear. The event is becoming a key fixture on the tradeshow calendar. We’ve already received a good number of registrations and are expecting the MVG Museum to be fully booked,” explains Sebastian Klinder, Managing Director of Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH.

MUNICHFABRICSTART.COM

TRADESHOW PREVIEW PERFORMANCE DAYS

FUNCTION MEETS SUSTAINABILITY

Functional fabrics and sporty fashion are at the core of this platform dedicated to functional textiles, yarns, components and accessories for sportswear and workwear. Every six months, Performance Days showcases only sustainable materials and fabrics and offers its visitors a comprehensive tradeshow with high-quality textile manufacturers. The coming edition on 3 and 4 November 2022 will be taking place for the first time at the MOC Ordercenter in Munich.

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Once again the focus is on sustainability. As well as the tradeshow format in Germany, they are also behind the Functional Fabric Fair powered by Performance Days in the USA, in New York City and Portland, and Functional Textiles Shanghai by Performance Days in China.

For the first time, the upcoming event from 3-4 November 2022 is welcoming its visitors at a new venue and presenting sustainable textiles at the MOC Ordercenter in Munich. For the winter edition, the award winners of the winter 2024/25 season will present their fabric highlights and accessories trends for winter 2024/25 in the Performance Forum. “We want to enable our visitors to make the best decisions when it comes to choosing materials, also in terms of CO2 neutrality and, at the end of the day, also textile circularity,” says Marco Weichert, CEO of Performance Days. In the Performance Forum, visitors will find an inspiring overview of sustainable and new materials, trends and innovations by the exhibitors. To digitally present the haptic, design and structure of the fabrics to the visitors as realistically as possible, the Performance Forum has been equipped with innovative 3D technology. This includes innovative tools like 3D images, video animations and U3MA files for download. In the Marketplace, visitors will have the opportunity to browse over 19,000 products by the exhibitors, including the fabric highlights from the individual categories of the Performance Forum. At the upcoming event, the portfolio of fabric trends ranges from the recycling of marine waste like old buoys, plastic waste or fishing nets to the upcycling of waste from the automobile and computer sector.

Thanks to new online platform The Loop, it is now possible to follow the tradeshow digitally and stay informed about all the important news, current trends and material innovations throughout the year.

TRADESHOW PREVIEW DENIM PREMIÈRE VISION

BIG BIRTHDAY BASH IN MILANO

At its upcoming event on 23 and 24 November, Denim Première Vision will be celebrating its 15th anniversary. For this occasion, the tradeshow is returning to Milan, following its summer edition in Berlin. Together with Fabio Adami Dalla Val, we discuss the advantages of Milan and take a glimpse at the coming event.

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The crème de la crème of the denim industry will be flocking to the upcoming edition of Denim Première Vision at Milan’s event venue Superstudio Più. And a special anniversary is on the cards: the internationally renowned tradeshow is celebrating its 15th birthday with a fully-packed, varied line-up for the spring/summer 2024 season.

FROM MILAN TO BERLIN AND BACK TO MILAN…

After the last event, which took place last May in Berlin, it is returning to Milan for the next edition. The change of event location is being very well received and also keeps things creative and exciting, as Fabio Adami Dalla Val explains: “For our 15th anniversary, we are working to create the best and simplest environment to allow our partners to do business with a relaxed feel. The duality with Berlin is amazing because the two cities are similar in many aspects but at the same time totally different in terms of creativity and value chain presence, giving our partners the chance to be present in two of the most important European markets.” And there was another important reason that brought the event back to the Italian metropolis, as he tells us: “The first two editions of Denim Première Vision in Milan confirmed our idea that leaders of the fashion industry (brands or producers) consider the city to be a hotspot where you need to be for business and to get inspired. In Milan you can explore shopping opportunities and visit incredible exhibitions and cultural highlights in one of the most sustainable cities in the EU. On our tour of the European fashion capitals that make sense for us, Milano is a must!”

CELEBRATE THE GOOD TIMES

There is a huge sense of anticipation for the next edition event, where over 60 exhibitors – all leaders in the global creative denim industry – from 14 countries including Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey, Morocco, Bangladesh and Pakistan will be presenting their latest developments and innovations. As well as the valuable networking opportunities with key denim players, the accompanying line-up also has a few surprises in store to mark the upcoming anniversary. Informative talk panels will cover key topics like sustainability, digitisation and production, which are becoming increasingly relevant within the industry. During the Denim Trend Tasting and Digital Live Sourcing, fashion seminars will be conducted online and at the show by the Denim Première Vision fashion team. New additions include the three forums, which will be taking place instead of the previous Trends Agora, where the denim trends for spring/summer 2024 will be presented in the form of selected fabrics, accessories and finished products, accompanied by photos and immersive videos. For the second time in a row, The Denim Fashion District will be presenting ten ready-to-wear and accessories brands that will preview their collections created in partnership with show exhibitors. Special workshops and events will round off the event. In honour of their upcoming birthday, there will also be a cocktail reception on the first day, in partnership with Turkish denim specialist Isko. We say: “Salute!” and wish the team all the best for future Denim Première Vision events. By the way: after Milan, they will be returning to Berlin again from 31 May until 1 June 2023.

CELEBRATING IN STYLE – 20 YEARS OF PREMIUM

The events of the Premium Group will be taking place during Berlin Fashion Week once again, true to Anita Tillmann’s motto for 2023: “Alone we’re faster, but together we can go further”. Visitors can look forward to shorter walking distances for visitors, improved navigation on the tradeshow grounds, all-new and improved segmentation of the exhibitors and big birthday vibes to celebrate Premium’s 20-year anniversary!

INTERVIEW CHERYLL MÜHLEN Jörg Arntz, Managing Director and Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the Premium Group

20 years of PREMIUM! Are there any particular highlights that you can let us in on?

Our 20-year anniversary will be taking centre stage as the main highlight. We’re going to pull out all the stops and celebrate in style! Miss it and miss out! We’re already working on condensed content formats to enable us to offer our exhibitors and visitors something new over the three days, including content that is as structured as possible. Following our successful relaunch in summer, CONSCIOUS CLUB will also be taking place again alongside PREMIUM and SEEK. Fortunately, the CC community and the demand for brands, content and contacts around the theme of sustainability are growing, which is why there’ll also be an extended line-up here. The next generation of booth presentations and brand activations will be shown at SEEK and PREMIUM and will also showcase innovative retail pop-ups.

The Premium Group has established itself as a solid and reliable partner, something that the industry needs more than ever these days. How are you supporting your exhibitors and partners for the coming seasons? And where does an institution like the Premium Group need support?

We are an extremely strong partner, but also a motivator that tries to actively drive forward not only individual players, but also the industry as a whole. It’s important to us to stand by our exhibitors from the start and to offer them added value. That begins with creative booth design and production and continues with our support in finding the right marketing and press partners and connecting exhibitors with the right sales agencies and distributors. We are also investing large sums in the activation and invitation of buyers and retailers from all over the world. We don’t just curate brands, however, but also research relevant topics beforehand so we can present them to the industry in a compact format. But we also need support, especially positive voices and other motivators in the market. As I just mentioned, our success is based on us all joining forces and working together. Retailers, both nationally and internationally, need to be motivated and we should all pool our strengths to do that. It’s important to do the groundwork prior to the events. We need the brands to support us by contacting their buyers in advance and inviting and informing them. The media can also help us by reporting on the brands’ new products prior to the event. There’s so much to see at our different formats and it’s important that visitors are given all the information they need ahead of time too. As a tradeshow, that isn’t something we can do on our own. Everything is in state of upheaval, there are so many topics and the specialist media are the only sources of information. Curiosity and hype are ideally generated before the events because at the events themselves we are too busy celebrating in style – we are experts at that! The main thing is that everyone pulls together in the best way they can.

Tradeshows certainly haven’t had it easy these past two years. What are your hopes for next year?

I hope that a lot of well-known and new brands decide to exhibit with us and present their products to the industry in an innovative and creative way. And that, with the retailers, they will come together to plan the future. At the same time, I would love it if a lot of national and international retailers came along, also with their young staff. Of course, I would also love the media to actively get behind us! At the end of the day, it all comes down to strengthening Germany on the international market and a bit of support in this would be great. We’re all part of the industry and we can all do our bit to drive forward its success.

TRADESHOW PREVIEW NEONYT & FASHN ROOMS

KICK-OFF IN DÜSSELDORF

Ever since it was established, Neonyt has established itself as one of the most relevant B2B community platforms for fashion, sustainability and innovation, so far taking place in Paris, Berlin and Frankfurt. The tradeshow format has now joined forces with Igedo Company and will be represented in Düsseldorf from January 2023.

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Ulrike Kähler, Managing Director of Igedo

Now that Igedo Company has taken over Neonyt, it will be responsible for the operative planning and implementation of the fair in Düsseldorf in the coming year. “It is incredibly important to us all that Neonyt gets off to a successful start. That’s why Messe Frankfurt is doing everything it can to support Igedo Company for the kick-off in Düsseldorf. It will be helping to keep the Neonyt community regularly informed about the highlights of the event in Düsseldorf via its relevant communication channels,” explains Igedo’s Managing Director Ulrike Kähler.

Both partners are very keen to establish Neonyt as a key platform for fashion, sustainability and innovation in Düsseldorf. To do this, the show will be taking place at the Areal Böhler. The Fashionsustain conference will remain in the capable hands of the Messe Frankfurt team. “Neonyt, which is licensed by Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, will take place as a standalone fair at the Areal Böhler – it will have its own hall with the corresponding CI and a separate entrance. But the buyers attending Fashn Rooms can also visit Neonyt and vice versa. To increase the synergy effect and make access easier for the professional visitors, there will be a combined ticket for both events,” says Ulrike Kähler.

While the focus of the Fashionsustain conference is on sustainability with fascinating discussion forums and panel talks, content creators can take part in community talks and workshops at Prepeek The Stories, covering all topics related to responsible and sustainable practices in everyday life. All of the fair’s exhibitors undergo a thorough sustainability check, which, as well as the fashionable curation of their collections, is a requirement for participating in the event. As an add-on to the summer edition, Igedo Company is once again planning a showcase and will present sustainable innovations on stage.

The Düsseldorf Fashion Days, which see around 600 local showrooms with around 1,000 national and international fashion brands opening their doors, are taking place at the same time as the upcoming Neonyt, which can only prove beneficial for both events.

NEONYT.MESSEFRANKFURT.COM IGEDO.COM