From the Sector

The fully booked international denim trade show BLUEZONE will celebrate its anniversary. More than 100 denim and sportswear specialists will transform Munich's Zenith area into a blue hotspot on this summer's early July date, which has been repositioned for the first time. Parallel to MUNICH FABRIC START and THE SOURCE and with a supporting program that is as full to the brim as it is relevant, the area on Munich's Lilienthalallee will become the hub of the international fashion community.

2023 is not only BLUEZONE's anniversary year: this summer marks the 150th anniversary of the patenting of jeans, Orta celebrates its 70th birthday in 2023 and denim icon Ruedi Karrer celebrates the 50th of his "The Jeans Museum" in Zurich. Vicunha is celebrating its 55th birthday. BLUEZONE therefore pays tribute to denim in all its facets. CONNEXXION is the appropriate leitmotif of the upcoming event.

"We have a line-up that will almost break the two days: in addition to internationally relevant and well-known exhibitors such as Calik, Denim Authority, Isko, Kurabo, Naveena Denim, NDL, Orta, Royo, Saitex and Sharabati among many others, we will have a 360° degree denim experience park in the completely booked Zenith Area", says Frank Junker, Creative Director & Partner, Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH. What visitors can expect here, among other things: two seminar sessions by the Transformers Foundation as well as panels and talks with Women in Denim, Mohsin Sajid and The 5 Denim Senses by AMD Düsseldorf, plus installations such as the photo exhibition "The World's best Denim Fades" by Bryan Szabo, founder of the Indigo Invitational, the exhibition by designer Ksenia Schnaider and a special presentation by "The Jeans Museum" Zurich, through which Ruedi Karrer himself will give guided tours.

For the first time, BLUEZONE will take place this summer on the new, earlier dates of July 18 and 19 and not at the end of August / beginning of September as in the past. With this step forward in terms of dates, MUNICH FABRIC START and BLUEZONE are reacting to changed order and collection rhythms and will position themselves in the future at the beginning of the purchasing and sourcing phase.

To this end, the exclusive VIEW Premium Selection, also organized by Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH, will move to the previous MFS date and on September 13 and 14 - then for the first time also on the Zenith grounds - will offer the market an additional, later ordering opportunity as RE:VIEW.

A total of 20 European fashion and design schools took part in the 2nd “Fashioning Sustainability” competition organized by Freudenberg Performance Materials together with Macpi and Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei, two co-branding partners in the textile industry.

Freudenberg invited talented young designers to create and submit their ideas for sustainable clothing. The initiative aims to show that sustainability is a key factor in the fashion industry.

Two of the most innovative outfits from each school were selected for the final round and presented to an international jury at the “Bagni Misteriosi” event location in Milan in May. Fashion design experts and opinion leaders as well as journalists were invited to select the most sustainable designs in the categories of “Technology” and “Design”.

The winners
First place in the “Technology” category went to Judith Marquant while the second to Jagoda Sokolowska, both students of the fashion school Esmod in Paris. Ilaria De Martino, from the fashion institute Modartech, Italy, and Xiaodan Liao from Polimoda, Italy, were awarded first and second place in the “Design” category. The first-place winners received €2,000, while the second places won €1,000.

All participants benefited from the platform to network with leading players in the garment industry and learn more about concrete steps for embracing sustainability. Creating true sustainability in the fashion industry means reducing the material flow of clothing, addressing both sustainable production and consumption.

Members of the Jury:
Cristiano Zanetti, Sales Director Italy, Freudenberg Performance Materials
Maurizio Cazzin, Male Modeller, Maison Giorgio Armani
Riccardo Bullio, Apparel Industrial Division Director, Dolce & Gabbana
Caterina Cuoghi, Industrial Director, Area NYC
Simone Bigi, Style and Product Office Manager FAY line, Gruppo TOD’S
Roberto Cibin, Model and Pattern Development Manager, Caruso
Bruno Landi, Sales Director, Vitale Barberis Canonico
Luisella Allegretti, Pattern Designer Boss MW Business Specialist, Hugo Boss
Eugenio Balordi, Product Manager, Maison Margiela
Ettore Pellegrini, Sales and Marketing Manager, Asahi Kasei Fibers Italia

adidas TERREX announces a multi-season collaboration with National Geographic, consisting of high-performance outdoor wear. The inaugural collection is built to celebrate the role of photography in the culture of outdoor sport - as well-equipped hikers turn their ability to explore more places, and spirit of adventure, into stunning content.

To celebrate this relationship, designers at adidas TERREX combed the National Geographic photography archives for stunning stills of some of the most remote yet moving locations on earth, integrated in unique all over prints in a bold new hiking collection. All pieces are unified by National Geographic’s iconic yellow icon.

Places celebrated in the collection include a snow-covered sandstone monocline in Comb Ridge, Utah, a 120-mile-long, north to south stretch that defines the State’s red rock landscape, as well as textured portraits of shale, - captured on the coast of Norway’s northernmost county - highlighting the sedimentary rock’s distinctive formations.

The 51-piece collection includes women’s, men’s, and gender-neutral offerings – all built to equip the wearer in multi-terrain environments:

• A part of the collection is the RAIN.RDY Jacket; a 2.5L waterproof and seam-sealed outer garment built to facilitate epic adventures. The men’s jacket features a bold print of the shell formations in the Porsanger Peninsula, Norway, while the women’s is inspired by stills of White Sands National Park in New Mexico.
• A long sleeve shirt is finished with the bold National Geographic yellow icon and reflective details.
• The TERREX Swift R3 GORE-TEX Hiking shoes offer the peak combination of a lightweight construction and cushioning as seen in trail running shoes with the stability of a hiking boot. Finished in a print inspired by a stunning aerial shot of Earth, the hiking shoes come with a GORE-TEX lining and membrane seal so water is kept out, and a Continental™ Rubber outsole for optimal grip in wet or dry conditions.
• The WIND.RDY: GET SHELTERED Jacket, with wind-resistant technology and a water repellent ripstop fabric, allows explorers to feel protected and confident in many weather conditions. The men’s and women’s versions come with bold prints inspired by photography including that of sandstone and snow at Comb Ridge, Utah. Smart design features including a bungee-cord enabled adjustable hem, a lightweight fabric and reflective details. Additionally, it features a bold new lenticular logo design that alternates between Terrex and National Geographic from different perspectives – and is made in part with recycled materials.

With its new Trend and Event Platform, the Premium Group presents a new concept for a progressive community. According to Premium Group classic trade fair formats are over - this summer it's all about (re)connection, real emotions and new perspectives. The emphasis lies on the most relevant trends and the power of networking, but in a more personalised and intimate way.

PREMIUM and SEEK are focusing on a more rigorous curation of promising brands and collections as well as various opportunities to connect. An extensive content programme of keynotes, round tables, live interviews, study presentations and panels on the most important trends will offer two diverse and time-efficient days. The areas of concentration encompass sustainability, technology, fashion, business, lifestyle, and beauty. The repertoire of topics include marketing themes such as LinkedIn and Tik Tok, new tech tools such as ChatGPT or Virtual Dressing as well as news from the metaverse. Sustainability topics such as denim, circularity, re-commerce, vintage and the new Green Deal laws will be discussed as well as cross-industry topics such as female empowerment, Gen Z and modern leadership.
     
PREMIUM marks the first event of the season for womenswear. New silhouettes, design trends, provocation and the current zeitgeist are brought to the forefront with a carefully curated selection of brands. The fashion scene and visitors can look forward to the best of denim, hyper-femininity, beauty, well-being, future Berlin icons and innovations from the tech and lifestyle sphere. New talents will also have the opportunity to pitch their labels to a professional audience. SEEK focuses on heritage, Y2K, modern sportswear, outdoor and sustainable brands, which will be shown in the CONSCIOUS CLUB. Other highlights will include talks and inspiring activations from the community.

"We listen, research and curate the most important trends for the industry. To do this, our team of experts travels across Europe and exchange ideas with representatives from the entire industry. The results of months of work can be discovered in two days," says Maren Wiebus, Creative Director of the Premium Group.

Today, attention is the most important currency for the fashion industry. This is also why, for the very first time ever, the Premium Group events will take place over only two days instead of three. At the same time, generally accepted norms and rules are questioned, taken apart, and put back together again. The organisers of Premium Group invite fashion professionals to discuss the rules and redefine them together.
 
The summer editions of PREMIUM and SEEK will take place on 11 and 12 July at the new old location Station-Berlin in the heart of Berlin.

With a current booking level of almost 90% for the international fabric trade show MUNICH FABRIC START, KEYHOUSE, THE SOURCE and BLUEZONE, Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH is starting the new season for Autumn.Winter 24/25 on a strong footing. From the organisers' point of view, the main reason for the high level of acceptance is the rebalancing of the July dates.

The international fabric trade show MUNICH FABRIC START (18 to 20 July), the innovation hub KEYHOUSE, theb one-stop sourcing platform THE SOURCE and the international denim trade show BLUEZONE (18 and 19 July) will move ahead and at the same time increase their relevance in the international trade show scene. For a large part of the visitors, the earlier date is closer to the collection rhythms and offers more time for further developments.

What's new?
Due to the early date of MUNICH FABRIC START and BLUEZONE, the Munich trade show duo with KEYHOUSE and THE SOURCE formats will function even more strongly as an impulse generator and leading international event. The Munich location will also be strengthened by the relocation of the DMI Fashion Day from Düsseldorf to the Bavarian capital. The first DMI FASHION DAY LIVE will take place the day before the next MUNICH FABRIC START at the MOC.

The course will also be set anew in September: The date, which remains important for the industry, will in future be occupied by reVIEW - the new format of the VIEW PREMIUM SELECTION for follow-ups and trends as well as new market developments. On an area of around 2,500 square metres, the first reVIEW Autumn.Winter 24/25 will be held on 13 and 14 September 2023 on the Zenith grounds in Motorworld.

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel is expanding its Super Elastic Interlinings Range with the introduction of the apparel industry’s first 100% recycled thermoplastic elastomers (rTPE) base content interlining series. In recognition of the growing use of elastic interlinings in apparel and building on the principles of Freudenberg Performance Materials´ Apparel’s House of Sustainability, these new products speak for high-quality and sustainable solutions.

The new, 100% rTPE base content interlinings are offered in 40-90 g/m2 weights, with wide applicability – from lightweight knit fabrics with applications in leggings and sports bras to elastic woven fabrics that require medium-to-heavy weights, such as denim, maternity clothes, or casual wear. Sustainable without compromising on quality, the new interlinings offer exceptional elasticity and retain excellent recovery capabilities.

The 100% rTPE base content interlinings reduce the need for virgin materials in apparel while also reducing the demand for the extractive practices necessary to produce such materials. Furthermore, the use of recycled components reduces materials in landfills and oceans, in consideration of full-garment lifecycle management.

Fashion for Good welcomes twelve new start-ups to its Global Platform. The selected Innovators will participate in a nine-month innovation programme with bespoke support to validate their technologies in preparation for implementation across the fashion value chain.

The selected innovators represent technologies across Raw Materials, Processing, Traceability & Transparency, Circular Business Models and End of Use.

The selected innovators joining the Fashion for Good 2023 Innovation Programme are: Virent, Inc., ZimoChem Inc, Polybion, Saltico Ltd, Lamoral Coatings B.V., CleanKore LLC, RESPONSIBLE, Qingdao Amino Material Technology Co., Ltd.,Protein Evolution, Inc., DePoly, Ioncell Oy, and SATMA CE.

The third edition of IFCO Istanbul Fashion Connection took place from 8 to 11 February 2023. At the largest IFCO to date, 588 exhibitors in a total of 9 halls at the Istanbul Expo Center met more than 10,000 international trade visitors from 134 countries such as Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, UK, United Arab Emirates. 45% of the visitors were from 134 countries and 55% of visitors were domestic. The largest group of foreign visitors came from Asia (33%), Middle East (33%), Europe (19%) and Africa (13%).

Divided into clear cut exhibition segments on a total of 100,000 sqm of exhibition space brands and manufacturers showed the latest collections from the areas of womenswear, menswear, kidswear, denim, sportswear, evening and weddingwear, lingerie, hosiery, leather & furs.

In the new high-quality designer area The CORE İSTANBUL, internationally renowned designers from Istanbul Fashion Week presented their exciting and creative designs.
“The Core is the premier platform that connects local fashion designers with the international fashion market. Our mission is to showcase the work of Istanbul´s talented designers who are dedicated to creating unique and innovative fashion designs while embracing conscious and sustainable practices.”, says Günes Güner, curator of The Core.

Even more design power was on display at the KOZA Design Competition for young fashion creators. IMA Istanbul Moda Akademisi was responsible for the design of the IMA LAB trend zone at IFCO. In the creative space, the trends and themes of the coming season were taken up and presented in a visually elaborate way. Euphoric Recall encompasses colourful, playful 70's vibes, Metasphere describes the return of glitter and metallic with a futuristic touch. The New Gen area featured pieces by up-and-coming designers of the next generation.

In two separate halls, LinExpo gave an overview of lingerie and hosiery. As a part of IFCO 145 manufacturers presented themselves here.

A large selection of high-quality bridal and evening dresses and suits were shown in the FashionIST area.

In the IFCO Sourcing area, especially designed for production, trade visitors networked directly with international production companies such as Bozkurt, Bilce Tekstil, Gelişim, Karar, Cemsel, Bozpa, Demezoğlu, Zevigas and more.

The next IFCO is scheduled from August 9 to 11, 2023.

Flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Brazilian representative BRASTEMA TECNOLOGIA TEXTIL LTDA., will participate in the FIMEC 2023 46th International Fair of Leather, Chemicals, Components, Machinery and Equipment for Footwear and Tanneries in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil next month.

Working off the recent trend in knitted shoe uppers in the athletic footwear market, SHIMA SEIKI proposes knitted fabrics to the general footwear market as an alternative to leather. To that end SHIMA SEIKI will be showcasing the latest applications of computerized flat knitting technology to demonstrate its contributions in this field.

As pioneer of WHOLEGARMENT® knitting technology whereby the knitted product can be produced in one entire piece on the machine without linking or sewing, the company is showing the MACH2XS WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machine for the first time at FIMEC. MACH2XS features 4 needle beds and SHIMA SEIKI's original SlideNeedle™, capable of producing high-quality fine gauge WHOLEGARMENT® products in all needles. Proposals include WHOLEGARMENT® sportswear as well as seam-free shoe uppers. For conventional shaped knitting of shoe uppers, the SVR123SP machine features a loop presser bed that permits inlay technique for producing hybrid fabrics with both knit and weave characteristics, suited to shoe upper applications that require form-fitting function, comfort, flexibility, breathability as well as strength and stiffness. SVR123SP furthermore features i-Plating inverse-plating capability for increased patterning capability, including the production of jacquard-like patterns in light-weight plain jersey stitch. Also on show will be the compact SVR093 machine with a short knitting width intended for knitting shoe uppers. Both SVR machines feature such SHIMA SEIKI innovations as DSCS® Digital Stitch Control System, spring-type moveable sinker system, stitch presser, yarn gripper and cutter, and takedown comb. Made-in-Japan quality, reliability, productivity, user-friendliness and cost-performance all combine to satisfy the high expectations of the world's shoe industry.

SHIMA SEIKI’s SDS®-ONE APEX4 3D design system will also be available for demonstrations in design and simulation suited to shoe production. Of particular interest is its ultra-realistic simulation capability that realizes Virtual Sampling. When countless variations must be evaluated before arriving at a final design, virtual product samples can be used to streamline the decision-making process by minimizing the enormous amount of time and cost normally associated with producing actual samples for each variation. The sustainability factor is also undeniable.

• Iconic 200 Series fleece to be the first fabric made from this new process.

Polartec®, a Milliken & Company brand, announces Polartec® Shed Less Fleece, a new milestone in its industry-leading efforts to reduce textile fiber fragment shedding. Shed Less is a process that combines yarn construction, knitting, chemistry, and manufacturing to reduce home laundry fiber fragment shedding by an average of 85%. The first fabric to receive this new technology is the brand’s iconic Polartec® 200 Series Fleece, the modern version of the original PolarFleece® launched in 1981, and in 1993, the first performance fleece knit from yarn made from recycled plastic bottles.

The Shed Less process works by engineering the lofted fibers that give fleece its soft hand the ability to resist breaking and rubbing off during home laundering, cited as one contributing factor to the spread of fibers fragments (commonly referred to as microfibers). Polartec® Shed Less Fleece achieves this while maintaining all of the attributes that continue to make Polartec fleece a staple of midlayer collections - lightweight, breathable and warm.

The brand used the AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists) TM212-2021 test method for fiber fragment release during home laundering. This test was conducted with large sample sizes to account for variability. The testing concluded that Shed Less Fleece reduced fiber fragment shedding by an average of 85% compared to the baseline fabric.

“In 2016 we began looking into how we might test for fiber loss because there wasn’t a lot of research on the issue.” said Aimee LaValley, Polartec Textile Development, Dye and Chemistry Manager. “This led to new products like Polartec Power Air™, new manufacturing processes, as well as our participation in the TextileMission workgroup to study the issue on an interdisciplinary basis.”

TextileMission was a three year collaborative initiative of academia and industry to reduce the impact of textile microplastics funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Founding partners include The Association of the German Sporting Goods Industry, Hochschule Niederrhein - University of Applied Science; TU Dresden - Institute of Water Chemistry; Vaude Sport; WWF Germany; Adidas AG; Henkel AG; Miele & CIE; and Polartec, LLC.

Polartec® Shed Less Fleece will be initially launched in the United States and will be available to customers beginning March 1, 2023. The brand plans to apply the Shed Less process to many other industry-leading fabric platforms and manufacturing facilities around the world.