From the Sector

•  JEC GROUP and AVK to launch new Composites Event for the D-A-CH Region

JEC Group and AVK, the Federation of Reinforced Plastics e.V. in Germany have joined forces to organize an annual event for the D-A-CH Region, dedicated to all forms of Composites and their applications. The first edition of the JEC Forum DACH, unique in its format and content, will take place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany at Messe Forum, from November 23 to 24, 2021. The event will take place at a different location each year to highlight the dynamics and the variety of the composites industry in the DACH region.

JEC Group is launching the JEC Forum DACH in partnership with AVK. Unique in its format, the event will be rotating to different cities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria  every year. This first edition will take place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from November 23 to 24, 2021.

JEC Forum DACH will include pre-arranged business meetings between sponsors and attendees as well as sponsors workshops. The event will present exclusive content such as an extensive composites conferences program, the annual AVK market overview — also available via live-streaming technology for remote participants — and, last but not least, the prestigious AVK-JEC Innovation Awards.
The JEC Startup Booster competition will also be introduced in the D-A-CH region for the first time. JEC Forum DACH will also provide a Composites Tour to enable participants to visit key players of the local composites ecosystem on November 25.

This event's primary aim is to support the bustling composites industry in this region and resume business after a challenging, yet complex period of time. The event´s agile format will focus on a different application sector, industry as well as other regional composites-related specifities every year. The final goal is to develop business, to connect and reach out to the local industrial apparatus and its major players such as universities, research and development centers and companies of all sizes in a boosting business and innovation spirit.

• Looking to the future – Frankfurt Fashion Week is positioning itself with a consistently sustainable agenda and propelling the transformation of a modern, resource-efficient fashion industry.

The Conscious Fashion Campaign (CFC), working in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), will be the presenting partner and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be a prerequisite for all exhibitors by 2023. And the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit by CFC is set to become the leading international conference for sustainability in the fashion world. The future of fashion has begun – and its key players will be coming together in Frankfurt am Main from 5-9 July 2021.
 
Frankfurt am Main, 2 December 2020. Joining forces to improve the fashion industry: Frankfurt Fashion Week is positioning itself as the host of the future of fashion and actively driving forward the transformation towards a future-oriented, more sustainable fashion and textile industry. All decision-makers looking to instigate this change will be coming together in Frankfurt am Main from 5-9 July 2021. The initiators of Frankfurt Fashion Week – Messe Frankfurt and the Premium Group – have achieved a real coup: Conscious Fashion Campaign, working in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, will be the presenting partner. Messe Frankfurt will build on its collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and establish Frankfurt Fashion week as the platform on which to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and help guide the fashion industry into the 'Decade of Action'.
 
“Frankfurt will play host to the whole world. We are seeing a very positive response indeed,” confirmed Peter Feldmann, Senior Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main, at today’s digital press conference, before going on to say: “The fact that the initiators are able to rethink the concept of a Fashion Week in such a way is extremely impressive and proves that the fashion industry is correctly interpreting the signs of the present and future. The time has come for value creation and values to be reconciled. Consistent alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals is an important step in this direction.”
 
“Frankfurt Fashion Week aims to play a crucial role in finding solutions for macrosocial challenges and supporting the goals of international politics such as the European Green Deal. The fashion and textile industries are also expected to be climate-neutral by 2050. If we want to achieve this, we all need to pull together. Frankfurt Fashion Week is inviting all initiators and supporters of sustainable concepts and congresses or shows dedicated to sustainability to meet in Frankfurt, partake in discussions and make tangible decisions for the greater good. We will connect the most relevant players and pave the way for a future-proof fashion and textile industry,” says Detlef Braun, CEO of Messe Frankfurt.
 
“Given its global reach, the fashion industry is uniquely positioned to collaborate and engage on the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular on climate action and responsible production and consumption,” said Annemarie Hou, Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. “Frankfurt Fashion Week and the Summit will serve as an important platform for education and engagement of the fashion and textile industry in the Decade of Action,” emphasised Ms Hou.
 
The aim of Frankfurt Fashion Week is for all exhibitors, participants and partners to align with the Sustainable Development Goals by 2023. The SDGs will also be incorporated into all formats of Frankfurt Fashion Week. This will help to make the UN’s sustainability goals visible and tangible for the Fashion Week audience, therefore bringing its claim, goals and specific proposals for implementation to an international opinion-forming fashion and lifestyle community. During a one-day Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit presented by Conscious Fashion Campaign, topics like gender equality, clean water, climate protection, social justice and their significance for a forward-looking fashion industry will be examined in greater depth. Another point on the sustainability agenda: Frankfurt Fashion Week is launching a Sustainability Award for outstanding, innovative, sustainable design, alongside other categories with a global appeal for the fashion and textile industry.
 
"We are committed to setting the wheels of transformation in motion. Not only does the overall mindset have to fundamentally change; the entire industry also needs to have the courage to be transparent and honest. It’s important to see values and value creation as opportunities rather than contentious. We are doing what we do best: connecting the relevant players at all levels. With its ecosystem, Frankfurt Fashion Week will become the enabler. We are creating a platform that will orchestrate industry-wide change. With this as our inspiration, we are also developing our tradeshow formats from a ‘marketplace of products’ to a ‘marketplace of purpose and ideas’,” explains Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the Premium Group.
 
A new start in Frankfurt: In summer 2021 the entire fashion industry will be coming to the metropolis on the Main river to inform themselves, be inspired, discuss, negotiate and celebrate. “There’s a huge need to finally meet in person again, to exchange ideas and be inspired. At the same time, digital tools and formats have become an integral part of the fashion industry,” says Markus Frank, Head of the City of Frankfurt’s Department of Economic Affairs and therefore also responsible for its creative industry. “To implement such a future-oriented, all-encompassing overall concept, Frankfurt’s business and creative scenes offer an almost unique concentration of different expertise with its internationally networked agencies, universities and museums. The city’s multifaceted, high-end club, bar and restaurant scene, diverse hotel industry and internationally renowned retail landscape will become the stage for this. This network will be a key factor in the successful implementation of Frankfurt Fashion Week and the way in which it will expand into the public space as a cultural and social happening.”
 
A number of major publishing houses are also showing their commitment to the new Fashion Week in Frankfurt with conferences, events and awards: Textilwirtschaft, the leading professional fashion journal by the Deutscher Fachverlag publishing house, is moving its traditional meeting of the industry’s top decision-makers – the TW Forum, the presentation of the renowned Forum Award, as well as its subsequent conference – from Heidelberg to Frankfurt’s Palmengarten botanical gardens, and will therefore be kicking off Frankfurt Fashion Week on Sunday evening and Monday morning. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung will be hosting its traditional fashion party for the first time in Frankfurt and publishing a special edition of its FAZ Magazin on Frankfurt Fashion Week. And the ZEIT publishing group is holding its ‘UNLOCK Style by ZEITmagazin’ conference, which was established in 2014, and the ZEITmagazin Fashion Week party in Frankfurt for the first time and will dedicate the whole new issue of ZEITmagazin Frankfurt to Frankfurt Fashion Week. Condé Nast will also be involved in next summer’s Frankfurt Fashion Week with an exclusive event by GQ. And the Burda publishing house will also be represented with various event formats from its lifestyle and fashion brands.There will also be talks with SHINE  Conventions, the organiser of GLOW, about what a mutual collaboration could look like.
 
Frankfurt Fashion Week is also delighted to have the Fashion Council Germany (FCG) on board.  The FCG is theinstitution when it comes to German fashion design. It promotes designers, is committed to gaining more political relevance and strengthens the international visibility and awareness of German fashion. At Frankfurt Fashion Week, the FCG will contribute selected formats, such as its already established Fireside Chat, and a future-oriented accelerator format to support German designers.
 
“What really impresses me about Fashion Week is the whole networking aspect: the creative industries will meet the financial world and sustainability is the common denominator. The Green Finance Cluster is another project that we could link with Frankfurt Fashion Week in the future. This will provide new inspiration in the fashion industry, which will certainly extend way beyond its own horizon of Frankfurt and Hesse. After a very difficult year for the trade fair industry, the concept is an encouraging breath of fresh air,” sums up Tarek Al-Wazir, Hesse’s Minister of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development and Deputy Minister-President of the state of Hessen.

• Anita Tillmann, managing partner, about Premium Group´s January 2021 Events

“These are challenging times – for all of us. On one hand, because we can't meet up in the same carefree way as usual. And, on the other hand, because decisions have to be made based on factors that are out of everyone’s control. Alongside all this, it’s essential that we look to the future with positivity, that we use the time effectively and continue to advance in the face of adversity. This not only affects the trade show and event organisers, but the whole industry.

We have carried out market research and surveyed exhibitors, partners and buyers on the current circumstances. The objective was to obtain a data-based assessment of the current economic situation, a summary of the success of the exclusively digital events, and insights into the requirements of our network with regard to the physical trade shows. Following analysis of the data gathered we have established that there is a personal wish for an event to happen – inclusive of the appropriate hygiene measures – however, this is unfortunately not currently possible from a professional perspective. As long as there are delays to production and constantly changing travel and contact restrictions in place, we cannot put on any trade shows, conferences or events that would meet our demands or the demands of our exhibitors.

We have therefore decided not to hold PREMIUM, SEEK or FASHIONTECH next January. This was an incredibly difficult decision to make. Especially because we didn't want to say goodbye to Berlin without a fitting farewell.

Now, though, it’s about looking forward and concentrating on what is certain: Frankfurt Fashion Week, which we will be staging in July 2021 together with Messe Frankfurt, the City of Frankfurt and the region of Hessen. We have big plans and are working on a new, fresh start – not only for us, but also for all stakeholders in the fashion industry, nationally and internationally.

Another press conference is planned for the end of November, when we shall be introducing new concepts, partners and event formats. Preparations are already in full swing: we are having numerous discussions, sitting in workshops, activating partners, designers, publishers, politics and society so as to get a unique, fully formed event successfully up and running. Expectations are huge – and we intend to satisfy them. We are putting all our energy into this future-focussed project.

With the aim of being able to share our enthusiasm, we are planning a FFW Preview to present the new locations in Frankfurt am Main and the concepts to journalists, brands and retailers at the beginning of next year.

Until then, all we can say is this: stay curious. Stay optimistic. Because even though there won't be any events this coming January, the show does go on. True to form, that means there will be more business opportunities than ever before, along with innovative formats, events and conferences and a fully formed city concept that has never been imagined before.”

The Secoli Fashion Show, live this year on the Camera Moda digital platform, staged the projects of 19 students supported by exceptional companies such as Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei, which supplied its precious and contemporary materials for the creation of some pieces of the collections.

During Milan Fashion Week the students of Istituto Secoli presented their projects for the traditional appointment of the Secoli Fashion Show, an event that this year has took place in digital version in a particular dedicated section - Italian Education Lab - live on the streaming platform of Camera Nazionale della Moda.

The students designed three women collections and two men collections interpreting the concept of SHAPE.

Brands of excellence supported the young creatives for the creation of the collections, such as Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei, which provided the printed fabrics - produced by Tessitura Grisotto - for the creation of some pieces of the collections, that were used in particular for shirts and padded outerwear and quilted parts.
 
Bemberg™ is a fiber that comes from the smart and technologically advanced transformation of pre-consumer cotton linter materials and converted through a traceable and transparent process. Its uniqueness comes from its exceptional qualitative characteristics such as the magnificent touch - which is soft and smooth as silk, like a second skin - brilliance and radiance. Bemberg™ also has antistatic and breathable performances and the fiber is biodegradable and compostable too.

The collaboration with these companies is continuous and in the name of the close and interconnected relationship between education and the world of work. A support that is also reconfirmed for Asahi Kasei, who for years has supported the Istituto Secoli with an intense commitment in the field of education to new generations.

In addition to Istituto Secoli, Bemberg™ invests in future generations of professionals in the textile and clothing sector also through BIELLA MASTER DELLE FIBRE NOBILI and Sanchi no Gakko (in Japanese “School of Textile & Yarn Production Site”) founded three years ago and supported for two years by Asahi Kasei through its “Bemberg Lab”.

At ISPO, AKA – Asahi Kasei Advance keeps the planet fit and healthy at the same time. The cutting edge department of global material innovator Asahi Kasei, unveils ECOSENSOR™, the cutting-edge fabric collection boosting responsible innovation with a “New Eco High-tech Force of Nature” new generation of performance.

Harnessing AKA expertise in yarning a smarter future, the new range focuses on sportwear, urban and athleisure fabrics. “At ISPO we launch the energetic protein fitting perfectly in textiles for clothes with an active imprint, comfort touch and smooth style. From-yarn-to-dyeing and along the whole supply chain, the collection is 100% traceable.” Says Nishizawa Akira, President & Representative Director Asahi Kasei Advance corporation.

Such goals were scored thanks to the renown expertise of Research & Development and energized by constantly and strictly controlled processes that aim to save energy, water and Green House gases emissions. The result is a high-performative collection combining maximum comfort with durability and stretch-ability.

With ECOSENSOR™, Asahi Kasei Advance truly innovates at ISPO as the very first producers choosing the high-performance path with sustainable values. “Like a truly complete athlete, ECOSENSOR™ wins both during the sprint and all along its performance. It’s outstanding light & stretch features match durability.”

Indeed, the flexible and multitasking range is the high-tech solution for sportwear, outerwear and beyond. The collection embraces the casual and sporty mood of active urban surfers as well as that easy-to-wear attitude for a relaxing free-time at home.

Excellent stretch and high-performative features match the adventurous temperament of extreme explorers, while durability and resistance are the key features to weave fabrics for outdoor activities. The target of ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei is to push at maximum the choice towards bluesign® approved and Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified ingredients and production processes, and GRS (Global Recycled Standard) for recycled ingredients, showing the path to sustainability.

Working with the best like-minded apparel partners, AKA has achieved unsurpassed active climate control materials. The unique high-tech and low-impact functionality has been designed to make a real, sustainable difference a better future.

Exhibit to showcase solutions answering sustainability demands in fashion supply chain
Kornit Digital (Nasdaq: KRNT),  announced that the company is exhibiting at the Pure Origin event, taking place February 9-11 at the Olympia London. Hosted in conjunction with Pure London, Pure Origin is billed as “the UK’s only fashion sourcing show to bring every element of the fashion supply chain together in one location.”

The Kornit exhibit (Stand PO-A4) will call on brands and manufacturers to produce fashion in the most sustainable manner possible, approaching the fashion market with a statement that clothing can be produced on demand, in a profitable manner, without compromising on environmental concerns.

With its unique single-step printing solution and proprietary water-based NeoPigment™ inks, Kornit Digital enables on-demand textile manufacturing in a sustainable way. Furthermore, these solutions provide retail-quality impressions that enable retailers to become e-tailers.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven experts will be presenting efficient solutions and comprehensive technology know-how for challenging filtration tasks to an international trade audience at the FiltXPO 2020 in Chicago, USA (Stand # 420), taking place between February 26 and 28.

Meltblown technology is one of the most efficient methods for producing very fine and highly-separating filter media made from manmade fibers. New, unique and highly-sophisticated filter media are easy to manufacture thanks to Oerlikon Nonwoven’s optimized meltblown technology. This process is characterized by its constant melt pressure distribution and consistent dwell time across the entire width of the spinning beam, Furthermore, the novel guidance and distribution of the process air outside the coathanger distributor offered by the Oerlikon Nonwoven technology prevents so-called hotspots, which overall ensures particularly homogeneous nonwoven properties and basis weights even in the case of delicate raw materials.

The Oerlikon Nonwoven charging unit stands out against other concepts currently available on the market. Users can freely choose from a large number of variation possibilities and set the optimum charging method depending on the filter application, allowing the Oerlikon Nonwoven charging unit to also be used for the manufacture of EPA- and HEPA-class filter media.

The new forming section ensures improved nonwoven formation evenness across the entire width, even in the case of high spinning speeds, special polymers and polymer combinations. In addition to this, the newly-designed system also ensures that nonwovens only require minimal edge trimming at the end of the production process. The newly-developed mixedfiber technology enables the combining of various filament cross-sections and polymers, in order to set ideal filtering and pleating performances, for example.

In Florence, Bemberg™ presents an 8-pieces tailoring collection commissioned to and developed with students of the renowned Scuola Triennale di Alta Sartoria Maschile dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori in Rome as well as with prominent lining manufacturers as Brunello S.p.A., Gianni Crespi Foderami S.p.A., Tessitura Marco Pastorelli S.p.A. and Manifattura Pezzetti Srl.

“We couldn’t have started the new year in a better and most promising way!” Says TAKESHI IITAKA, president of Asahi Kasei fibers Italia. The Japanese brand of regenerated cellulose fibers has tasked students at the Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori excellences. The designers of tomorrow created 8 contemporary clothing teaming up with prominent lining manufacturers that offered premium jacquard, striped and dotted materials in vivid colors that follow the seasonal trends. Yarn dyed options made unique by impactful contemporary designs that create interesting contrasts with the tailoring proposals.

In occasion of the fair Bemberg™ team will present “The Bemberg™ book”, a unique resource able to present the versatility of the precious fiber through partner’s material developments.

EuroShop, the World’s no.1 Retail Trade Fair, is a must-see fixture for the retail world. From 16 to 20 February it will bring together to the tune of 2,300 exhibitors from over 60 countries with 114,000 trade visitors expected from throughout the world in Düsseldorf. And it is not only an indispensable information platform, trend hotspot and network for retail professionals but it also intensely impacts many other areas and sectors, delivers innovative blue-prints and addresses urgent themes of relevance to the future such as digitalisation, robotics, sustainability or climate neutrality.

The Side Events at EuroShop 2020:
The USPs of EuroShop include not only the extensive ranges of its exhibitors from throughout the world but also the quality and cross-section of its unrivalled line-up of side events.

8 Stages – 600 Speakers – 500 Lectures
The centrepiece of EuroShop are a total of eight Stages. They are lecture and discussion forums with high-calibre speakers addressing the latest developments, innovative trends and best practices amidst the hustle and bustle of the trade fair and accessible for EuroShop visitors free of charge and without prior registration (simultaneously interpreted in German-English or in English only). Boasting a total of 600 speakers and well over 500 expert talks delivered over five trade fair days this accompanying programme offers each trade fair visitor invaluable and right-on-target value added. All Stages at a glance: Retail Technology Stage, Omnichannel Stage, Start-up Stage, Store Design Stage, Retail Designers Stage, Energy Management Stage, Retail Marketing Stage and Expo + Event Stage.

Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will be providing information on its extensive range of coating and finishing technologies for the production of nonwovens and technical textiles at the forthcoming Techtextil India exhibition.

“India is already a very important market for Monforts and there are exciting prospects ahead for Indian manufacturers of technical textiles, who are well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities,” says Monforts Head of Denim Hans Wroblowski, who will be at the Monforts stand in Hall 4, booth C52 at the show. “India has one of the largest working-age populations in the world and a complete textile value chain for both natural and synthetic fibres.”

In addition, he adds, India’s government, through its Ministry of Textiles, has been actively promoting the growth of technical textiles through various programmes based on investment promotion, subsidies, the creation of infrastructure and the stimulation of consumption.

As a result, India’s Ministry of Textiles is forecasting that the growth of technical textiles in the country will be over 18% annually in the next few years, from a value of US$16.6 billion in 2018 to US$28.7 billion in 2021.

Value addition

High value-added technical products such as wide-width digital printing substrates, carbon fabrics for high-performance composites, filter media, flame retardant barrier fabrics and heavy-duty membranes are now being coated on Monforts texCoat ranges and finished with the company’s industry-leading Montex stenters.

“Since we acquired the technology that our coating units are based on in 2015, we have made a lot of refinements,” says Hans. “All of these developments are reflected in higher coating accuracy and the resulting quality of the treated fabrics. At the same time, our latest multi-functional coating heads offer an unprecedented range of options, with a wide range of modules available.”

The texCoat user interface is now equipped with the unique Monforts visualisation system and the magnetic doctor blade has greater power reserves. Options include a carbon fibre-reinforced composite coating drum with a more scratch-resistant surface and maximum rigidity and remote control which simplifies exact adjustment for the operator.

Montex stenters in special executions are meanwhile ideal for the drying and finishing of both technical woven fabrics and nonwovens and characterised by high stretching devices in both length and width.

“The European-built Montex range of stenters has earned its leading position in the technical textiles market due to the overall robustness, reliability and economy of these machines,” Hans concludes. “Whatever the intended end-product – and we continue to discover potentially new areas in which technical textiles can be utilised all the time – we have the machine specification and know-how to turn ideas into reality. In India we also benefit from the strong sales and service support of A.T.E. Enterprises.”

Texchtextil India takes place alongside World of Composites at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from November 20-22.