From the Sector

Ananas Anam, the provider of innovative low-impact textile solutions made from pineapple leaf waste, announced the appointment of Manel Echevarria as the new CEO. The Spanish executive who had previously worked as CEO for Grupo Excens Sports and Lacoste Iberia, as well as in senior executive roles for Swarovski and MontBlanc, will lead the global business from its European research and production site near Barcelona in Spain.

At the beginning of the year, the company reported the successful closing of a funding round led by HALTRA Group, a family-backed sustainable investment firm in Luxembourg and a group of strategic investors, including the French Compagnie Fruitière, one of the leading producers in Europe and major fruit producer in the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific region, as well the global automotive technology supplier Forvia, and Asahi Kasei Corp, a leading Japanese multinational group working in innovative materials and technologies.

“The appointment of Manel Echevarria as a seasoned CEO with an impressive track-record in the fashion and luxury industry marks another important milestone in setting Ananas Anam up for the next phase of growth” says Dr. Christian Kurtzke, Chairman of Ananas Anam. “Following our investment in the development of an impressive portfolio of next-generation innovative biodegradable, traceable and sustainable materials, and into the setup of its network of strategic partners on the supply and shareholder side, Manel will provide the leadership for driving growth and industrial scale of this pioneering sustainability brand amidst a continued challenging global market environment in fashion, interiors and automotive.”

With Ananas Anam’s core portfolio of innovative materials, the company has successfully collaborated with well-known brands including Nike, Hugo Boss, H&M, Paul Smith and Cat Footwear and sustainable-fashion pioneers like Ecoalf to drive innovation in footwear, as well as with fashion brands like Carolina Herrera in the area of bags and accessories, substituting animal leather in the product design with its vegan, cruelty-free, low-impact and sustainable pineapple leaf fibre based textiles. In July 2023, at the Premiere Vision exhibition in Paris, the company presented the next generation of Piñatex as well as its breakthrough innovation Piñayarn as a biodegradable, traceable and sustainable yarn, and introducing Anam PALF, as a commercially available premium textile grade pineapple leaf fibre, opening up a world of new applications and markets.

“Driving the sustainability transformation in fashion, as well as in interiors and automotive has become a key priority on the agenda of brands and OEMs around the world,” says Manel Echevarria, CEO Ananas Anam. “I am proud to have the opportunity to lead the company in this decisive time, and I am looking forward to collaborating with our exceptional Spanish founder, Dr Carmen Hijosa, and Josep Taylor in Spain, with Bruno de Penanster and his team in the UK, as well as with Chuck Lazaro and his team in the Philippines to turn this amazing sustainability ambition and purpose into a reality.”

Three strong women, each different from the other, but who have managed to leave their mark on the history and evolution of the female role, and despite living in different eras, have left an indelible mark on society: Madame De Pompadour, nicknamed Reinette, the favourite of King Louis XV, Luisa Amman, called Corè by the great poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, and the iconic Vivienne Westwood, Miss Viv.
The three women are the FOREVER ICONS chosen and celebrated Iluna, where each woman becomes the protagonist of a “traveling exhibition” that will accompany Iluna between events and fairs.

Reinette
The nickname "Reinette" belonged to Madame De Pompadour, the favourite of King Louis XV. She had a significant influence in politics, arts, and fashion, shaping the style of the first half of the 18th century. Beauty and grace are represented in a floral theme, featuring small romantic details that become opulent with the use of lurex and golden cords. The color palette is soft, muted, and powderyry.

Corè
Luisa Amman, born in the late 19th century into a wealthy bourgeois family, married at a young age and became Marchesa Casati. "Corè" is the endearing nickname given to her by her lover Gabriele D'Annunzio, inspired by Kore, the Queen of the Underworld. She was a patron of the arts, an eccentric and transgressive collector. This theme celebrates opulence, from peacock feathers to Liberty-style designs in deep colours and warm metallic glimmers. An innovative proposal for the theme is the pleating technique, achieved directly in the weaving process of the Ultralight jacquardtronic laces.

Miss Viv
Vivienne Westwood, an extraordinary protagonist with an intense and irreverent life. Her insights have forever marked fashion and transformed the general standards of dressing. Rock and rebellious, she drew inspiration from street trends, anticipating avant-garde movements. In the 1990s, she brought back Tartan, mixing it with sensual roses in a maximalism that went against the prevailing trends, featuring vibrant colours. At the beginning of the third millennium, she grasped the importance of preserving the planet and left us with a motto that is more urgent and relevant than ever: "Buy Less, Choose Well, Make it Last." Within this theme, there is a new GRS-certified print that saves water, applied to ultra-fine Lurex nets, which are also certified.

The Premium Group, an European event and trade fair organiser for fashion and lifestyle, is entering a new chapter: founder Anita Tillmann is handing over to her business partner Jörg Arntz and the experienced management team. After almost 21 years of successful management, serial entrepreneur Anita Tillmann will retire from operating business at the end of this year. She will remain with the Premium Group as a strategic advisor.

Jörg Arntz, the long-standing managing director of Premium Group, will continue to lead the company as managing director, with the strategic support of Anita Tillmann. Operational implementation and content development will continue with the proven PREMIUM and SEEK teams in line with the formats. "I am delighted to have had Anita by my side over the past 10 years. The goal remains to strengthen the Premium Group's position as a forward-thinking and established platform in the national and international markets. We challenge traditional KPIs, develop sustainable business models hand-in-hand with the industry and share this know-how with our communities. We will continue to drive innovation and growth in close exchange with the industry. The demand for an organised industry meeting in Berlin is still very high. We are firmly convinced that the relevance of personal exchange will become even more important in the future and with it modern platforms like PREMIUM and SEEK."

• Participants Embrace Renewed Face-to-Face Business with Global Leaders in Nonwovens & Engineered Materials at IDEA® 2022 and FiltXPO™

Approximately 5,000 participants embraced the opportunity to again engage in face-to-face business meetings with global leaders in nonwovens and engineered materials at IDEA® 2022 in Miami Beach, Fla., co-located with the second FiltXPO™,  North American’s only exhibition and conference dedicated exclusively to filtration and separation.

Industry participants at IDEA® 2022,  the 21 st edition of the world’s preeminent event for nonwovens and engineered fabric professionals, expressed their business confidence through the floor exhibits and the return to face-to-face business interaction. Scott Beir, Executive Officer, CFM Global, called IDEA® 2022 “an exceptional show.”

Bob Usher, Technical Director, US Fibers, added that his company made valuable business connections. According to Rolk Kammermann, Head of Sales and Marketing, Innovative Swiss Made Nonwovens, “the size and scope of IDEA and FiltXPO have been excellent for us as both exhibitors and as visitors.”

Organized by INDA, IDEA® also featured five essential nonwovens training classes; market presentations from China, Asia, Europe, North America and South America; industry recognitions with the IDEA® Achievement Awards and the IDEA® Lifetime Achievement Awards; and a welcome reception celebration.

Also, organized by INDA, FiltXPO™ featured five panels of global leaders in filtration and separation for the first-ever “Summit for Global Change,” discussing societal challenges such as indoor air quality, environmental sustainability, pandemic readiness, clean water, and filtration standards.  The event also featured a 1.5-day filter media training course, and sessions highlighting filter media market trends and filtration industry statistics.  

Exhibitors and attendees noted the welcome return to meeting face-to-face among industry senior leaders participating in the three-day event.

A highlight of IDEA® was the announcement of the IDEA® Achievement Awards by INDA, in partnership with Nonwovens Industry magazine. Moderated by Rousse and Karen McIntyre, Editor, Nonwovens Industry the awards recognize the leading introductions in equipment, raw materials, short-life, long-life and nonwovens products, and sustainability, since the previous IDEA® Exposition in 2019.

In addition, INDA presented the IDEA® 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award to Val Hollingsworth, board chair and CEO of Hollingsworth & Vose, and Nonwovens Industry presented the IDEA® Entrepreneur Achievement Award to Doug Brown, president of Biax-Fiberfilm/5K Fibres at the event.

IDEA® 2022 Achievement Awards winners:

• IDEA®  Equipment Achievement Award – Elastic Thread Anchoring (ETA) Sonotrode – Herrmann Ultrasonics, Inc.
• IDEA®  Raw Material Achievement Award – ODOGard – Rem Brands, Inc.
• IDEA® Short-Life Product Achievement Award – LifeSavers Wipes – LifeSavers LLC
• IDEA® Long-Life Product Achievement Award – Nanofiber Cabin Air Filter – MANN + HUMMEL GmbH
• IDEA®  Sustainability Advancement Award – Fiber-based Screw Caps – Glatfelter Corp. and Blue Ocean Closures
• IDEA®  Nonwoven Product Achievement Award – HYDRASPUN® Aquaflo – Sustainable Nonwoven Substrates – Suominen Corporation
• IDEA®, the Preeminent Event for the Nonwovens & Engineered Fabrics Industry, will next be held on its new 24-month schedule on April 23-25, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Names of the IDEA® Achievement Award honorees pictured:

Row 1, Left to right:
IDEA® Long-Life Product Achievement Award winner, Jon Nichols, MANN + HUMMEL, GmbH and Dave Rousse – Nanofiber Cabin Air Filter – MANN + HUMMEL, GmbH
IDEA®  Nonwoven Product Achievement Award winners, Pramod Shanbhag, Suominen Corporation, Karen McIntyre, Nonwovens Industry Magazine, and Avinav Nandgaonkar, HYDRASPUN® Aquaflo – Sustainable Nonwoven Substrates – Suominen Corporation
Row 2, left to right:
IDEA® Short-Life Product Achievement Award winner, Georgia Crawford, LifeSavers Wipes – LifeSavers LLC, and Karen McIntyre, Nonwovens Industry Magazine
IDEA® 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Val Hollingsworth, Hollingsworth & Vose, and Dave Rousse, President, INDA
IDEA®  Equipment Achievement Award winners, Uwe Peregi, Dave Rousse, and Thomas Herrmann – Elastic Thread Anchoring (ETA) Sonotrode – Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc.
Row 3, left to right:
IDEA®  Raw Material Achievement Award winner, David Schneider, ODOGard – Rem Brands, Inc. and Dave Rousse, INDA
IDEA®  Sustainability Advancement Award winner, Chris Astley, and Karen McIntyre Fiber-based Screw Caps – Glatfelter Corp. and Blue Ocean Closures
IDEA® Entrepreneur Achievement Award winner, Doug Brown, Biax-Fiberfilm / 5K Fibres

• HIGHER, FASTER, FURTHER ! During the first physical Frankfurt Fashion Week in January 2022, PREMIUM GROUP will show more novelties than ever.

The anticipation is rising! With the actual move to Frankfurt in January 2022, Anita Tillmann, Jörg Arntz and the teams will not only present further developed versions of the PREMIUM and SEEK fashion fairs, but will also celebrate a major B2C festival for the first time with THE GROUND.

More than ever, the Berliners‘ passion for people and fashion, but also for business and trading, is at the heart of all their events. And where better to combine all this than in the power metropolis of Frankfurt am Main.

„No city in Germany - no city in Europe - stands for business relevance and trading power as much as Frankfurt am Main,“ explains Tillmann. „We now have a unique opportunity to actively shape the future together. PREMIUM GROUP provides the industry with the platform, the brands with the creative content. In addition, we do what we do best, introduce the right players to each other and connect them. We bring together the movers and shakers who have the same drive as we do. With this new mix of location, entertainment, creative industry and trading focus, we are creating a unique momentum after the pandemic - January is when the big deals are made and the c ourse is set for the future.“

To achieve this goal, the PREMIUM GROUP teams have also given the proven successful formats PREMIUM and SEEK a new coat of paint. More space, new areas and shorter distances provide visitors with a completely new trade event experience. Trends, brands and events can be discovered together with new and well-known partners - for the first time all in one place!

And PREMIUM, which is already entering its 19th year in January, is also showing a new side in Frankfurt. Instead of being spread out like in Station-Berlin, in Frankfurt all brands show their collections in one big hall. „We are so excited to finally unite all exhibitors in one hall. This way we create a universe with many different worlds - colorful and exciting,“ says Wiebus. „We are in close exchange with all the protagonists throughout the year and continue to develop the concepts together. The entire industry is positive about coming together in Frankfurt. Everyone is keen to experience and create something completely new! We offer the framework for this - that is our strength.“

And the Berliners have another surprise in store for the Frankfurt debut: With THE GROUND, they are organizing a large fashion festival for young end consumers for the first time. Responsible for the event concept, in addition to Tillmann, Arntz and the PREMIUM GROUP- team, is B2C expert Kai Zollhöfer, who already made the Bread & Butter by Zalando a crowd puller. “THE GROUND is a B2C festival aimed at a young, purpose-driven generation. This new generation has a strong stance on current social and environmental challenges and expects brands to reflect them. The overriding themes at THE GROUND are therefore sustainability, diversity and equality”, said Zollhöfer.

The 3-day event offers brands the opportunity to interactively exhibit purpose-driven stories and products. In addition to the thematic focus on fashion, brands from the fields of wellbeing, beauty, mobility and technology will also present innovative products and solutions.

Jason Kent has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the BTMA Group, which also includes subsidiaries nw texnet and The Textile Recorder (Machinery & Accessories) Exhibitions Ltd (TREX), effective from Monday 23rd August 2021.

Jason has been a non-executive member of the BTMA board for over eight years and brings a wealth of experience with him, having spent 35 years working in the carpet tufting machinery industry.

As a time-served mechanical technician engineer, he ascended through a series of positions of greater responsibility with Cobble Blackburn until its acquisition in 2013 by the Vandewiele Group, where he undertook the role of Managing Director for the tufting machinery business.

He also studied part-time for his MBA back in 2011 and is also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

“I am very privileged to be joining the BTMA,” said Jason Kent. “I believe there are many generational changes ahead that our members must face and the BTMA needs to be ready and capable of supporting such challenges.”

 “As I see it, we have three initial goals in providing better business outcomes for our members through active engagement in addressing industry skills deficits, ensuring we are at the forefront of the industrial digitalisation revolution, and leveraging opportunities brought about through innovation and the associated global focus on sustainability.”
Founded in 1940, the British Textile Machinery Association actively promotes British textile machinery manufacturers and their products to the world. The non-profit organisation acts as a bridge between its members and the increasingly diverse industries within the textile manufacturing sector.

Sustainability is part of SEEK’s internal make-up and has always been part of the team and community experience. Over 80 sustainable brands make up the brand portfolio, including players like Veja, Dedicated and Kings of Indigo. Experts will be sharing their experiences on this market-defining topic as well, with a host of live podcasts, talks and panel discussions, and will be shaping SEEK’s programme of content.
 
BIG PLAYER: the new SEEK Culture
 
SEEK is Europe’s most successful trade show for pop, street and sneaker culture. This is where the key players meet, where the looks of tomorrow are showcased, modelled and retold, where classics are celebrated, authenticity rules the roost and where icons take their positions alongside shooting stars. SEEK is essential participation for anyone looking to curate a modern, youthful and relevant range.

The shift from a niche event to a large trade show is now complete with a new logo and campaign design. SEEK has emerged from its transformation to reveal that its content and visual look are as relevant as ever!  

Together with creative agencies Karl Anders and Haebmau, the SEEK team has been working for weeks on the brand’s new branding. The result: a visual concept with a strong message.

“The handshake is the right imagery and commitment to our stance and that of the SEEK community.”

“SEEK stands for strength and business just as much as for communality and good vibes! ‘Get Along’ articulates a feeling of agreement, of moving forward and getting to grips with things. We all want to shape a positive future for our industry – as partners and by joining forces.”, explains Fashion Director Maren Wiebus.

CREATIVE CONNECTION: Karl Anders and Haebmau
 
The Hamburg-based agency Karl Anders, which was established by Claudia Fischer-Appelt and Lars Kreyenhagen, was commissioned to come up with the creative concept and design language for the logo and campaign.

“With the new look we are entering a new era for SEEK as a brand. Lots of brands have chosen a design using Helvetica in recent years,” says Claudia Fischer-Appelt, Creative Director at Karl Anders. “We are now signalling a clear shift in another direction. Confident, bold and independent. With the logo we are inviting the viewer to play with the linear layout in their head; we are breaking viewing habits, making a statement and revving things up a gear. SEEK, there it is.”
 
The artwork is the result of a process of in-depth debate with the SEEK brand that took place over several weeks both within the team and also with the support of lifestyle agency Haebmau. Workshops, research and analyses ultimately led to a new, strong brand identity. SEEK is focussed on both established and new players and stands for the WE.

“I have known SEEK since it was in its infancy, so to me it was always like a little brother of the large, successful PREMIUM. Quirky and different, always interesting but somehow not quite so imposing,” says Markus Bublitz, Executive Creative Director at Haebmau. “SEEK today is more grown-up, confident and sharper. Thanks to its position in the market, which it has conquered over the years, it no longer needs to please everyone but can afford to be controversial. This can offer space for new, creative ideas.”

SEEK is edgy, clean-cut and unpolished.

We are all about statement design, new classics, denim and sportswear. SEEK is the trade show event for the fashion community. SEEK knows who calls the shots; it boosts sales and is the place for the next generation of decision-makers to get together. Unlike all the others, SEEK is unconventional and the antidote to boring.

• Circularity at the centre

PG DENIM, the designer project by Paolo Gnutti, is ready for several important events scheduled for the autumn with ground-breaking interpretations and a new – increasingly green – business model. The occasion is its participation in the Blue Zone at Munich Fabric Start (Munich, 3-5 September 2019), a space which is increasingly often reserved for companies and projects with a high innovation rate in the world of denim.

PG DENIM at the German exhibition will be presenting important product innovations, but most notably new concepts developed for the S/S 2021 season. The focus here is on circularity, seen from a dual perspective: the product with the no longer traditional alternation of seasons, and a sustainabilityoriented approach.

Seasons meet

The new PG DENIM approach is geared towards overlapping seasonality, with less and less marked separations between projects dedicated to the spring-summer and fall-winter lines. The collections by PG DENIM can thus be increasingly defined as a “mix of products without seasonality”. Its focal points are innovation alongside the concept behind the initial idea, as opposed to just the season. This trend, explains Paolo Gnutti, CEO and R&D Head at PG DENIM, is also due to registering the fact that seasonality – in terms of environment and trends – is changing at an increasingly rapid pace. As a response to this situation, the choice has been made to design new collections starting from macro-trends and presenting fabrics for garments which are “easy to wear”, suitable for both warm and cold temperatures, in a true melting pot  of weights and sizes.

The lines for the previous season are thus reintroduced and restyled playing with weights and sizes, within a range where flock meets ultra-light fabric bases, or where vinyl is combined with typically summer weights which shift the fabric towards the world of “paper” with crispy touches, resulting in extraordinarily lightweight and strong items at the same time. Also the GARAGE DENIM has been upgraded with fluid and smoothed touched for garments which are easy to wear and have a strong personality.

Partnership with The Denim Window

The PG DENIM season is also enhanced by its partnership in The Denim Window project, which has resulted in a limited series of Creative Capsule Collections, derived from the idea of bringing together companies which had already worked or were working together, trying to highlight – through small capsule collections – the best of what had already been produced by traditional businesses. This has resulted  in three trailblazing capsules, two of which designed in partnership by PG DENIM and companies the likes of M&J Group, Cadica and Greenwear. Several copies of these collections have been made to travel the world, and – after the official presentation in July – they will have a special corner, The Denim Window, in the Bluezone at Munich Fabric Start.

The “Circular Programme” and the five “Rs” of sustainability

Also the PG DENIM approach to accountability in production processes has been enhanced by implementing the “Circular Programme”. As part of our corporate vision, Italian-style production is combined with compliance with what have become known as “the five Rs”, that is to say key concepts underlying the design and manufacturing model: Reduce (everything you are not using), Repair (everything you can), Reuse (anything available to you), Recycle (all that is left), Respect (everything around you).

This is the philosophy underlying each individual process at PG DENIM, and leading to new specific programmes which have been its business focus over the past few months:

1) Reducing the environmental impact during the fabric dyeing phase in reaction and sulphurbased processes, where the use of chemicals has been reduced by 40%, water consumption by 50% and CO2 emissions by 60%, which has also resulted in better penetration and a better result in the crocking process. This has led to producing 10 new articles which will be launched on the market.

2) Recycling all waste from processing and after use, creating a range of garments where cotton is actually obtained from regenerating these two kinds of waste. In this regard, PG DENIM for now is the only company on the market able to process with a percentage of recycled product exceeding 60% of the total, whereas the average for this kind of manufacturing is generally about 35%.

As regards regular production, on the other hand, PG DENIM follows stringent international standards, including Dtox, Reach and Gots in all its processing phases, also using BCI cottons and the Organic Cotton Standard for raw materials. Last but not least, it was recently awarded the GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certification.

Marco Aslim und Thomas Martini, die beiden Gründer der Fachmesse BRIGHT für Streetwear, Skateboarding und Boardsport, treten zu Ende Februar nach 13 Jahren als Geschäftsführer zurück. Damit ist ein weiterer Schritt der Integration der BRIGHT in die Organisation der PREMIUM GROUP unter Anita Tillmann und Jörg Arntz vollzogen, die die BRIGHT bereits im Jahr 2015 zu 100 % übernommen haben.

„Die BRIGHT war von Anbeginn mehr als eine konventionelle B2B-Plattform. Die Community, das Arbeiten mit Freunden und der Basis der Industrie, Skateboarding, Art und Musik waren immer treibende Kraft und Hauptaugenmerk der Messe. Die Emotionen und die gemeinsam erlebten Momente, deren Stahlkraft weit über die Messe hinaus wirksam waren, sind bleibende Mehrwerte. Berührungen, die wir nie vergessen werden. Viele Menschen haben in den vergangenen Jahren viel getan, damit die BRIGHT zu dem wurde, was sie ist: eine große Familie. Dafür möchten wir uns in aller Form bedanken" (Thomas Martini, ehemaliger Geschäftsführer BRIGHT).

 Der Geschäftsführerwechsel geht mit einer neuen konzeptionellen Ausrichtung des Formats einher. Die Nähe zwischen BRIGHT und SEEK wird über die gemeinsame Location hinaus erweitert. So wird eine Auswahl der BRIGHT-Brands in das Format der SEEK integriert und neu definiert. Ziel ist es, auf der einen Seite den Spirit der Community der vergangenen 13 Jahre zu erhalten und gleichzeitig eine Transformation in Gang zu setzen, die die Anforderungen des Contemporary-Street- und Urban-Markts widerspiegelt und bedient. Die Teams der SEEK und der BRIGHT werden zukünftig noch enger zusammenarbeiten und gemeinsam neue Konzepte und Formate basierend auf den Werten der BRIGHT entwerfen.
 
„Wir schätzen Thomas Martini und Marco Aslim sehr und blicken auf eine gute Zusammenarbeit zurück. Wir haben viel gelernt und profitieren auch weiterhin von ihrem Wissen und Know-how. Die PREMIUM GROUP steht dafür, Konzepte kontinuierlich weiterzuentwickeln und neu zu definieren. Skateboarding ist einerseits eine Community-getriebene Nische und andererseits – ab 2020 – eine olympische Disziplin. Wir beobachten, dass sich die Werte, Kultur und Sprache der Community im globalen Kontext verändern und arbeiten daran, diese Vielfältigkeit im jeweils passenden Rahmen zu präsentieren" (Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner PREMIUM GROUP).
 
Die BRIGHT ist Europas führende Fachmesse für Streetwear, Skateboarding und Boardsport.  2005 begann die Geschichte der Messe in Frankfurt im ehemaligen Polizeipräsidium mit 50 Brands und 500 Besuchern. Fünf Jahre später, im Jahr 2010, ist die BRIGHT mit 250 Brands und 5.000 Besuchern nach Berlin gezogen. Im ehemaligen Stasi-Kongresszentrum in der Normannenstraße hat sich die Internationalität und die Besucherzahl fast verdoppelt. 2015 machte die BRIGHT als Teil der PREMIUM GROUP und zusammen mit der SEEK die Arena zum wichtigsten Street- und Skatewear-Hub Europas.