This year’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics with the largest ever, with more than 3,700 exhibitors from 35 countries and regions taking part will open next Monday.
Covering 170,000 sqm, a total of 15 halls will be occupied at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 21 – 24 October. Buyers can find exciting new and returning features at the fair including SalonEurope, the Milano Unica Pavilion, Verve for Design, All About Sustainability, Innotex Space, trend forums, fashion shows and much more.
The international halls (W1 – W4) will feature:
- Pavilions from Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey, as well as the Pakistan zone
- SalonEurope (hall W1), where premium European suppliers can be found, as well as the Milano Unica Pavilion and the Premium Wool Zone
- Group Pavilions (halls W2– 4), which have been organised by leading fibre and yarn companies, including Cotton Council International, DuPont, Hyosung, INVISTA, the Korea Chemical Fibers Association, Korea Textile Trade Association and Lenzing, and will feature their latest products and technologies
- Verve for Design (hall W1), the textile designer zone where buyers can find innovative textile designs from around the world
For ease of navigation, the 10 domestic halls (E1 – E5, N1 – N3 and W4 – W5) are arranged by product end-use, including:
- Casual wear and denim (E3 – E5)
- Functional wear and sportswear (W5)
- Ladieswear (N1 – N3)
- Shirtings (W4)
- Suitings (E1 – E2)
And over 540 domestic and international accessories suppliers will feature in two halls (E6 – E7), with a wide range of both garment and fashion accessories on display.
Sustainability and innovation key focuses of this year’s fair
Sustainability continues to be a hot topic in the textiles industry. As such, for the first time this fair features the All About Sustainability zone in hall W4, which comprises a display zone and exhibitor booths.
Under the overall theme of ‘Recycle’, visitors can discover the latest sustainable fabrics and products, technologies, and business services and solutions from the likes of the Crystal Group, H&M, Patagonia and Redress. Sustainability is also the focus of the Planet Textiles Conference which is held concurrently with the fair on 22 October at Kerry Hotel, and jointly organised by Ecotextile News and Messe Frankfurt.
Highlighting a wide range of new applications, and innovative technologies and products related to the textile industry, Innotex Space can be found in hall W5. It is co-organised by the Department of Science and Technology Development of China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC), and the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textile and Apparel (HKRITA).
Trend forums, seminars, fashion shows and much more on offer in fringe programme
As well as the huge range of apparel fabrics and accessories on display, the fair provides a wide-ranging fringe programme with the latest trends, fashion, market information, industry technology and more on offer. The autumn / winter 2014-15 trends can be discovered in the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum in hall W1.
Intertextile Directions Trend Committee member Ornella Bignami, from Italian firm Elementi Moda, will host introduction tours of the Trend Forum onsite. What’s more, four Fabrics China Trend Forums for suitings, casual wear, accessories and ladieswear can be found in halls E2, E4, E7 and N2, respectively.
Other key features of the fair this year include two product display zones which will highlight exhibitor’s latest products. Beyond Denim (hall E3) gathers most of the leading domestic denim manufacturers, denim designers and marketing firms, as well as international denim fabric exhibitors. And the Linen Chic zone (hall N3) showcases linen fabrics.
Returning again to the fair is the Intertextile Catwalk events, with a total of six fashion shows taking place in the outdoor hall adjacent to hall W4. This year’s designers are Chen Dao & Edmond K and Mountain Yam from Hong Kong who have used fabrics from exhibitors to design cutting-edge garments that are a reflection of next season’s trends. Chen Dao is the Hong Kong’s top ten outstanding designer in 2013. Chinese exhibitors, including Huafu, Luthai Textile, Suzhou Chuxing and Suntion will also present their own collections during the fashion show.
The China International Fabrics Design Competition, the sole professional design competition in the Chinese textile fabrics sector, has now partnered with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics. This competition realises the correlation between art and technology, and connects creative ideas with the market through the fair. The awards ceremony will take place onsite, while visitors can view the winning entries in the fashion show.
This year’s seminar programme is one of the biggest ever, with 38 events taking place. This includes design and trend seminars, featuring trend forecasts and design tips for autumn / winter 2014-15, led by experts from Elementi Moda, Huafu, Lectra, NellyRodiTM Agency, Pantone, PeclersParis, Stylesight, WGSN and The Woolmark Company. Certification and testing seminars will be conducted by speakers from GOTS, HKRITA, SGS and TESTEX.
Other topics include technology and solutions, legal issues, and market information and business strategies. And product presentations from Far Eastern Industries Group and the OEKO-TEX Association will provide audiences with details of these companies’ latest products.
Running concurrently with this fair are three other events: Yarn Expo Autumn and PH Value (previously known as the China International Knitting Trade Fair) which are located within the same venue as Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, and the Planet Textiles Conference which will be held in the nearby Kerry Hotel.
Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Textile Information Centre.
