33rd MUNICH FABRIC START 04 to 06 September 2012: Clash of Plenty

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Marvin Andrews
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33rd MUNICH FABRIC START 04 to 06 September 2012: Clash of Plenty The international fabric fair defies the airline strike and the economic climate with record exhibitor numbers and optimism New

2 33rd MUNICH FABRIC START 04 to 06 September 2012: Clash of Plenty The international fabric fair defies the airline strike and the economic climate with record exhibitor numbers and optimism New record: 860 exhibitors 3% rise in visitor numbers to over 18,000 Convincing trade fair with a both professional and familiar atmosphere New areas meet with broad acceptance It is a pleasure to work here at the fair, one visitor said commenting on the 33rd edition of MUNICH FABRIC START. What she was referring to here was the fair s pleasant, constructive working atmosphere, its perfect service and varied supporting programme as well as its comprehensive range of over 860 exhibitors showcasing their fabric and additionals collections to kick off the 2013/14 Autumn/Winter season at Munich s MOC exhibition centre. Organisers were able to confirm the positive mood at the fair and the rising visitor numbers at the press conference on Wednesday. Despite the airline strike and the tense economic climate especially in southern Europe 18,200 visitors found their way to Munich. This meant the foreign contingent remained at a constant 35%. With some 860 exhibitors MUNICH FABRIC START was even able to post a new record. So far we have thankfully not seen any falls in numbers. The difficult economic situation in Italy, for instance, has not yet really impacted us at all, said trade fair head Wolfgang Klinder. The fair s relaxed optimism was once again due to its strong domestic market. This meant the European textile sector was in turn able to largely benefit from the host country s economic driving force. Also definitely contributing to the success here was the wide range of collections from the strongest market players from Europe, Turkey and China.

3 High-Quality Exhibitors and Visitors The quality of the range and the presentation of the new trends in the colour and trend forums were praised by exhibitors and visitors alike. For us Munich is the kick-off, here we are able to start the new season in full focus, said Sonja Blömker from Comma, guest speaker at Wednesday s round table discussion Sourcing 2.0 organised by MUNICH FABRIC START and TextilWirtschaft at the Kesselhaus venue. The new colour scheme and trends were very attractively presented in the foyer. The fair gave us attractive new impulses, especially in the double face and knit segments, said Blömker. Although menswear is traditionally already ahead in collection sequencing it also uses MUNICH FABRIC START as a source of inspiration and a working platform. The halls, for instance, saw crowds of designers from Drykorn, Levi s, Next, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss through to Giorgio Armani. In Munich we continue to gather information and later after Paris we sound out the range. Then the themes crystallise, said Drykorn menswear designer Fred Götz. It s fun to be here, added Matthias Rehbeck from Joop!, The audience is becoming more and more international and classy. The trade fair has become very structured and grown up. The New Desire for Luxury This time MUNICH FABRIC START s trend expert Joachim Baumgartner dubbed the event Clash of Plenty i.e. the meeting or wild mixing of different eras and styles. He particularly highlighted the new opulence and variety of fabrics in his new array of trends that was also visualised at a high level on MUNICH FABRIC START s highly respected Colour Card. In her presentation of the macro trends Catherine Van Baal from the trend agency WGSN confirmed the new desire for luxury. The trend theme entitled 21st Century Romance primarily focuses on history and traditional craftsmanship. Here rich tableaux develop thanks to decorative ornamentation and opulent details. Gold plays a key role amidst this rich, classical theme. While progressive brands and small new labels headed in this direction other designers still went in very pragmatic search of colour. I am happy that colour is still on show. In Germany successful themes are sometimes abandoned too quickly, said Matthias Rehbeck from Joop!.

4 New Trade Fair Areas strike the Right Note The strong start of the new creative Patternstudios platform presenting fashion designs and prints in a studiolike setting for the first time now was not only confirmed by Elisa Ostländer from Lica: Patternstudios is going down well. Many people are really enthusiastic about the range of one-offs, said the exhibitor commenting on her premiere at the fair. A plus point at the fair for many new exhibitors was the large increase in customers from the German-speaking area with its strong purchasing power. The other new areas and concepts frequently used by MUNICH FABRIC START to pick up on market developments and create new impulses have also definitely become established. With 22 exhibitors the Shirtings segment featured not just a new premium stand system but also a pooled presentation of high-quality shirt fabrics. We are very satisfied with the footfall and feedback here. Munich is and remains the most important trade fair for the German-speaking market, said Carsten Bleimund at Brennet. Visitors and the roughly 55 exhibitors in the fair s BlueZone denim segment in the neighbouring Zenith Hall also felt very much at home. We are very satisfied and have seen all our key accounts from Gerry Weber and Mac through to Bogner. As ever, organisation of the BlueZone is very good, said Marco Lucietti from Isko. He said production was running to capacity and was to be expanded further in 2013 another sign of the strong return of jeans, as forecast by many trend experts. Patrick Arce from Olinda confirmed the popularity here, especially in the full package business. His company carried the fair s new logo R.M.S. Ready Made Solutions which was this time extended across the entire trade fair. Visitors were interested in this feature and now also know what this name means, said Arce. Lightness and Sustainability As ever, visitors also came in search of lightness and sustainable fabrics. The fair s sustainability expert Alex Vogt from the communication agency Kern in Frankfurt was delighted with visitors increased interest in the forums OrganicSelection and Eco Village. Here MUNICH FABRIC START once again showcased the exhibitors over 500 sustainable fabrics. At the beginning only jerseys were featured here. Now it has become a very varied and creative trend forum, also featuring fully certified prints for instance, explained Vogt. The supporting programme also underlined the fair s sustainability focus with lectures by such speakers as Greenpeace s Ulrike Kallee and the Sustainability Talk in cooperation with the Textile Exchange in the BlueZone. The mood at MUNICH FABRIC START s legendary Oktoberfest on the second day of the fair was really euphoric. Over 2,000 guests celebrated here in a specially erected marquee with catering care of Feinkost Käfer and music from the famous Oktoberfest band Gerry & Gary.

5 For printable photo material go to the Press Gallery on our website: The next MUNICH FABRIC START will be held from 5 to 7 February and the BlueZone will run concurrently on the first two days of the fair. An initial selection of the high-quality fabric collections can already be found at our premiere event VIEW on 11 and 12 December. For further information go to or PRESS CONTACT Sonja Ragaller sonja@pragaller.de PRagaller Müllerstrasse München Tel. +49 (0) MUNICH FABRIC START Sebastian Klinder sk@munichfabricstart.com MUNICH FABRIC START Exhibitions GmbH Thomas-Wimmer-Ring München

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