From the Sector

Opening this week Thursday, the Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles, and Textile Technologies (VIATT) is set to welcome visitors from ASEAN’s dynamic textile market and beyond. From 26 to 28 February, VIATT 2026 – the fair’s third editions – will reinforce its strategic proposition with an integrated showcase of the three core sectors of the entire textile value chain. Beyond new sourcing opportunities in Apparel Fabrics & Fashion, Home & Contract Textiles, and Technical Textiles & Technologies, the fair will present an expanded fringe programme. Highlights include the inaugural Trend Forum, alongside an industry summit, local and international fashion shows, interactive workshops, and expert seminars. 

“As VIATT continues to grow and attract broader international participation, at this edition we are pleased to introduce the inaugural German Pavilion and Türkiye Zone, the Textile Chemicals and Dyes Zone, as well as the Trend Forum, a unified vision exploring all three sub-sectors,” said Ms Wilmet Shea, General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “These additions highlight our commitment to enhancing the fair from multiple perspectives, as we explore new opportunities in diverse yet overlapping textile sectors, while reinforcing VIATT’s dedication to design, sustainability, innovation, and international collaboration – key elements that distinguish this platform as one of ASEAN’s premier industry hubs.”

Covering 18,000 sqm in Halls A and B, VIATT 2026 will host nearly 460 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions. The fair will feature an impressive lineup of international participants, including the returning pavilions from China, India, Taiwan, and the debut of the German Pavilion. The show floor will also include the European Zone, Japan Zone, Vietnam Zone, and the new Türkiye Zone. Econogy Hub will also return, alongside the Garment Display Zone and the Trend Forum, showcasing integrated LIFESTYLE TRENDS across the apparel, home, and technical sectors – a first for a textile trade fair.

In anticipation, visitors from across Asia-Pacific and beyond are preparing to source in Ho Chi Minh City. These include nine buyer delegations from six countries / regions, including Australia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. To enhance the sourcing experience, the fair’s Global Exhibitor Search feature will enable buyers to connect efficiently with potential suppliers.

Fringe programme to reinforce connections across the textile spectrum
The fair’s range of fringe events include the inaugural VIATT Trend Forum, Vietnam Textile & Garment Industry Development Strategy Summit (VGTIS), and Textile Industry Exchange. Other featured events include various seminars and workshops designed to provide valuable insights into industry trends and innovations: 

• Sustainable by Design: The Green Thread (Design & Trends): in this session, the Asia International Hemp Association, Bio-Smart Group, and TOUCHABLE will focus on the transformation of hemp fibre into a premium, eco-friendly material for fashion and home textiles. It addresses technological advancements and sustainability benefits that have facilitated hemp to enter high-value markets, emphasising its role in promoting circular design and reducing environmental impact. 
• Fashioning a Circular Textile Economy Through Industry Collaboration (Econogy Talks): panellists from Covation Biomaterials, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), RMIT University Vietnam, the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), and XAVAN will focus on circularity and the importance of solutions such as sustainable manufacturing, circular business models, recycling infrastructure, novel technologies, and more.
• Vietnam Sourcing Forum: Insights for Suppliers and Buyers (Market Information & Business Strategies): in collaboration with MoveToAsia, this panel discussion provides expert insights for exhibitors and buyers relating to sourcing in Vietnam. It addresses key considerations for overseas stakeholders, including common misconceptions, pain points, and pitfalls faced by first-time buyers, and explores manufacturing operations, sales channels, and Vietnam’s role as a garment manufacturing hub. 
• Redefining AI’s Role in Automated Textile Material Inspection (Technology & Solutions): in this seminar, AiDLab examines how AI is transforming material inspection within the textile industry. Traditional methods often rely on human checks, leading to inefficiencies. The discussion will focus on the advantages of AI, including enhanced accuracy and real-time inspection in fast-paced production environments. Challenges in adopting AI will also be addressed, along with essential considerations for companies preparing for implementation.

In addition, VIATT 2026 will feature three captivating fashion shows that blend local and international trends: the Local Booming Designer – Phan Dang Hoang will present a collection that fuses Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage with modern aesthetics. The Sustainable, Zero-Waste Fashion Show – KHAAR features a luxury brand that combines heritage craftsmanship with innovation, using circular materials and digital design for sustainable fashion. The third show, the Essence of French Fashion, will feature esteemed brands Royal Mer, a heritage knitwear house known for its timeless sea-inspired garments designed for durability across generations, and Fantaisie Militaire, which draws from military styles to emphasise functionality, timelessness, and the value of ‘Made in France’. Fairgoers can also look forward to the Upcycled Jewellery Workshop, a hands-on experience for participants to transform discarded textiles into unique, handcrafted accessories.

The Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles and Textile Technologies (VIATT) is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE). VIATT 2026 will be held from 26 – 28 February 2026.

In a new study, North Carolina State University researchers found a way to prevent electrical malfunctions in yarns designed to store electrical energy. Ultimately, the findings could help advance the development of “smart textiles” that would capture energy from the wearer’s movements and power sensors and wearable electronics.

The researchers reported in npj Flexible Electronics that they were able to prevent short-circuiting in yarns that act as supercapacitors – which are electrical devices that store energy – by wrapping the yarns with an insulating thread. They also tested the strength and durability of the yarns to make sure they could still work after going through knitting and weaving processes.

“A supercapacitor functions like a battery, but in this case, we’re working on a flexible battery shaped as a textile yarn that you could weave or knit into your T-shirt or sweater,” said Wei Gao, associate professor of textile engineering, chemistry and science and a University Faculty Scholar at NC State. “In this study, we have woven this yarn into a piece of fabric so that it can store electrical energy, and eventually we want to use it to power whatever electronic devices you need, whether it be a sensor, a light or even a cell phone.”

While research into these so-called “yarn-shaped supercapacitors” is promising, researchers say developers face a consistent problem with their design: the yarn-shaped supercapacitors are more likely to short circuit as their length increases. Short-circuiting is when the electric current flows through an unintended path. It is a safety concern because a short circuit can result in a burst of heat energy or even a fire.

“Everybody is trying to make smart electronics that can be incorporated into cloth or fabric,” Gao said. “What we found is if you try to make a supercapacitor yarn longer than 8 inches, it’s pretty easy for this device to short-circuit. It’s pretty dangerous, and it’s something nobody wants to encounter when wearing a smart suit.”

To solve that problem, the researchers tested what would happen when they wrapped the super-capacitor yarn electrodes with insulating threads. The idea was that the threads would act as a physical barrier, keeping the opposite electrodes from contacting each other and preventing short-circuiting. They tested their device’s performance by connecting the electrodes to a power source and recording the device’s current response. They also tested how well the yarns were able to hold a charge. They found that the yarns kept 90% of the initial energy after charging and discharging them 10,000 times.

The researchers also tested to see if they could withstand bending and stretching by weaving their yarn-shaped supercapacitors into a fabric.

“The yarns need to be flexible and strong enough so that when you bend, stretch and press them, they keep their original electrical performance after all of those mechanical deformations,” said the study’s lead author Nanfei He, postdoctoral research scholar in textile engineering, chemistry and science at NC State. “The yarns all kept their original performance, even after going through weaving and knitting.”

Researchers said they made the yarn-shaped supercapacitor using processes that are conventional in textile manufacturing.

“All of these processes can be scaled up very easily,” He said.

 In future work, the researchers want to incorporate their design into a garment, and to try to integrate it with other energy-generating devices.

“Materials innovation and process engineering are critical to the scalability and device performance,” said Feng Zhao, CEO of Storagenergy Technologies Inc., the industrial partner of the project. “We have developed a process to produce thousands of meters of high-performance yarns in a continuous manner.”

The study, “Separator Threads in Yarn-Shaped Super-capacitors,” was published online in npj Flexible Electronics. In addition to He, Gao and Zhao the other authors were Junhua Song and Jinyun Liao of Storagenergy Technologies Inc. The study was supported by Storagenergy Technologies Inc., and funded by the United States Army under contract numbers W911NF19C0074 and W911NF18C0086.

Process control, intelligent automation and long-term industrial reliability remain the shared priorities that continue to define members of TMAS, the Swedish textile machinery association.

“Across different stages of textile and material production, TMAS members are united by a common belief that productivity begins with stability,” says TMAS General Secretary Therese Premler-Andersson. “Rather than focusing on isolated machine functions, the emphasis is on controlling the critical variables that directly influence quality, efficiency and uptime.”

Examples of this approach will be demonstrated at Messe Frankfurt’s forthcoming Techtextil and Texprocess exhibitions taking place concurrently in Frankfurt from April 21-24.

Operational value
In weaving and related processes for example, Vandewiele Sweden AB has long-standing expertise in weft feeding and tension control. At Techtextil 2026 in Hall 12 stand C21, company experts will be on hand to explain how, through ensuring repeatable, predictable yarn delivery at ever higher loom speeds, it is enabling weaving mills to operate closer to their technical limits while maintaining fabric quality. 

The company’s continued development of data-ready weft feeders reflects a broader approach to digitalisation, embedding intelligence where it delivers clear operational value rather than adding complexity to already demanding production environments.

Quality assurance
Eltex of Sweden addresses the same challenge from a complementary angle. Its electronic yarn sensors and tension monitoring systems focus on early detection, identifying yarn breaks, end-outs or abnormal tension before they lead to waste, downtime or quality claims. From weaving and warping through to tufting, braiding, quilting and sewing, Eltex technology provides the assurance that modern automated processes depend on. As production speeds increase and manual supervision is reduced, the ability to monitor yarn behaviour in real time becomes a key enabler of stable, high-quality output.

At Techtextil 2026, Eltex will highlight its latest EyETM Multiact system for heat setting machines, guaranteeing yarn consistency throughout the entire process via individual yarn tension monitoring and control according to a predefined reference tension. 

Each channel operates independently and the system also includes a machine stop function in the event of yarn breakage or if yarn tension operates outside preset limits.

Also showcased, will be the ACT-R system for rapier weaving machines which is highly effective in achieving constant weft yarn tension for yarns based on recycled fibres at one end of the scale, and for expensive technical yarns such as Kevlar at the other.

Consistency
Further downstream, BW Converting, extends this focus on control and assurance into dyeing and finishing. 

Following the runaway success of the company’s Baldwin TexCoat G4 finishing system in the past few years, the Baldwin TexChroma digital spray dyeing system is currently being launched.

“Since its introduction, global textile finishers have embraced TexCoat and are now reaping the benefits,” says vice-president of global business development Rick Stanford. “They have been able to increase profitability, cut energy use and reduce their carbon footprint, in addition to exercising precision control with our patented precision spray technology. In the past two years we have been very active in Asia, and many of these customers have been asking for a similar technology for the dyeing process.” 

From production data to date, TexChroma can achieve savings in energy, dyes and chemicals of more than 30% compared to conventional continuous pad batch dyeing using steam, and up to 50% compared to exhaust reactive dyeing. 

It also benefits from an advanced technology enabling reactive dyestuffs and alkali fixation chemicals to be mixed just seconds before spray application, in order to completely eliminate any ‘tailing and listing’– uneven dye application or colour variations.

Eton aUPS
Meanwhile, at Texprocess, Eton Systems will outline how Industry 4.0 and AI are further boosting the capabilities of its aUPS (AI powered unit production system) technologies.

Eton Systems productivity and management system have a positive impact on the productivity of thousands of production lines for a range of industries. Designed to increase value-added time in production by eliminating manual transportation and minimising handling, the individually addressable product carriers are now fully managed and controlled by the company’s advanced software.

The UPS works perfectly for mass production but provides companies with an extra competitive edge through its ability to quickly respond to special custom- made orders - even without disrupting an ongoing larger production batch. The aUPS is developed for circular garment identification, but the ambition is also to cover quality control in future linear production.

The individually addressable product carriers of these fully automated and digitised handling solutions for finished garments, home textiles and furniture are fully managed and controlled by the latest ETONingenious™ software.

This web based real-time data collection and information system continuously accumulates, processes, and makes all production information instantly available to supervisors, quality control personnel, and management.

Precision slitting
Also at Texprocess Svegea will demonstrate its EC 200-C colarette cutter as well as an FA 350 fully automatic roll slitting machine.
 
Svegea’s colarette technology is used by knit garment manufacturers around the world for the production of tubular components such as cuff and neck tapes and other seam reinforcements.  

“In Europe, while the garment manufacturing sector is relatively limited in size, interest in these machines has increased in recent years, mainly driven by logistics, cost and lead-time considerations as production moves closer to the market,” says Svegea Managing Director Håkan Steene. “The ongoing shortage of skilled operators has also increased the demand for such automated solutions.”
 
Svegea’s fully automatic FA 350 roll slitting machine meanwhile addresses a wider range of needs for roll conversion within the technical textiles sector, combining high capacity with very low power consumption and providing extremely accurate cutting precision. Capable of cutting both knitted and woven fabrics – including those produced from a wide range of technical fibres – it can accommodate different shaft sizes and is fully electronically controlled with servo motors. The touchscreen interface has recently been redesigned and expanded with new functions, including automatic control of the knife surface speed during the cutting cycle, maintaining consistent cutting conditions as the roll diameter decreases for improved cutting quality and material handling.
 
Bespoke bias cutting systems are another speciality of the company, for specifically contoured technical textile-based components.

Essential foundation
A second theme linking all TMAS members in Frankfurt is a shared response to the economic realities facing textile manufacturers worldwide. 

“Rather than promoting automation as an abstract objective, Swedish machinery suppliers focus on tangible productivity gains that help manufacturers in high-cost regions remain competitive,” says Premler-Andersson. “Reduced waste, higher uptime and repeatable quality are the essential foundations for sustainable manufacturing.