The Winter 2017 editions of Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA closed their doors on 25 January, welcoming a record number of verified visitors across three days.

The final attendance showed a 20% increase over the previously documented record for any winter edition in the show’s 10-year history. Visitors represented a total of 54 countries, including: USA, France, Australia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, India, Israel, Nigeria, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and others.

“The Winter 2017 edition of Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA has been a record-breaker, both in terms of exhibitors presented and visitor attendance,” said Dennis Smith, President and CEO, Messe Frankfurt North America. “We knew that this edition would prove to be an important gauge for where the apparel market is headed and what we’ve seen is that a mood of cautious optimism is prevailing over all else. The apparel industry is far from standing still and we’re thrilled to be the industry sourcing event that buyers choose season after season.”

Exhibitors

Texworld USA Winter 2017 boasted over 225 exhibitors representing 12 countries, including: Canada, USA, Colombia, India, United Kingdom, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and more. Turkey, Korea and Taiwan returned with dedicated country pavilions. The Lenzing Pavilion also returned to the show floor with 17 exhibitors focused on integrating sustainable fibres into a wide range of product categories.

Apparel Sourcing USA, a long-term joint venture partnership between Messe Frankfurt and CCPIT-TEX, presented 107 suppliers from 9 countries including: China, Hong Kong, India, Myanmar, Taiwan, USA and Sri Lanka. In addition, Mexico and Peru represented western hemisphere sourcing options with 12 suppliers present on the show floor.

“It’s no secret that consumer buying patterns are changing quickly and that the customer is looking for more value than ever when purchasing apparel.” said Jennifer Bacon, Show Director, Fashion & Apparel. “This is impacting brands and our buyers every day and we recognize that. This is why we’ve focused on curating a group of exhibitors that offer a great product at a great price. Ultimately, our buyers can visit other textile or apparel shows to network and get inspiration on trends, but Texworld USA is the show to find in-demand, on-trend fabrics at realistic and affordable prices. We’re an order writing show, now more than ever.”

Texworld USA seminar series

As always, Texworld USA’s complimentary educational sessions proved to be a big draw for attendees. Organised by Lenzing Innovation, the seminar series focused on industry hot topics like TPP and duty-free trade, colour and fabric trends, digital printing, and the impact of the buy-now-wear-now trend.

The most popular seminars by attendance included Pantone’s colour trend seminar titled Muse: Colors to Inspire, the WWD-moderated Instant Fashion: How Has And Will The Move To In-Season, Buy-Now, Wear-Now Fashion Shows Impact The Textile And Sourcing Supply Chain?, and Fashion 101: Getting Back to the Basics of Starting a Fashion Line with Mercedes Gonzales.

The January 2017 edition also saw the debut of Texworld USA Floor Sessions. This addition to the shows’ educational programming was designed to provide attendees at all levels of the industry with the opportunity to discuss topics of interest with their peers in a more intimate setting. The discussions tackled topics such as sustainability, growing an independent fashion brand, and future outlooks on the global textile industry.

New Texworld Showcase and SPOTLIGHT display

Texworld USA revamped the well-known trend forum for Winter 2017. The new Texworld Showcase placed a heavier emphasis on curating textiles across all 16 categories of products available and allowed visitors to get a wider view of exhibitor offerings for Spring/Summer 2018.

Additionally, a heavy focus was placed on the chosen theme of the season, functional fabrics and apparel, in a new dedicated area of the Apparel Sourcing USA show floor. The SPOTLIGHT display area highlighted some of the best functional fabrics from Texworld USA exhibitors, as well as active wear and performance apparel from Apparel Sourcing USA exhibitors. The SPOTLIGHT area will return to the show floor in July 2017, where attendees can explore a new theme for the Fall/Winter 2018 season.

www.texworldusa.com

www.usa.messefrankfurt.com