Fashion’s Global Sprint: September Kicks Off in Shanghai, Madrid, and Paris

Farewell to summer with the usual packed agenda of trade shows in the fashion and textile sectors throughout September. From Shanghai to Madrid, passing through Milan, Tokyo or Paris, the industry will meet over the next few weeks in a series of events that combine sourcing, finished product, footwear and catwalk. The events will address the trends that will mark the coming season and will seek to provide tangible answers to the needs of the sector, ranging from measurable sustainability or productive proximity to the definitive irruption of digital.

The density of appointments responds to the role of September as the start of the business year. The major European capitals will open their shows with a focus on innovation, anticipating the celebration of their respective fashion weeks. Thus, the trade fair season will once again coincide with the weeks prior to the catwalks in European capitals such as Madrid, Milan and Paris, generating a dual narrative: that of B2B business and that of direct communication with the consumer. The commitment to this binomial that marks the need for the transformation of the industry towards more interconnected models.

Beyond the Old Continent, Turkey will seek to strengthen its role as a production hub and Asia will add not only large-scale sourcing, but also hybrid cultural proposals such as Tranoï Tokyo.

The calendar kicked off this Tuesday in Asia, where Intertextile Shanghai will be held from September 2 to 4 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, with spaces such as Econogy Hub and Digital Solutions focusing on traceability and digitization as the cornerstones of global sourcing. Organized by the trade fair player Messe Frankfurt, the event will extend its proposal of 4,000 exhibitors from 26 countries across 240,000 square meters of exhibition space. The event is expected to attract around 100,000 visitors from 115 markets.

The Asian trade fair market will offer a double pole in Shanghai and Tokyo.

This same week, the Japanese capital will take over with the third edition of Tranoï Tokyo on September 3 and 4 at the Yoyogi Stadium. The event, organized by the Parisian trade fair format Tranoï, will bring together some 250 brands with 65% international participants. The proposal, more linked to sophisticated fashion and signature design, will be differentiated by its cultural proposal, with fashion shows, musical pop ups and a Franco-Japanese literary cafe in collaboration with Japan Fashion Week Organization.

With these two fairs, Asia will show its double muscle, while Shanghai continues to assert itself as a major city oriented to volume and textile, Tokyo as a cultural center that integrates lifestyle and designer fashion in a format that aims to transcend the traditional B2B.

Professional events such as Micam also offer catwalk formats.

The first major Spanish event will land in Madrid: KM0 Moda will take place on September 8 and 9 at the Palacio de Santoña with its proposal for Iberian nearshoring and industrial services, at a time when brands are looking for proximity suppliers and shorter lead times. Representatives of the sector such as Textil Santanderina, Premier Tex or Ferpa Punt head the list of participants.

Then, from September 11 to 13, Momad will return to Pavilion 10 of the Ifema fairgrounds, also in the capital, with fashion, footwear and accessories proposals. With exhibitors from up to 19 countries, the show will display an offer of European brands such as the French Cacharel or Terre Rouge, the Italian Ragno or Alessandra C and the Portuguese Scusi or Christina Félix.

Madrid: agenda focused on KM0, Momad and MBFWMadrid

In addition, the Madrid fair will strengthen its ties with Latin American markets through the representation of Colombian entities such as Artesanías de Colombia or the CáThe fair will also strengthen its ties with Latin American markets through representation from Colombian entities such as Artesanías de Colombia and the Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB), as well as through its first participation in the Bogota Fashion Week show, which will offer a selection of emerging designers. As in past editions, the fashion fair directed by Julia Gonzalez will coincide in dates with Bisutex, which will occupy Hall 8, betting on generating synergies between shows.

Just a few days later, the catwalk will pick up the baton from the sectoral event to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, which will take place from September 17 to 21 under a renewed proposal and direction.

In the Italian market, the Lombardy capital will concentrate the highest density of fairs throughout September. The cycle will kick off with the Micam and Mipel events , which will be held from September 7 to 9 as international references in footwear and leather goods at Fiera Milano Rho. This season, moreover, Micam will celebrate its 100th edition and will feature 870 participating brands (half of them Italian) and 30,000 buyers from more than 150 countries. Later on, Milan will host the Milano Fashion&Jewels fair from September 20 to 23, an event specializing in accessories and costume jewelry that brings together more than 600 companies.

In the chapter linked to raw materials, Lineapelle will take place from September 23 to 25 displaying its leather and components offer, while Filo will be held on September 23 and 24 at Fiera Milano Rho with its 64th edition in its new headquarters for fibers and yarns.

Interior of the Intertextile Shanghai exhibition space.

The Milanese calendar will close with White Milano from September 25-28, a showcase for contemporary womenswear in the city’s Fashion District. The list of participating brands includes names from China, India, Brazil, Armenia, Romania and Spain.

Istanbul as an emerging ‘hub’, Paris as a ‘sourcing’ and retail bet

Between Asia and Europe, Turkey is strengthening its role as an intermediate hub, and Texhibition Istanbul will be holding its eighth edition from September 10 to 12 at the Istanbul Expo Center. Focusing on fabrics, yarns and accessories, as well as a special area for denim, the show will defend its role as a platform for European buyers seeking production flexibility and cost competitiveness vis-à-vis Asia.

In parallel, Paris will kick off this weekend with the Who’s Next fashion fair par excellence , which will be held from September 6 to 8 at Porte de Versailles, coinciding with Interfilière and Bijorhca. The event marks the starting signal for the commercial season of brands and accessories and, among its novelties, will bet on a space dedicated to the home and the rising trend of concept stores, in which around fifty brands will participate, such as Bàng or Manu Matters.

The French capital will continue its professional agenda with a double block. Also at Porte de Versailles, from September 16 to 18, NRF’25 Retail’s Big Show will take place. Formerly known as Paris Retail Week, the event will feature 25,000 square meters of floor space and 480 exhibitors.

Sourcing will be the focus of Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris from September 15 to 17 at Le Bourget, while Première Vision will be held from September 16 to 18 at Paris Nord Villepinte, with a reinforced program of talks and innovation areas.

At the start of October, the capital will link up with the fashion trade fairs that complete the cycle. Première Classe, from October 3 to 6 at the Tuileries Gardens, and Tranoï Paris, from October 2 to 5 at the Palais Brongniart.