With strong business results and a 17% increase in international visitors from spring, the much-anticipated Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition successfully wrapped up last week. Nearly 4,000 exhibitors from 27 countries and regions welcomed 95,000 buyers from 117 countries and regions, underscoring the fair’s continued international reach. Digitalisation, sustainability and functional fashion, pillars that are currently redefining the industry, emerged as dominant themes across the fairground: whether it be biodegradable raw materials, or the first-to-market artificial intelligence system. This gave buyers a comprehensive sourcing experience, supplemented by over 40 seminars and forums and the concurrent Yarn Expo Autumn.
Ms Wilmet Shea, General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, reflected positively on the fair’s outcome, stating: “This edition has served as fertile ground for business, with participants universally expressing a renewed sense of optimism about the prospects in the China market. The fair continues to be not just an event, but a cornerstone to the global textile market, a meeting point where business and innovation intersect. We’ve seen an influx of discerning, quality-orientated buyers from around the world, confirming that our exhibitors are not just meeting market demand, but shaping it.”
As the leading event of its kind in the region, Intertextile Shanghai is a crucial platform for industry to keep abreast of the market trends and technology and for business exchange. One case in point was the use of the AI-based Interactive Design Assistant for Fashion (AiDA) to augment this year’s Intertextile Directions Trend Forum. AiDLab’s innovation took CONTRADICTION a few steps towards the future, and created a wide range of virtual outfits based on the on-trend fabrics submitted.
Showcasing unique highlights at every edition, Intertextile Apparel repetitively attracts international and domestic exhibitors and buyers, with crowded booths in evidence throughout the three days this autumn. The broad spectrum of exhibitors, hailing from countries such as Belgium, France, Hong Kong China, Italy, India, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan China, and the UK, among others, was a significant draw for buyers. Group pavilions were led by industry powerhouses such as ECOCERT, Hyosung, Korean Textile Center, Lenzing, LYCRA, OEKO-TEX and Sorona, further enriching the event’s international diversity. “Buyer feedback, especially relating to increased product variety and sustainable options, has been excellent. This level of global diversity, particularly at a fair focused on apparel fabrics, is difficult to find elsewhere. It underscores the fair’s crucial role in continuing to propel the industry forward,” added Ms Shea.
A number of companies used the fair as a platform to launch new products, such as Lenzing expanding its REFIBRA™ technology to its ECOVERO™ branded viscose, a move that will increase its products’ post-consumer fibre content. Other notable debuts included LYCRA showcasing three new branded fibres; Unifi highlighting its Textile Takeback™ initiative; Guangdong DC Button’s plant-based degradable button series; and Yantai Jihe Import & Export’s Türkiye flocked denim fabrics, new to the Chinese market.
With the recently-launched ‘Econogy’, the combination of economy and ecology, sustainability is set to make a lasting impact on Messe Frankfurt’s Texpertise Network. Intertextile Apparel showed its merits – from the All About Sustainability zone to the fair’s multiple eco-focused fringe events. Across categories, exhibitors, visitors, and speakers left the fairground satisfied with a productive interval of in-person business.
