Fashion trends Autumn/Winter 2018/2019 at MUNICH FABRIC START - an Interplay of Creativity, Technology and Digitalisation

The MUNICH FABRIC START from 5 to 7 September 2017 that has just drawn to a close was a very special one, according to the organizers. And it was very special for me too, as I was there for the first time after being at other fairs in Italy, France and Germany. I saw numerous innovations, developments and optimisations used to visualise ideas giving the sector a platform for creativity and technical developments. In Munich the future is real and technology the key to a broad-based textiles and fashion industry brimming with dynamism that is both tangible and perceivable.

There were 20,500 visitors from Germany and abroad, which means a slight increase in attendance of just above 1%, which was registered after the end of the trade fair in addition to an extended length of stay over all three trade fair days.

The textile and apparel industry was in for a dense and high-quality information and service package brimming with new formats, forward-looking approaches as well as inspiring showcases in addition to high-calibre international seminars and conferences about fashin trends, innovations and technologies. Center stage at the event were over 2,000 collections from 1,200 international suppliers - a varied and exclusive spectrum of high-impact FABRICS and ADDITIONALS presented at the yet again fully booked MOC, the Zenith Area as well as the MTC which was occupied for the first time.

'With our leading trade fair MUNICH FABRIC START, the BLUEZONE for Denim+Sportswear, KEYHOUSE as an innovation and competence centre as well as MUNICH APPAREL SOURCE as a sourcing platform we offer a comprehensive, content-driven and forward-looking strategic concept. We have made it clear once again that we can take the initiative and assume responsibility for an exhibition event oriented towards the future.'
Wolfgang Klinder, Managing Director MUNICH FABRIC START

Infinite Denim Supply BLUEZONE was presented with a revisited concept as one of the world's biggest denim + sportswear shows with over 110 brands. The progressively designed Denim Club was in great demand as a discussion and trend research forum; and INFINITE as a forward-looking trend concept that re-defines and strikingly visualises the target group approach as an integrated, supra-seasonal format.

Explore the Industry 4.0 Designed as an interface and innovation and competence centre for international vendors, KEYHOUSE proved a major attraction once again. Numerous products – from new fibres and innovative fabrics through to consulting and novel finishes – saw their market launch here.

Featuring at KEYHOUSE for the first time, the competence and innovation centre of MUNICH FABRIC START, the MicroFactory, served as a blueprint for re-shuffling the supply/manufacturing chain. Here the production of the future could be experienced hands on. For the first time, Industry 4.0 was demonstrated live as a fully connected and integrated manufacturing chain from design through to the finished product.

'There are not many opportunities to see such a manufacturing chain demonstrated live. Key here is to broaden horizons, generate stimuli and to get a chance to assess this approach. It is important to raise the awareness of technology suppliers about working in the chain.'
Christian Kaiser, DITF

Also fitting this context is the extended OrganicSelection and the Sustainable Innovations Forum. Here sustainability is presented in a comprehensive and complex manner and the call to develop fabric innovations that look to the future and that elucidate and explain – is a convincing one.

'Technical innovations in fibres, fabrics and finishes as well as sustainable concepts for every stage of the production and value chain provide fashion with new content – giving fashion a heart and reviving its spirit and soul. Even today innovation and sustainability are already impacting many fashion collections and are increasingly becoming the undisputed future of pr?t-?-porter. This is precisely the interface that KEYHOUSE highlights and why it has become the source of cross-trend inspirations and impulses for MUNICH FABRIC START.'
Alex Vogt, kernkommunikation

FashNerd is the fastest growing digital magazine covering fashion and technology. Its topic: how fast the growing expertise and presence of smart textiles is changing the textile and fashion industry and how far we still are from the mainstream and reaching inside consumers' heads. In her impressive keynote Muchaneta Kapfunde, the founder of FashNerd, presented the radical change of smart textiles caught between reality and fabric-related technology.

Presented for the third time now was the HIGHTEX AWARD, the innovation award of MUNICH FABRIC START. The winner was Kassim Denim with a photo-catalytic denim that binds particles from the air in sunlight thanks to a special finish. The runner-up was Schoeller Textil with a sustainable soft shell combined with merino wool. In third place was Vilartex with a novel fibre composition containing 13% nettle.

The other highlights at KEYHOUSE without a doubt included the trend seminar presented by Li Edelkoort with her familiar style and brilliance. She interpreted the trends for Autumn/Winter 2018/2019 and gave an exclusive preview of the fundamental colour stories for Summer 2019. As well as the passionately presented analysis plus future outlook by David Shah, publisher of the VIEW publications; Shah talked about societal and generational constellations under the headline 'Move over Darling'.

Manufacturing & Sourcing Celebrating its debut at the Munich trade fair location was MUNICH APPAREL SOURCE as a logical consequence in order to present the segments of design, manufacturing, including fabric and findings sourcing in their entirety and with continuity. This new trade fair was kicked off by the patterns X.0 conference on the digitalisation of the value chain with an excellent line-up of speakers and it was hosted by Holger Knapp, General Manager at Deutscher Fachverlag. Answers, outlooks and examples from manufacturing and distribution processes were presented by co-organiser Hans Peter Hiemer, b4b GmbH besides Robert Sinclair President of Li&Fung, Hong Kong and Martijn Hagman, CFO of Tommy Hilfiger/PvH Europe, to name but a few speakers.

'The current MUNICH FABRIC START has performed important pioneering work in areas of relevance to the future. A network of creativity, technology, processes and communication has emerged that makes dynamism and densification a real experience thereby creating an intensity that was received well by both exhibitors and visitors alike. We have succeeded in generating impulses, providing inspiration and establishing contacts. This is a major success of the trade fair. However, we are sufficiently self-critical to know that there is some fine tuning still needed here and there. In feedback conversations with our partners this will be sounded out.'
Sebastian Klinder, Managing Director MUNICH FABRIC START

The overall positive mood was also reflected by the MUNICH FABRIC NIGHT Munique Moods, now a firm fixture on the trade fair agenda. The industry was in the mood for dancing - winding down from the 2nd day of the trade fair with live covers care of Gerry and Gary.